Nintendo Switch 2 first-party launch titles don't use NVIDIA DLSS, likely due to engine limitations that would require a lot of work to implement.
Speaking during their weekly podcast, the tech experts at Digital Foundry commented on why the Nintendo Switch 2 first-party launch titles like Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza don't use NVIDIA DLSS, opting, like in the new entry in the Donkey Kong series, for the inferior AMD FSR 1 solution instead. While it's impossible to make a definitive statement, Digital Foundry believes there could be some engine limitations behind this, as the engines that power these games may, for example, not support motion vectors, which NVIDIA DLSS needs. Without engine support, implementing the upscaler would require a lot of work, which Nintendo may not have wanted to do for any reason.
Technical limitations, however, may not be the only reason why the Nintendo Switch 2 first-party launch titles are not using NVIDIA DLSS, as art direction may be playing a part in this as well. Nintendo games usually have cartoony visuals that don't feature complex shapes or patterns, so even if the edges aren't smooth, they aren't terrible either, reducing the need for antialiasing and upscaling. Mario Kart World is the perfect example of this, as the game looks great even without them.
Even so, there's a good chance that even first-party titles will eventually use NVIDIA DLSS. After all, not only is the upscaler mentioned in the Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour, but the Japanese company actively worked with NVIDIA to have the hardware needed to use the upscaler in the system, so they clearly saw its value. Hopefully, it won't take long for them to use it, as a game like the aforementioned Donkey Kong Bananza would clearly have benefited from it, given the image quality delivered with FSR 1.
NVIDIA DLSS is only one of the features that set the Nintendo Switch 2 apart from its predecessor. You can learn more about the system's offerings by reading Chris's review.
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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