Nintendo accidentally improved Switch emulation performance, thanks to Switch 2

Nintendo accidentally improved Switch emulation performance, thanks to Switch 2

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Credit: Curtis Joe / Android Authority
  • A recent update to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe also greatly improved emulation performance.
  • The update changed the game from 32-bit to 64-bit, enabling native code execution on Yuzu-based emulators.
  • The Switch 2 is winding down support for 32-bit games from the Wii U era and earlier.

Switch emulation has once again improved, but this time it’s thanks to the hard work of Nintendo’s own developers. Update 3.0.4 for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has inadvertently improved emulation performance, and it’s all thanks to the Nintendo Switch 2.

The patch notes for the update are slim, but the download size of well over 4GB hints at another change behind the scenes. In preparation for the Nintendo Switch 2, the game has reportedly been secretly converted to 64-bit (via Senhor Linguica). This is almost certainly tied to the ARM Cortex A78C cores in the Switch 2 CPU, which do not support 32-bit code execution.