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Nintendo Switch Pro: Why we need a 4K Switch

Nintendo Switch Pro: Why we need a 4K Switch

Nintendo Switch
(Image credit: Tom'south Guide)

The PS5 and Xbox Series X may exist the hot new consoles in town, only I spent most of my recent holiday break primarily playing the Nintendo Switch. I imagine many other gamers did the same, and information technology'due south not hard to see why.

The Switch has a bevy of fantastic games yous can't become anywhere else, including the meaty Hyrule Warriors: Historic period of Calamity, which I had been eagerly awaiting always since its surprise announcement earlier this year. I downloaded the game, booted information technology upwardly — and promptly wondered why it looked then bad.

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For some context: I've been pretty busy with the PS5 and the Xbox Series Ten ever since I received them for review dorsum in early November. Some games I played for review; some games I simply wanted to play.

Either mode, my Switch sabbatum  neglected in front end of my TV for well-nigh ii months. When I finally turned it on again, I was not at all prepare for the pregnant driblet in graphical fidelity.

hyrule warriors age of calamity

(Paradigm credit: Nintendo)

On resolution and frame charge per unit

I tested the PS5 and the Xbox Serial X on a gorgeous LG CX OLED Television, which supports 4K resolution and up to 120 frames per second. While nigh games don't achieve this (4K at 30 fps, or upscaled 4K at 60 fps is about the best you're going to practice), they still look fantastic and miles ahead of the 1080p/30 fps games of the previous console generation.

Granted, the Nintendo Switch was never a technical powerhouse. Its best-looking games have accomplished a lot by prioritizing memorable art styles over graphical prowess.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, for instance, has much more memorable visuals than the latest Call of Duty, any their resolutions and frame rates may be. But afterwards marveling at the expansive landscapes in Assassin'due south Creed Valhalla, information technology was tough to get back to the relatively simplistic, constrained levels in Historic period of Calamity.

At outset, I reasoned that the LG CX OLED might help me convalesce the Switch'southward relatively low frame rate. I hunted for the TruMotion setting and turned it on.

For those who aren't familiar with it, TruMotion produces what our senior editor Brian Westover calls the "soap-opera effect" for movies and TV, artificially boosting the frame rate through visual trickery. (Other TV brands take similar features, although the names vary.)

While this setting more often than not makes TV shows and movies look terrible, I reasoned that information technology might exist helpful for video games, where loftier frame rates are often more useful than perfect visual allegiance.

At commencement, the setting did what I wanted it to do, making Link appear to swing his sword and bonfire through the battlefield faster and more fluidly than before. But it wasn't long before I started to notice the cracks.

TruMotion can't actually create more than frames per second than the source game; it can only fox your center into thinking information technology does. As such, the effect had an artificial quality that was peculiarly jarring when the frame charge per unit would stutter and drop every minute or so. Before I reached the end of the outset level, TruMotion had to become.

In the end, I had no selection but to let my eyes adjust to Age of Calamity'southward default visuals — or play in handheld mode, where they were a little more than tolerable. But so I ran into framerate issues and had to squint at the tiny text and mission objectives.

nintendo switch

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Will nosotros become a 4K Switch?

In Historic period of Calamity's defence, it's actually quite a good game, incorporating much of what I loved about Breath of the Wild into the fast-paced and energetic Dynasty Warriors formula. Once I got used to the resolution and frame charge per unit, information technology didn't expect bad, either, thanks to its colorful environments and distinctive grapheme designs.

But at that place was a distinct sense that the Switch — which, according to Nintendo, is simply halfway through its intended lifespan — tin can no longer provide the kind of visuals that console gamers want.

While visuals aren't as important every bit gameplay, story and a host of other features, they can make a huge difference in immersion. Additionally, a higher frame rate isn't only for show; it tin be a gameplay benefit, particularly in competitive multiplayer titles.

Earlier I got a 4K Idiot box, I was skeptical of the claims that we needed a 4K Switch. At present, I think we need one sooner rather than afterwards.

While most Americans still own 1080p (or lower) TVs, that's changing quickly, and two out of three console manufacturers tin now accept full advantage of 4K technology. If nosotros have to look another iii years for a 4K Switch successor, Television receiver technology itself may accept already avant-garde by that point, leaving Nintendo to play catchup again.

This week, in that location'due south been more  buzz than usual about a "Switch Pro," "Switch 2," or whatever you want to phone call it. The bottom line is that rumors accept been swirling about Nintendo developing a 4K Switch and releasing information technology as early on as this year.

More often than not speaking, I don't trust Nintendo rumors and this batch is no exception. The sources are hazy and seem to involve more wishful thinking than hard evidence. But sometimes these rumors can be revealing as they shed lite on what the rumormongers wish we had in a current Nintendo device.

Some of the Switch Pro'due south prospective features include meliorate hardware, more storage and 4K support — even if the new panel has to driblet its beloved handheld manner in order to become it.

In the end, I accustomed Age of Calamity for what information technology is, and I'm certain I'll do the same with the next Switch title I selection upwardly. But the PS5 and the Xbox Series X have set new standards in how console games should await, and Nintendo would be wise to follow suit in some capacity.

We may not call up great games primarily for how they looked, but in the moment, stunning graphics can make a huge difference.

Marshall Honorof is a senior editor for Tom's Guide, overseeing the site's coverage of gaming hardware and software. He comes from a science writing background, having studied paleomammalogy, biological anthropology, and the history of science and engineering. Subsequently hours, you lot can notice him practicing taekwondo or doing deep dives on archetype sci-fi.

Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/news/nintendo-switch-4k

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