Nintendo Switch's Lowest Resolution Games - 480p, 360p and Lower - Could Switch 2 Back Compat Help?

We're nearing the end of the Nintendo Switch's lifecycle and a successor is hotly anticipated to arrive in 2023 - but the catalogue of games on the existing system is impressive. However, getting top-tier games to work on an older mobile chipset is challenging - and resolution is often the biggest cut. So what are the lowest resolution Switch games? And could Switch 2/Super Switch back-compat improve the existing catalogue of games in terms of image quality and pixel counts? Oliver Mackenzie reports.

[jamiepogue]

I always thought the next Switch would be backwards compatible. There are so many games with dynamic resolution built in. It would instantly transform the library I think.

[chaoscontroller]

I once heard a rumor that it was Capcom's idea for the Nintendo Switch to have 4GB of RAM. Apparently, the Switch was going to ship with only 2GB of retail RAM, but Capcom told them that would make porting games to Switch difficult.

[ChristopherToro]

“Near the expiration date” is what Nintendo calls a second wind.

[Derekmeetsworld]

"the switch is close to it's expiry date"

Writing this 2 years later from this video getting published lol. I'm surprised Nintendo hasn't issued a copyright strike yet

[ChiplockRock]

I really hope Nintendo finds a way to make their next console retro compatible with the Nintendo Switch, and make the games run better on it. The Switch has an amazing library, but it's capabilities were a big problem from the beginning.

[Nnamz]

Man, I put 130 hours into The Witcher 3 on Switch even after finishing it on PS4. There was something so magical about playing a game like that ton a handheld. I didn't mind the resolution and minor framerate issues.

I then got a Steam Deck and now I'm playing it for the 3rd time. Holy moly what a difference LOL.

[SquintyGears]

The most interesting part of this list for me was the games that intentionally used lower resolutions for other reasons than performance

[floppa]

The fact that devs made many games work with that CPU is nuts. Its basically a Snapdragon 810, a rather badly regarded 2015 Smartphone Chip.

[WigWoo]

I'd love if the next one is called the

Super Nintendo Switch

[briengakaplan-b]

To put in perspective, the Switch is only about twice as powerful as an Xbox 360, the fact they got even the few AAA titles to work on it boggles the mind.

[peacemyheart]

I hope the new switch will be backward compatible

[marcmcphee]

For the authentic Switch experience….all Nintendo Directs will now be available on VHS 📼

[squeenixu]

there is a setting in a short hike to bump up the resolution to 480p docked, although this is limited to 360p in handheld. but this is only to make sure that the game has no weirdly scaled pixels, as 480p does not fit into the 720p screen. little touches like this help the game keep its sharpness and visual integrity, i love it!

[MmntechCa]

Switch might possibly be my favourite handheld ever, and is definitely in my top five consoles. And I'm still impressed by some of the better "impossible ports" like Witcher 3. But yeah, the handheld market has definitely changed a lot in the last couple years. The Deck is already offering Xbox One performance, and those Chinese models from companies like Aya are getting dangerously close to the Series S in their boost modes. Of course battery life is a lot worse, so that's your tradeoff. I suspect if they stick with Nvidia, they'll use the Tegra Orin NX in 10w mode. Which has an Ampere GPU with up to 2.0 TFLOPS FP32 performance. You can probably realistically cut that in half. But that would still make it substantially more powerful than the Switch. Plus it'll support DLSS due to having the required Tensor cores. Then again, this is Nintendo we're talking about. Their next console could be a stand up arcade cabinet that projects video on the ceiling, and uses RISC-V, for all we know.

[saneedla]

it's a shame that switch doesn't have analogue outputs. these low res ports would look nice on some SD CRTs :D

[datacentre]

Should be rating each of these on a scale from 0 to 1080 Ps

[Dragoon]

This was cool, would love to see a similar video on the highest resolution games!

[bobdeinterlace]

I love when modern games dip below the resolution of games on the Sega Mega Drive.

[AcidDotDrop]

No way in hell does Nintendo not jump on the AI upscaling train. With Nvidia making the SOC, being able to use the Switch as the perfect showcase for thei DLSS tech in the mass market, additionally to FSR being open and making big improvements, this would enable Nintendo to save massively on expensive hardware power and cut the price in this sector significantly while being able to offer competitive levels of visuals and perfomance. Funnily enough, I'd say the SoC as well as storage are not the problem but Nintendo spending enough on RAM... they were already cheaping out with the Switch before Capcom stepped in and made them double the RAM. Let's hope Nvidia is making them a good deal so Nintendo can spend more on RAM, next time.

[ELwhaaat]

A Short Hike on PC has a great settings menu for that pixelated look. It's a hard choice between playing it at super sharp 4k or at a more stylised lower resolution.