Nintendo Co. plans to adopt an update Nvidia Corp. chip with better graphics and processing for a new Switch model planned for the end of the year shopping season, according to people familiar with the matter.
The new iteration of the Switch will support Nvidia’s Deep Learning Super Sampling, or DLSS, a new rendering technology that uses artificial intelligence to deliver higher fidelity graphics more efficiently. That will allow the console, which is also configured for a Upgrading the OLED display, to reproduce gameplay footage in 4K quality when connected to a TV, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the plan is not public.
The new chipset of the American company will also bring a better CPU and greater memory. DLSS support will require new code to be added to games, so it will be used primarily to improve graphics in upcoming titles, the people, including various game developers, said. Bloomberg News previously reported that the new Switch is likely to include a 7-inch OLED display of Samsung Display Co. and combine the launch of the console with a host of new games.
Representatives for Nvidia and Nintendo declined to comment.
The Nintendo Switch game release schedule remains nearly empty for the second half of the year, though the company announced Tuesday a new partnership with Niantic Inc. in augmented reality applications for smartphones, which will start with a Pikmin app in 2021.
Read more: Nintendo Said To Target Record Year On Switch, Game Sales
Analysts expect the new Switch to be offered at a higher price than the current model’s $ 299, a level unchanged since the Switch’s initial launch in 2017. Matthew Kanterman of Bloomberg Intelligence forecasts an increase of up to $ 100.
“$ 349.99 will increase the value proposition of the device, but I still think Nintendo can drive strong demand even to $ 399.99,” he said.
DLSS was first introduced as an image enhancement feature in 2018 and remains exclusive to Nvidia graphics cards. It’s an uncharacteristically advanced addition for Kyoto-based Nintendo, which has tended to go for a more mature and lower-cost technology than its rivals. Sony Corp. and Microsoft Corp. adopts with its consoles. The new Switch will still lag behind the overall performance capabilities of its more expensive rivals.
“What we value is how much a new technology contributes to the fun experience and how comfortably a consumer can play,” Nintendo’s Senior Executive Director Ko Shiota said last year.