- A Nintendo patent could reveal some of the AI upscaling technology that will power the Nintendo Switch 2
- It details a method to increase picture quality using machine learning
- The patent suggests this could be used to keep game file sizes low
Another day, another huge flurry of potential information about the Nintendo Switch 2. This time we’ve learned more about the kind of upscaling technology that we might see implemented in the upcoming console.
The information comes from a patent filed by Nintendo in July 2023 and recently made public. The patent details a technology that is capable of “converting images of one resolution into another (e.g. higher) resolution and may be used in real-time applications from images generated by, for example, a video game engine”.
It’s powered by machine learning algorithms and, put simply, would allow a video game console like the Nintendo Switch 2 to increase the resolution of its picture output with little additional hardware strain. A few examples of how it could be used are included in the patent, which outlines how a 540p picture could be upscaled to 1080p for “increased graphical fidelity”.
It might be tempting to assume that this means that the Nintendo Switch 2 will target a 1080p output, but it’s important to bear in mind that such examples are included for illustrative purposes only. The patent is also careful to clarify that “whenever 1080p is mentioned in connection with a target image, the techniques [...] may also be applied to 4K images”.
We also don’t know for sure that this technology will even be implemented in the Nintendo Switch 2, though of course it seems highly likely given the given the document's focus on video game applications.
Interestingly, the patent suggests that the technology could be used to keep game file sizes low “so as to fit onto relatively smaller sized physical media”. This would be achieved by, for example, lowering the resolution of the textures downloaded by the player and then using the AI upscaling technology to increase it to produce a final picture.
It’s clear that AI upscaling tech is becoming an increasingly important part of the gaming landscape. Solutions such as Nvidia's DLSS and AMD's FSR are popular ways to boost video game performance on PC. The PS5 Pro recently shipped with Sony’s PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR) upscaling. We’ll have to wait for the console's official reveal to see whether Nintendo will opt to follow suit.
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