The Nintendo Switch 2 CPU will address one of the most critical issues of its predecessor, which caused slowdowns in certain games.
AUTOMATON recently interviewed some Japanese developers who worked on ports for the original Switch, asking them what difficulties they had to face and what are their expectations for its successor. Speaking about the CPU, the most frequent comment from developers was that it was often running at full capacity in games and thus couldn't handle background loading, forcing developers to either optimize background loading to make it happen whenever possible or to abandon optimization entirely, leading to performance drops in games. The much more powerful CPU of the Nintendo Switch 2 will address this issue, making background loading easier for developers.
Another well-documented weakness of the original system, which the Nintendo Switch 2 will address, is the RAM, as its measly 4 GB made it difficult for some developers to port games developed for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, which had 8GB of RAM. One developer who worked on a port of an open-world RPG said that working around the RAM limitations of the system was like solving a puzzle, as compressing textures to the absolute limit to save as much memory as possible actually made their game look better the more memory was saved.
No matter what individual game developers' expectations may be, the vast majority of them are really looking forward to the Nintendo Switch 2's improved hardware specifications. Those working primarily on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S titles, in particular, highlighted the urgent need for the system, as its increased specs will make porting games much easier.
The Nintendo Switch 2 will launch later this year. According to analysts, it should be priced at $399 for a variety of reasons.
About the author: Francesco De Meo has been covering video games and technology since 2012, starting his career at small outlets like Gamersyndrome and GeekSnack. After joining Wccftech gaming section in 2015, he quickly expanded his video gaming coverage with in-depth reporting, interviews with iconic industry figures such as Grasshopper Manufacture founder and No More Heroes creator Goichi "Suda51" Suda, Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami, Team NINJA's president and Nioh series director Fumihiko Yasuda, and Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, reviews and on-the-ground coverage of major industry events such as Gamescom and E3. When he's not reporting or reviewing, Francesco can be found playing the genres he loves most, spending time with his six cats, reading, writing music, playing guitar and drumming for his progressive rock band.
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