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The commercial failure of the Wii U was fortunately followed by the explosive success of the Nintendo Switch. Gamers were drawn to the impressive capabilities of the handheld console hybrid and its lengthy list of quality exclusives only sweetened the deal even more. However, the Switch is underpowered compared to the PS4 and Xbox One, which means its power is eclipsed even further by the PS5 and Xbox Series X. Rumors of a Switch Pro upgrade have been ramping up over the course of several months, and now it seems to be an inevitability, but will Nintendo take the time to make previously released Switch games run better on the new hardware?
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When it released back in 2017, the Nintendo Switch was an extremely impressive piece of technology. The jump in graphical quality from the Nintendo 3DS to the Switch was staggering and titles like Super Mario Odyssey and Breath of the Wild left gamers with a strong first impression. While it’s true that the Switch is impressive if viewed as a handheld, it sadly fares far worse when viewed as a home console. Third-party entries in particular struggle to run with acceptable specs on the device and those titles are only going to be more demanding with each coming year.
To showcase the power of the Switch, Nintendo relied on Breath of the Wild to show how the device could offer next-gen experiences on the go without compromise. While it certainly is one of the most gorgeous games Nintendo has released, its specs could certainly be more impressive. Fans have since modded Zelda to run at 4K 60 FPS and suddenly the game looks significantly better. There certainly is no better example of exactly what the benefits of a Switch Pro upgrade would be, but there’s still no guarantee that every Switch game will benefit from it.
Switch Games Will Need Updates To Take Advantage Of The New Hardware
If the Switch Pro ends up being real, players probably won’t see graphical or performance upgrades in their older games unless the developers first update them to take advantage of that extra power. This is something that many developers are dealing with now that there are so many new platforms on the market. For example, Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Genshin Impact are PS4 games that can be played on a PS5, but they need an updated version to take advantage of the PS5’s capabilities. The rumored Switch Pro will almost certainly be the same way.
Since these updates obviously require development time and resources, it’s unrealistic to expect every current Switch title to be upgraded in this way. However, there’s hardly a point in pumping out upgraded hardware if it doesn’t benefit at least some of the previous hits on the console. For example, there’s a handful of titles like Animal Crossing: New Horizons or the Borderlands Legendary Collection that run at 30 FPS and could potentially see updates to make them run at 60 FPS on the new hardware. It’s hard to say exactly what titles are going to get updates for the Switch Pro, but it’s likely that players will be able to return to some of their favorite games on Nintendo Switch with a little bit more spectacle if the device ends up being real.
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