How the Nintendo Switch 2 Stacks Up Against the PS5 and Xbox Series X

The Nintendo Switch 2 is astir here, and 1 of the biggest questions connected everyone’s lips is: however does the console stack up against current-generation consoles from Sony and Microsoft?

While the nonstop specifications of the Switch 2 hardware are inactive thing of a mystery, we tin infer a batch from the authoritative specifications, gameplay footage that Nintendo has shown, and chip-maker NVIDIA’s ain statements.

The Switch 2 Can’t Match the Power of a Home Console

The Switch 2 is simply a hybrid console that’s lone somewhat larger than its forebear, designed with some portable and docked play successful mind. It would beryllium unreasonable to expect it to battalion the aforesaid magnitude of powerfulness arsenic a overmuch larger gaming instrumentality that’s designed to beryllium nether the TV and ever beryllium connected to power.

Sony and Microsoft turned to AMD’s Zen 2 architecture for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series consoles, which is based connected exertion that initially came to marketplace successful 2019 (with the consoles released the pursuing year). These machines stock astir the aforesaid specifications, including a full representation excavation of 16GB that’s shared betwixt some the CPU and GPU (Sony’s 2024 revision, the PlayStation 5 Pro, gets a velocity bump successful this department).

By comparison, the Switch uses overmuch newer customized NVIDIA architecture, which is rumored to beryllium based connected the company’s Tegra T239 chip. This is mobile silicon, designed with powerfulness ratio successful caput for applications similar smartphones and tablets. Notably, the archetypal Switch utilized a customized Tegra X1 processor. Current numbers constituent to a 12GB full representation excavation for the Switch 2, a large betterment connected the 4GB successful the archetypal console.

Power gully is possibly 1 of the biggest deciders erstwhile it comes to performance. Considering the Switch 2 is designed astir the conception of portable play, Nintendo needs it to beryllium capable to sip powerfulness successful bid to compression retired arsenic overmuch artillery beingness arsenic possible. At anyplace from 2 to six-and-a-half hours, the Switch 2’s reported artillery beingness is 1 of its biggest disappointments.

Like the original, the Switch 2 volition gully much powerfulness and amp up the show erstwhile docked (it besides kicks retired capable vigor that Nintendo saw consciousness to enactment a instrumentality successful the dock). But ultimately, a portable console volition devour acold little vigor than what is fundamentally a PC that lives nether your TV.

It’s mostly expected that the Switch 2 volition execute akin levels of show arsenic the PlayStation 4, and possibly slightly amended show than the Steam Deck. Nintendo saw acceptable to equip the console with a adaptable refresh complaint 120Hz show and has touted 4K docked output (with HDR enactment successful some modes). The aforesaid “4K 120Hz” promises were made of the PS5 and Xbox Series X generation.

Though Sony and Microsoft person each had their 120Hz moments, they’re acold from the norm. Maybe Nintendo successful peculiar volition beryllium the maestro of its ain hardware, an breathtaking imaginable fixed the show in-house teams managed to execute successful titles similar Tears of the Kingdom and Super Mario Odyssey. As per the Metroid Prime 4: Beyond announcement, the institution has already confirmed 2 graphics modes: prime that runs astatine 4K with 60 FPS, and show that runs astatine 1080p with 120 FPS.

Perhaps the astir important damper was the show we saw from third-party titles. In its April reveal, Nintendo showed Elden Ring and the Final Fantasy 7 Remake moving astatine 30 FPS with a solution of lone 1080p according to the pixel-peepers astatine Digital Foundry.

Nintendo Has an Upscaling Trick Up Its Sleeve

So however is Nintendo going to deed 1080p successful portable mode oregon 4K erstwhile hooked up to a TV without severely compromising performance? All signs constituent to hardware-accelerated upscaling.

NVIDIA has confirmed DLSS enactment is making its mode into the Switch 2, and adjacent boasts that the exertion is cardinal to getting “10x” the show of the archetypal hybrid. Take that past assertion with a pinch of brackish considering the lukewarm reception that NVIDIA’s 50-Series GPUs received.

Hardware-accelerated upscaling efficiently allows the console to render games astatine little interior resolutions. Nintendo tin past leverage NVIDIA’s Deep Learning Super Sampling exertion to reconstruct a higher-quality representation successful existent time.

This exertion volition apt beryllium indispensable for the Switch 2 to execute its lofty people of 4K output astatine up to 120 FPS. NVIDIA adjacent talks astir ray tracing successful its blog post, which is apt to rise a fewer eyebrows. The committedness of ray tracing successful adjacent Sony and Microsoft’s astir almighty consoles has gone mostly unrealized truthful we’ll judge it erstwhile we spot it.

The basal PS5 and each Xbox Series consoles deficiency immoderate signifier of hardware-accelerated upscaling, though bundle implementations similar AMD’s FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) are utilized by immoderate games.

The lone different console with hardware-accelerated upscaling is the PS5 Pro, which uses Sony’s ain PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR), which Sony is utilizing successful an effort to present prime mode graphics astatine show mode framework rates. So far, the exertion has received a bully reception which bodes good for the little almighty Switch 2.

The Switch 2 Lags successful Terms of Storage

Switch 2 lone ships with 256GB interior storage, whereas the archetypal PS5 has 825GB, the PS5 Pro has 2TB, and the Xbox Series X has 1TB (with a 2TB exemplary connected offer). It’s a shame that Nintendo didn’t up this to astatine slightest 512GB, though the Switch 2 supports retention enlargement via microSD Express card.

This could suggest that the interior retention is constricted to the aforesaid speeds arsenic the slower microSD Express standard. Unlike the comparatively dilatory removable retention utilized successful Nintendo’s archetypal Switch console, microSD Express relies connected a zippy PCI Express interface, bringing it much successful enactment with the faster SSDs recovered successful modern consoles.

microSD Express offers “full duplex” transportation speeds of anyplace from 985MB/s to 3,940MB/s. That means that information tin beryllium written and work astatine the aforesaid time. Comparatively, Sony requires a work velocity of 5500MB/s for drives attached to its NVMe enlargement slot. This is the minimum modular required for modern PS5 games. The Series X has astir fractional of this bandwidth available.

Current microSD Express cards lone connection speeds astatine the little extremity of the spectrum, with the SanDisk listing apical speeds astatine 880MB/s for reads and 650MB/s for writes. This falls importantly abbreviated of the speeds seen successful the PS5 and Xbox Series consoles.

This could contiguous a occupation erstwhile porting games from the PS5 oregon Series X procreation that beryllium connected important amounts of bandwidth. Trade-offs could travel successful the signifier of lower-quality assets (like textures), and slower loading times.

Nintendo Will Charge You for GameChat

The Nintendo Switch has a caller C button, which is however you entree Nintendo’s marque caller societal diagnostic called GameChat. This is the company’s instrumentality connected an app similar Discord, offering a mode for up to 12 radical to pass successful a league astatine once. The diagnostic supports dependable comms, webcam chat utilizing an optional camera attachment, and the quality for 4 members of the chat to stock their gameplay.

GameChat isn’t babelike connected everyone playing the aforesaid crippled but alternatively exists arsenic a spot to bent retired careless of what you’re playing. It’s a neat idea, with 1 large drawback. GameChat requires an progressive Nintendo Switch Online rank (starting astatine $49.99/year), which efficaciously makes it a paid feature. Early adopters tin usage GameChat for escaped until March 31, 2026.

Sony and Microsoft person their ain enactment systems for getting unneurotic and playing with friends, and these tin beryllium utilized escaped of charge. While they don’t see the aforesaid video-sharing features that Nintendo GameChat has, they enactment successful mostly the aforesaid mode for dependable connection (Xbox supports enactment sizes of 12, portion PlayStation ups this to 16).

It’s besides worthy noting that some Sony and Microsoft’s existent and last-generation consoles each person Discord enactment baked-in. You tin connect Discord to an Xbox oregon sign into the work connected a PS5 and bask dependable chat connection close from your console’s dashboard (free of charge).

Considering each platforms complaint for online play and you’ll apt beryllium drawn to GameChat for staying successful interaction successful multiplayer experiences, this is possibly not the large drawback that it initially seems to be. Nintendo’s online offering is comparatively cheap, adjacent if you opt for the pricier $79.99 Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pass to get entree to much goodies.

Prices Are Evenly Matched, With One Caveat

A PS5 Slim Digital Edition presently retails for $399.99, portion a regular Slim with a disc thrust costs $449.99. The PS5 Pro costs a batch much astatine $699.99, and that doesn’t adjacent see a disk drive. The Xbox Series X starts astatine $499.99 for the 1TB mentation with a disc drive, but you tin prevention $50 if you privation an all-digital achromatic console instead.

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  PlayStation 5 Slim Digital Edition (PS5)

  The PS5 Slim Digital Edition is the cheapest introduction constituent to Sony's current-generation title.

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  Xbox Series X

  The Series X is the astir almighty current-generation console and offers entree to Microsoft Game Pass for a ample room of subscription games retired of the box. It besides doubles arsenic a UHD Blu-Ray player!

The Switch 2 starts astatine $449.99, with a time-limited Mario Kart World bundle disposable for $499.99. There is nary exclusively integer mentation of the Switch 2. You tin prevention immoderate wealth by bringing your aged Switch accessories crossed with you.

The lone drawback with the Switch 2 is Nintendo’s announcement that immoderate Switch 2 games volition outgo $80, a $10 premium connected the already-established MSRP of $70 introduced with the PlayStation 5. Since Nintendo games thin to clasp their value, there’s a bully accidental that Switch 2 games volition outgo you much implicit the beingness of the console than comparable PlayStation oregon Xbox titles (especially if you’re sticking to Nintendo’s exclusives).

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The Switch 2 looks similar a large upgrade for anyone who loved the archetypal console and is looking for much of the same. For many, the gully of Nintendo franchises similar Mario, Zelda, and Animal Crossing volition beryllium capable to seal the deal. If you privation to play these games, you’ll apt person nary prime but to outpouring for a Switch 2 astatine immoderate point.