A new Nintendo patent appears to support claims that its Nintendo Switch successor will utilize DLSS-style upscaling technology.
A patentfiled in July 2023, but published on Tuesday, describes a system of machine learning that can convert images of one resolution into a higher one.
DLSS (deep learning super sampling) or similar technologies work by using AI to upscale the resolution of games, effectively allowing developers to achieve higher graphical settings and better frame rates on weaker hardware.
Sony’s recently launchedPlayStation 5Pro utilises its own upscaling technology, PSSR, at a platform level, while AMD’s FSR is a popular solution on other consoles which is utilised on a game-by-game basis.
It’s been reported previously by VGC and other outlets thatNintendois planning to utilize a DLSS-style technology on its next system, which could provide a significant advantage considering the technical constraints faced by portable devices.
As noted by journalistLaura Kate Dale, the new patent mentions using upscaling technology to reduce overall game sizes to fit a modern game onto “smaller capacity physical media,” for example, game cards.
“The example given is that a game with native 4K textures might need a 60GB download, but a 1080 native version might only need 20GB (which would allow it to fit on a 32GBSwitchCart, the current max size Nintendo produces for Switch 1). The idea being to do a 4X upscale on the device in realtime.”
Perhaps the most interesting piece of this, after a lengthy read, is that one example use case given is explicitly to reduce overall game sizes, to fit a modern game onto “smaller capacity physical media”, e.g. Switch carts, which get exponentially more expensive for larger cart capacities.
Nintendo previously published an AI upscaling patentin 2020, which described the process’s potential use in cloud gaming, in which cloud-based systems could send a compressed, low-res image to the player’s device, which would then be upscaled using AI to reduce latency.
The latest patent was published on the same day thatalleged images of Switch 2’s internal hardware componentsappeared on Reddit. If accurate, the images appear to confirm previoushardware spec rumorssuggesting that the new console will again be powered byNvidiahardware.
Nintendo has yet to officially reveal its Switch successor, but the company hasconfirmed plans to do so during its current fiscal year, which ends in March 2025.
Allegedimages of Nintendo’s Switch successorappeared online in September, showing a design that’s not too dissimilar from the company’s current-gen console.
