The Nintendo Switch 2 is a highly anticipated console, especially with Nintendo having gone a significant amount of time since the first Switch came out (to much acclaim). While the game library and gameplay experience are what typically attract gamers to the Nintendo world, good performance is also a nice addition to the package.
NVIDIA, known for its wallet-busting but impressive GeForce RTX GPUs and data center products, is behind the Switch 2's system-on-chip (SoC). If a leaked image shared by X user @Kurnalsalts (which was later removed) is any indication, then the exact chip is NVIDIA's T239 Tegra silicon, which is an ARM SoC design.
While leaked images should always be taken with a grain of salt and be viewed as speculation, it's interesting to see what potentially may be under the hood. That said, with preorders already sold out, this is news that is unlikely to alter buying decisions in either direction.
NVIDIA T239 chip on Switch 2, shared by @Kurnalsalts on X
Nintendo has a much different console strategy than either Sony or Microsoft. The primary focus is purely on the gaming experience and tapping into its deep library of nostalgic characters and maximizing its intellectual property. The original Switch was somewhat underpowered in the realm of modern consoles, but still optimized well enough to give us experiences such as Zelda: Tears of The Kingdom. Gamers were quickly noticing the aging hardware, however, with choppy frame rates sometimes accompanying certain scenes.
The Switch 2 is likely to have good performance overall, though still not par with the PlayStation 5 Pro or Xbox Series X. The buzz words around the Switch 2's performance centers on its ability to do 4K resolution when docked, and achieve higher frame rates up to 120 fps. This won't always be the case, and it is mode-dependent, of course.
Many current titles will have Switch 2 optimized upgrade versions available for gamers to take advantage of the newer performance capabilities. Even if you own the actual game, Nintendo appears to be charging an upgrade fee to experience the higher-tier performance on the Switch 2.
The Nintendo Switch 2 went up for preorder this week, with a June 5th release date. Priced at $450, it comes at a higher entry-level than previous Nintendo consoles. Its $80 Mario Kart World also drew some criticism from consumers, but it is still likely to sell just as fast as Nintendo can produce them. According to WCCFTECH, the post with the shared image was most of the info we've received, so we have to piece together the other hints as to what the Switch 2 will ultimately have under the hood.
