Nintendo Switch 2 will reportedly perform as well as Steam Deck, but its software may hold it back

The first-gen Nintendo Switch launched in 2017, and even though it's still getting new games, the hardware started to show its age long ago. Its successor is expected to come with much more capable hardware, and Matthew Cassells of Alderon Games has shared some insights about it.

In the latest More's Law Is Dead Broken Silicon podcast, Matthew says that the Nintendo Switch 2 could be on par with the Steam Deck when it comes to performance. However, there are concerns about the gaming handheld's software. It could hold the hardware back.

Matthew's concern regarding the software limitations is valid, as consoles tend to come with security mechanisms and carious locks designed to prevent piracy. These can take a toll on the system's performance. Besides these, the Nintendo Switch 2 could have even more limitations that could hinder the handheld's gaming performance.

On the current-gen Switch (available on Amazon), the software doesn't allow games to write too much data. This is to prevent the flash storage from wearing out quickly, but it can hinder resource-hungry games from performing as well as they should be performing considering the relatively potent hardware. There's also a patch size limitation, making it hard for developers to push updates for their games.

Speaking of resource-hungry games, the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 is expected to feature 12 GB of RAM. As we've already seen on modded Switch consoles, the jump from the original 4 GB to 8 GB makes a big difference. This should eliminate one of the limitations of the current-gen console for a very noticeable performance boost.

The above is the detailed content of Nintendo Switch 2 will reportedly perform as well as Steam Deck, but its software may hold it back. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!