Activision was told last year that the Nintendo Switch 2 would have PS4-like performance

[Daniel Sims]

The big picture: Recent reports have continued to provide the larger picture of Nintendo's upcoming successor to the Switch. The company has briefed several third-party studios about the next-generation hardware. Amid its impending merger with Microsoft, Activision has shown increased interest in it.

Newly unsealed emails from Microsoft's legal battle with the FTC have revealed that Activision and Nintendo met in December 2022 to discuss the as-of-yet-unannounced follow-up to the Switch. Activision's comments suggest that the new portable system will feature graphics and performance on par with the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

As Microsoft has struggled with US and UK regulators and has been unable to secure its $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, it's repeatedly pledged to make Activision's massively successful Call of Duty franchise available on non-Microsoft platforms.

Most of that conversation has centered on continuing support for PlayStation systems, but Microsoft and Activision also mentioned bringing the series to Nintendo.

Few Call of Duty titles have supported Nintendo platforms over the franchise's 20-year history, usually because the company's hardware typically isn't up to the task. This dynamic may change with the emergence of the successor to the Nintendo Switch, which rumors indicate may launch in the second half of 2024.

17 Years of Call of Duty: One of the most influential and persistent video game franchises of all time

After the Activision-Nintendo meeting on December 15, 2022, internal Activision emails said the "NG Switch" (NG likely meaning "next-generation") features performance closely aligned with the PS4 and Xbox One, which would be a significant improvement over the current console released in 2017.

Activision CEO Bobby Kotick testified in the FTC v. Microsoft hearing that he wanted to support Nintendo depending on its future hardware.

The revelation comes after Nintendo demoed the next-gen Switch to developers behind closed doors at Gamescom. Sources say that the company showcased The Matrix Awakens on hardware with specs similar to the new system, exhibiting graphics "comparable" to the PlayStation 5 and Series X.

The word "comparable" could mean many things, and it certainly doesn't guarantee horsepower similar to Sony and Microsoft's current-generation consoles.

Nintendo's demo allegedly included Nvidia's DLSS upsampling technology, which could allow a new Switch to punch above its weight. Furthermore, it's unclear what other architectural modernizations the system could include that were unavailable when the PS4 and Xbox One were designed.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/100193-activision-learned-last-year-nintendo-switch-successor-would.html

 

[m4a4]

Nintendo's demonstration allegedly included Nvidia's DLSS upsampling technology, which could allow a new Switch to punch above its weight.

I'd bet on this. Would allow getting closer to current gen graphics with less effort by Nintendo. And since they're not known for cutting edge graphics anyways, it'll be more than enough of an upgrade for their customer base.

And then it would only somewhat catch up to the Steam Deck and others. I bet those will still be better to run the games off of once emulation has matured a bit.

 

[yRaz]

I'd bet on this. Would allow getting closer to current gen graphics with less effort by Nintendo. And since they're not known for cutting edge graphics anyways, it'll be more than enough of an upgrade for their customer base.

And then it would only somewhat catch up to the Steam Deck and others. I bet those will still be better to run the games off of once emulation has matured a bit.

I like to think that similar devices, such as the steam deck, has showed that there is real demand for a more powerful portable gaming system. People have been asking for them for years, but with Valve and Asus coming out with more powerful systems that are actually selling, Nintendo might finally be reacting to market demand.

 

[saladbarsmash]

So they're a generation behind in graphics, just in time for the PS6 and new Xbox to come out in a year or two and then be 10 years behind.

 

[Gastec]

"The word "comparable" could mean many things"
Indeed, and in this case it means they've compared Nintendo Switch 2 graphics on one screen with PlayStation 5 and/or Series X graphics on another screen, ergo comparable graphics. On a shamefur dispray.

 

[hahahanoobs]

So they're a generation behind in graphics, just in time for the PS6 and new Xbox to come out in a year or two and then be 10 years behind.

They'll be more than fine. Nintendo focuses on the games rather than gimmicks.

 

[GhostLegion]

They'll be more than fine. Nintendo focuses on the games rather than gimmicks.

Right....because the Wii wasn't a gimmick? Don't get me wrong, I loved the Wii system but to suggest that Nintendo *doesn't* use "gimmicks" to sell its systems is a hollow argument. Same goes for the Switch actually, they introduced a novel controller scheme to help sell the system.

 

[amghwk]

Nintendo still maintaining it's 1-Gen-Behind trend. No doubt, the quality of Nintendo games are good, but as expensive as games of next-gen consoles.

 

[toooooot]

With mobile gpus getting so amazingly powerful, one would think desktop graphics would also get amazingly stronger or at least cheaper. Nope, rebranded lower end cards occupying higher end models.

 

[AndreV]

So they're a generation behind in graphics, just in time for the PS6 and new Xbox to come out in a year or two and then be 10 years behind.

You confuse mid-gen refresh(2024) with the next gen(2027/28)

 

[dangh]

Great news! It means easy emulation on steam deck or other handhelds.
If Nintendo won't address usability issues (Netflix anyone? Spotify? we are not in 20 century anymore) then this decision will be akin to recent Unity suicide...

 

[dangh]

So they're a generation behind in graphics, just in time for the PS6 and new Xbox to come out in a year or two and then be 10 years behind.

This is ps4, not ps4 pro. This mean, they are already 10 years behind, and next year will make 11.

 

[Vulcanproject]

PS4 performance seems realistic from 15 watts these days. Possibly more, but depending on ultimate process used and the clocks attainable. One rumour says that it will be built on Samsung 8nm, which is not exactly cutting edge but Nintendo do care more about costs. A contradictory one says it'll be on 5nm TSMC, which would be considerably superior.

I would hope they would target 1080p for most games in a handheld mode and then use DLSS to go to 4K from there docked. It would look pretty decent if implemented at a low level with tools for every developer on the system.

 

[hahahanoobs]

Right....because the Wii wasn't a gimmick? Don't get me wrong, I loved the Wii system but to suggest that Nintendo *doesn't* use "gimmicks" to sell its systems is a hollow argument. Same goes for the Switch actually, they introduced a novel controller scheme to help sell the system.

Read what I said again.

 

[EdmondRC]

I think a realistic maximum handheld mode would be about 3.2 TFlops if rumors are true that it will have 2048 cores and operate under 800mhz in handheld mode, perhaps up to 4TFlops 1Ghz in docked mode. Yes, that's probably at best 2X the PS4 and 1/4-1/3 the PS5. That would be realistic and on par with the original Switch that was about 1/3 the PS4 in terms of graphics capabilities. It would be extremely unlikely to get a Switch with 5+ TFlops given that the Orin AGX requires 60W to accomplish that. Unless Nvidia and Nintendo have a custom SoC that is not just a slight variant of Orin, I think 3.2 TFlops handheld is the absolute best we can hope for, but could definitely be less. This would also still comport with the Activision document that says the console is in "closer alignment with gen 8 consoles" which 2X PS4 would still be much closer to PS4 than PS5.

The Switch 2 will likely not target render resolutions over 1080p and with DLSS it might be able to pull off 4K upscaling from a 900p render resolution and look okay.

 

[EdmondRC]

I'd bet on this. Would allow getting closer to current gen graphics with less effort by Nintendo. And since they're not known for cutting edge graphics anyways, it'll be more than enough of an upgrade for their customer base.

And then it would only somewhat catch up to the Steam Deck and others. I bet those will still be better to run the games off of once emulation has matured a bit.

I think DLSS is a given at this point. Seems like that was all but officially confirmed after Games Con. And, if we are being realistic, no handheld is going to be capable of high render resolutions, above 1080p, in modern games. My guess is that Nintendo utilizes DLSS in both handheld and docked mode if for no other reason than to finally have good AA. Let's hope that Nintendo has a 1080p handheld screen using DLSS to upscale 720p to 900p render resolutions which would look great on a small 1080p screen. Then hopefully a docked mode that will allow 900p-1080p render resolutions to be upscaled to 4K.

 

[GhostLegion]

Read what I said again.

Alright...and my point still stands. Why don't you actually explain how you think I'm wrong or misinterpreting what you are saying instead of acting condescending?

 

[Michiel]

Right....because the Wii wasn't a gimmick? Don't get me wrong, I loved the Wii system but to suggest that Nintendo *doesn't* use "gimmicks" to sell its systems is a hollow argument. Same goes for the Switch actually, they introduced a novel controller scheme to help sell the system.

A "gimmick" implies something that is used to attract attention without actually having any substance behind it.
When a feature like the Wii's motion controls is so central to the design philosophy of the games (at least the first party ones) on that system, it's not a "gimmick".
Same for the Switch: the fact that it's a hand-held/console hybrid is not a "gimmick" when it actually works and the games reflect the design philosophy of the system.
You could argue that fancy graphics are more of a gimmick than Nintendo's hardware designs (although I do recognise that something like 60 fps vs 30 fps does have an impact on gameplay and how games feel).
I'll also say that it's a bit of a grey area. Obviously the Wii had many games where motion controls were, let's say, implemented in a gimmicky manner (without much thought or substance behind it, or badly and frustratingly implemented), but I wouldn't say that of the first party games. When playing Mario Galaxy, Skyward Sword or even the Wii version of Metroid Prime, the motion controls felt very natural and added something to the experience that you wouldn't get with a regular controller.

 

[GhostLegion]

A "gimmick" implies something that is used to attract attention without actually having any substance behind it.
When a feature like the Wii's motion controls is so central to the design philosophy of the games (at least the first party ones) on that system, it's not a "gimmick".
Same for the Switch: the fact that it's a hand-held/console hybrid is not a "gimmick" when it actually works and the games reflect the design philosophy of the system.
You could argue that fancy graphics are more of a gimmick than Nintendo's hardware designs (although I do recognise that something like 60 fps vs 30 fps does have an impact on gameplay and how games feel).
I'll also say that it's a bit of a grey area. Obviously the Wii had many games where motion controls were, let's say, implemented in a gimmicky manner (without much thought or substance behind it, or badly and frustratingly implemented), but I wouldn't say that of the first party games. When playing Mario Galaxy, Skyward Sword or even the Wii version of Metroid Prime, the motion controls felt very natural and added something to the experience that you wouldn't get with a regular controller.

I would say that I was applying an alternate definition of the word gimmick. You use the first part and I use the second part (I'm using Merriam-webster's dictionary)
c: a trick or device used to attract business or attention
or even
b: an ingenious and usually new scheme or angle
I think either definition of the word could apply here

I would say that the the motion controls, however substantive to the experience, were novel and designed to attract attention to the product. It was a good gimmick and I enjoyed using the Wii.