Why That Brief Look at Mario Kart 9 Suggests Nintendo Switch 2 Is 'Significantly More Powerful' Than the Original — According to a Developer

An indie game developer with extensive experience creating Switch titles has offered compelling evidence suggesting the Nintendo Switch 2 boasts significantly enhanced processing capabilities. This conclusion stems from a close analysis of the recently unveiled Mario Kart 9 trailer.

Nintendo's official Switch 2 reveal, while exciting, remained notably vague regarding the console's raw power. While upgrades to the Joy-Cons, kickstand, and overall form factor are evident, concrete performance details remain scarce.

Jerrel Dulay of Sungrand Studios, a developer with a proven track record on Wii U and 3DS titles, presented his analysis in a YouTube video. His expertise provides valuable insight into the implications of the Mario Kart 9 footage.

Mario Kart 9: A Technological Glimpse

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Dulay highlights the use of physically-based shaders in the trailer, impacting textures and responding to lighting and reflections. This, combined with Digital Foundry's late 2023 report suggesting an Nvidia T239 ARM mobile chip (with approximately 1536 CUDA cores) within the Switch 2, points to a substantial upgrade from the original Switch's Tegra X1 (256 CUDA cores). This represents a fivefold increase in CUDA core count alone.

Dulay emphasizes the computational demands of these shaders on the original Switch, often resulting in performance drops. The Mario Kart 9 footage, however, showcases complex shaders without apparent framerate issues, along with detailed ground textures and reflections. High-resolution textures require significant RAM, and the Switch 2 is rumored to feature 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM (compared to the original's 4GB), potentially operating at significantly higher speeds.

The increased RAM and its potential higher transfer rate directly impact texture loading times, allowing for the use of numerous high-resolution textures. Furthermore, the trailer demonstrates volumetric lighting and far-distance shadows, both computationally expensive features. The ability to render these effects smoothly at 60fps strongly suggests a significant power increase. The high polygon count characters and real-time cloth physics on the flagpoles further reinforce this conclusion.

Dulay's analysis provides a compelling argument for a substantial leap in graphical capabilities for the Switch 2. While official specifications remain pending, the Mario Kart 9 trailer offers a strong indication of the console's enhanced power. Further details are expected in Nintendo's April Direct presentation.