The Nintendo Switch 2 may have an AI feature you didn't see coming

Summary

A new Nintendo patent outlines possible AI-powered gaming upscaler tech.
This patent was filed back in July, but was only just published earlier this week.
Artificial intelligence-based upscaling has been taking the gaming industry by storm in recent years.

A new AI-based upscaling system has been patented by Nintendo, as spotted by industry insider Laura Kate Dale on BlueSky (via Kotaku). Reportedly, this patent was first filed back on July 13, 2023, but has only just been published in a public manner as of December 31, 2024.

Filed in the US under the document titled ‘Systems and Methods for Machine Learned Image Conversion,’ the patent details the use of neural networks to automatically enhance software visuals using AI algorithms.

AI video game upscalers have grown popular in recent years, as they’re able to generate extra frames of detail and resolution without the need to heavily tax the system’s graphics processing unit (GPU). Sony’s PS5 Pro comes with its own proprietary PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR) tech, and Microsoft’s Auto Super Resolution provides a similar solution for the Xbox.

It should be noted that large tech and entertainment companies file patents on a regular basis, and that the vast majority of said patents don’t directly translate into new real-world products.

It’s interesting to see Nintendo flirting with the prospect of utilizing AI in this fashion. The ability to upscale visuals without the need for brute force processing is certainly compelling, as is the potential to use the tech to keep game file sizes compact and easy to fit on (pricey) flash game cards.

“Perhaps the most interesting piece of this, after a lengthy read, is that one example use case given is explicitly to reduce overall game sizes, to fit a modern game onto ‘smaller capacity physical media,’ e.g. Switch carts, which get exponentially more expensive for larger cart capacities,” says Dale in a recent BlueSky thread.

Elsewhere, Nintendo has been more conservative in its approach to machine learning than some of its peers, particularly in regard to generative AI. In fact, the company has explicitly come out in opposition to the tech being used for certain game development purposes.

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Nintendo Switch

Nintendo’s flagship two-in-one hybrid game console, the Switch features a massive catalog of first-party, third-party, and indie game titles, all in a convenient and novel form factor.

With the Switch successor console nearing launch, Nintendo has its work cut out for it

The Nintendo Switch has proven a resounding success, but it’s unclear whether the company can catch lightning in a bottle yet again

In hindsight, Nintendo’s decision to consolidate both its handheld and its home console gaming divisions under one roof was a stroke of genius. The company has been able to double down on crafting a single, unified entertainment platform, and lifetime sales metrics speak for themselves.

What Nintendo does have this time around, however, is a pre-established online storefront.

With the successor to the Nintendo Switch, the Japanese gaming giant certainly has its work cut out for it. Unlike with the original Switch, the company no longer has a large back catalog of underappreciated Wii U titles to use as padding during content droughts. What Nintendo does have this time around, however, is a pre-established online storefront in the form of the digital eShop.

In order to keep prices at a palatable level, as well as to maintain a somewhat reasonable battery life metric, I expect the Switch 2 to ship with relatively modest technical specifications. Reportedly, the NvidiaTegra 239 system on a chip (SoC) will serve as the brains of the operation, which would put the console’s power output somewhere in the ballpark of Sony’s PlayStation 4 Pro.

As a compromise, it makes all the sense in the world for Nintendo to turn to AI-based upscaling tech.

As a compromise, it makes all the sense in the world for Nintendo to turn to AI-based upscaling tech to enhance its next-gen gaming experience. The company has been working closely with Nvidia for many years now, and so it wouldn’t be surprising to see a Switch 2 with, say, Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) support out of the box.

It’s unclear whether this particular AI upscaling patent is an entirely in-house Nintendo technology, or whether it’ll ever come to fruition in a shipping product. In any case, new details will likely be revealed when the Nintendo Switch successor console is formally announced before the end of March 2025.