An indie game developer with extensive experience creating games for the original Nintendo Switch has offered compelling reasons why the brief glimpse of Mario Kart 9 in the Switch 2 reveal suggests a significant power upgrade. While Nintendo has been tight-lipped about the Switch 2's specifications beyond new Joy-Cons, a redesigned kickstand, and a larger form factor, the Mario Kart 9 footage provides valuable clues.

In a recent YouTube video (via GamesRadar), Jerrel Dulay of Sungrand Studios, a developer with a history of working on Wii U and 3DS titles, highlighted several graphical elements suggesting a substantial power increase.

Mario Kart 9 - A Closer Look

25 Images

Dulay points to the use of physically-based shaders, impacting reflections and lighting on the karts and environment. These shaders, demanding on the original Switch's hardware, are heavily utilized in the Mario Kart 9 footage. He also notes detailed ground textures and reflections, requiring significant RAM and processing power.

Rumors suggest the Switch 2 utilizes an Nvidia T239 ARM mobile chip with 1536 CUDA cores, a substantial increase from the original Switch's Tegra X1 with only 256. Furthermore, leaks indicate the Switch 2 boasts 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM, compared to the original's 4GB. The potential for significantly faster RAM speeds (up to 7500MHz) further enhances performance.

Dulay emphasizes the presence of volumetric lighting and far-distance shadows, both computationally expensive features. The ability to render these effects smoothly at 60fps strongly suggests a considerable power boost. The high polygon count of characters and real-time cloth physics on flags further support this conclusion.

The combined improvements in CUDA cores, RAM capacity, and speed represent a significant leap in processing power, enabling the high-fidelity visuals showcased in the Mario Kart 9 trailer. While official details remain scarce, Dulay's analysis provides a strong indication of the Switch 2's enhanced capabilities. Nintendo's April Direct is expected to offer further clarification.

What do you think of the Nintendo Switch 2 reveal?

I love it and am absolutely buying that consoleIt was a little tame but I'll still buy the Switch 2I liked it but need to see more before I make a decisionIt was a little underwhelming so I'm not really botheredThe reveal was pretty iffy and I don't care for the console eitherSomething else!AnswerSee Results