Just like how games shouldn't cost 70$ because their profit are insanely larger on a market that is larger than ever too, than sells more and more with the added benefits that came with DLCs and microtransactions(can make billions just from those) 

And yet, here we are !

As for the topic at hand, I mean Nintendo have proven to be ahead of the curve when it comes to new interesting ideas with hardware. Would be fun to see them implement something new no one here could even fathom of since it doesn't exist yet to begin with.

Still, I'm not complain either way unless the OS becomes a freaking multimedia bloated mess like the other consoles lol. Keep it straight as a gaming machine.

I think having some type of DLSS technology would be helpful with optimizing ports, since that lets you run games in lower resolution, which makes the framerate better, but the visuals are upscaled to look almost identical to higher resolutions.
And it seems like a safe bet that Switch 2 would have something like that.

The other issue, from my understanding, is that Switch has more of a different coding language than PS/XB. Which requiers developers to almost develop a separate game for Switch. This is more of a time/money consuming part than optimizing. If Switch 2 used similar architexture to a Playstation or Xbox, we could expect pretty much every game to be ported to it. But if they did that they'd probably have to give up on backwards compatibility, and I don't think they will neglect that. Pretty sure they'll use ARM architecture again.

It is far from just a "cool special effect" it actually has gameplay ramifications when implemented correctly as you can have a very accurate (For a video game) simulation of lighting, shadowing and reflections, so a stealth title like Thief? Would be far more immersive.

DLSS doesn't mean crap. DLSS is using A.I generative technologies in order to upscale an image.

It -does- require dedicated silicon, silicon that could be used for a faster CPU, GPU or more Ram for better native images and easier porting.

It -does- introduce rendering artifacts into a scene, like texture/shader shimmer.

And the other thing is, DLSS itself is not a requirement because frame-reconstruction is actually an industry-wide thing now, we have AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution that is open source and can run on -all- hardware and not just propriety nVidia hardware.

That means if Nintendo ever does decide to change it's chipset in Switch 3 to another manufacturer, they can retain backwards compatibility as they are not tied behind propriety, copyrighted technology from a 3rd party like nVidia.

Thirdly, DLSS requires more memory, Nintendo is pretty stingy with Ram, so we need every byte we can get.

DLSS has alternatives. It doesn't guarantee ports... Especially if your hardware feature set is behind the competition.
DLSS also consumes hardware resources like RAM.
There are alternatives to DLSS like FSR, XeSS, Temporal upscaling with frame interpolation, spatial upscaling, checkerboard.
Many of which can be implemented on the engine side.

Ray Tracing is hardware generation defining.

We are in the era of Ray Tracing whether we like it or not.

Lol, ray tracing (on consoles) is a gimmick. Games get framerate cut in half and there visually isn't any difference. Given the switch 2 will be a hybrid which will limit power a bit, Nintendo shouldn't go near Ray tracing. It requires far too much resources with little to no benefit.

So far on the ps5, RT couldn't be more of a joke.  No way Nintendo's next hybrid handles RT if the ps5 can't get benefit from it.

Developers haven't even started to cut their teeth on the Playstation 5/Xbox Series X hardware and you are already calling it? We are still in that cross-gen period.

Not many games have implemented Ray Traced Global Illumination on console yet, let alone PC, but the difference is absolutely significant.

Games like Deathloop, Dirt5, Fortnite, Ratchet and Clank, Spiderman aren't employing the technology in that kind of use-case, last gen hardware is still holding development back... So it's often reserved for Ambient Occlusion, Reflections and Shadowing rather than lighting, it's a bolt-on extra rather than something built into the game from the very start.

Metro Exodus however does use Ray Traced Global Illumination and the difference is staggering.



The thing with Metro is that it's a port with enhancements, not built from the ground up to take advantage of the new hardware, that will come over the next few years as developers embrace the technology.
And yet Metro is still 60fps so that is a plus.

Given the Switch 2 will be derived from portable technology and existing in a portable form factor and will be a portable console first, we need to remember that expectations will be aligned to match.

Tegra Orin, which is a mobile SoC designed for Handhelds, Tablets and Phones has Ray Tracing cores. So if Nintendo opts for ORIN or newer, we are getting Ray Tracing.

Plus other ARM SoC's GPU blocks like ARM Immortalis, Mediatek HyperEngine, Snapdragon Gen8 have all started to embrace Ray Tracing to big effect.


And they are more capable than you think.



Evidence is in the proverbial pudding.




So yes. Ray Tracing is here. On mobile. And it absolutely works.

We also need to remember that Nintendo will (with a high probability) be using nVidia Tegra, in-case you aren't aware, nVidia is one of the big drivers and pioneers for Ray Tracing technology, performance and efficiency... Where-as the Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X are using AMD hardware which even on PC have Ray Tracing capabilities that leaves much to be desired due to a myriad of reasons.

Either way, once developers start building games with Ray Tracing in mind, rather than as an after-thought, we should expect great things... We saw it in the past with things like Tessellation, Pixel Shading, TnL where it was a bolt-on extra, rather than a technology employed from the very start.

Being a portable console is not an excuse in 2023/2024 to drop Ray Tracing with the technology being on the market in every form factor and market... Especially as the Switch 2 should be kicking the bucket around until around 2030.

I'll care about RT as soon as it does something other than cut my fps in half. Personally I'm more interested in 120 hz, until a developer demonstrates RT being something other than a gimmick.  Either way I'm excited about Nintendo's next hybrid.  I'm sure it will be a good jump against their current.

Couldn't agree more!

Ray traceing is stupidly demanding for what little visual benefits it gives. (cant use it with my pc)
Meanwhile..... upscaleing tech like DLSS (and fsr), allow for weaker hardware to punch above its weight (more impressive looking games).
To "ensure ports", it doesnt need to be able to play games from PS5/XSX with Raytraceing..... nintendo isnt going to make a console that powerfull.
They want to keep the Switch hybrid approach (my guess).

IF they aim for getting equal hardware to be able to do raytraceing, it would mean a return to a "console box", and not doing a handheld/hybrid.
Its not happending, and raytraceing isnt important (for a handheld, like wtf ).

Ray tracing can help the Switch 2 a lot ... just not in the way you would think. 

Lets say you're a Japanese developer like Capcom making lets say ... Monster Hunter 6 for Playstation 5 + XBox Series X. Now you deep down want a Switch 2 version too because you know it'll add several million in sales, but you can't build the game for the lower speced Switch 2 and not take advantage of the PS5/XBSX can you? 

Well ray-tracing is your perfect solution. Instead of pushing the PS5/XBSX versions to their theoretical limit and also ballooning your budget to get there, what you can do is simply turn on the ray tracing for the PS5/XBSX until the point where it maxes out the system's performance (which shouldn't take a lot as full blown ray tracing will cripple any PS5/XSX).

And then you just turn that off for the Switch 2, maybe focus a little bit more of getting the pre-baked lighting to match the ray traced version more closely ... and voila. You've got yourself a game that maxes out the PS5/XSX but is still playable and enjoyable (well assuming your game is enjoyable, ain't no lighting effects helping a game that isn't) on the Switch 2 also.

A PS5 is going to choke running even PS4 era games like Red Dead Redemption 2 when you crank ray tracing effects at 4K resolution native especially. Doesn't take a lot to bring the hardware to its knees. Ray tracing is also not just a one size fits all thing, like you can increase the fidelity and complexity of the ray tracing to the point where it kills your hardware basically. Like ray tracing on a higher end GPU (like a Nvidia 3090) looks better than a PS5/XSX on a game like Control, as one would expect. A lot of PC gaming enthusiasts laugh at PS5/XSX level ray tracing because it really can't do full blown ray tracing even on PS4 era games the way a good PC card can (it can do reflections ... but reflections, shadows, GI, etc. and the PC card starts to blow away the PS5). 

It's not even a "slash the frame rate in half!" thing ... it's worse than that. PS5/XSX can't even run last gen games (PS4 titles) at 4K resolution + 60 fps. The resolution has to be brought down to like 1440p on top of the frame rate being slashed to 30 fps. It's honestly great for Switch 2 ports, lol, because you effectively can just flip a switch and max out your PS5 performance even with old PS4 tier titles. 

Then read my prior post, watch the videos I provided. Clearly there is more to it than *just* cutting your proverbial hyperbole, fps in half.

Also, since when has Nintendo gamers cared about framerates?

Some of the best games on Switch are 30fps experiences like... Breath of the Wild, Tears of the Kingdom, Luigi's Mansion 3, Xenoblade, Animal Crossing, Monster Hunter, Octopath, Links Awakening, Mario Odyssey and more, which are all 30fps experiences and sold amazingly well.

Not only that, but just because you have fantastic hardware, does not, has not and will not ever guarantee 60fps. - It's a design choice on the developer, the SNES had 60fps games... And here we are today, 23 years later... And many games are still 30fps.
The SNES has 128kb ram, CPU@3.58Mhz.
The Switch has 4,194,304kb ram, 4 core CPU@1020Mhz.

Hardware isn't the issue, developer design goals are what determines frame-rates.

Which is why we still get Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X titles at 30fps. Developer design goals.

Holding back hardware feature sets because you are literally scared to receive a 30fps experience is absolutely bizarre, you are still going to get 30fps games either way. - I am even willing to put money on it.

You want 60fps? Get a PC and abandon consoles, especially handhelds.

However, Switch 2 needs hardware feature set parity with the Xbox Series X/S, Playstation 5 and PC, because that ultimately ensures cross-platform ports... And lets be honest, the Switch's 2 hardware is going to be portable and low-end, so it needs every little bit of help it can get in that regard.