Welcome to the latest edition of DF Direct Weekly – Digital Foundry’s regular, scheduled show discussing the latest gaming and tech news. In an all-too-predictable storyline, we finished filming this one several hours before the latest PlayStation 5 Pro rumors surfaced, but we’re looking at them as I write this. For this week’s show, we’re focusing on the latest trailer for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, its associated custom PlayStation 5 console, as well as the first of what’s likely to be many fake Switch 2s. This one isn’t particularly compelling, but I thought it might be interesting to share our current thoughts on what we think is real and what definitely isn’t.

First, let’s quickly discuss the PS5 Pro rumors that we weren’t able to include in the Direct. I think the “Trinity Project” story is at least somewhat believable. Most of the hardware leaks that emerge are more wish fulfillments than actually usable products. The Viola APU hinted at for the PS5 Pro apparently has 60 compute units, possibly with four disabled. That would only be four more CPUs than the Xbox Series X, so in terms of one key area of ​​spending – the main processor – it seems affordable. The move to a likely 5nm production process also means the APU could operate at higher clock speeds. About 10.2 TF of GPU compute in PS5 Pro adds up to about 18.6 TF, assuming 56 CPUs are running at about 2.6 GHz, compared to 2.2 GHz in PS5. Theoretically, this would increase to 37.3 TF with RDNA 3’s dual-problem FP32 functionality (but don’t think its real-world use in games has proven limited so far).

The Switch 2 “leak” last week showed off an insanely large display, standard Switch controllers in an unconvincing mount, and a decidedly un-Nintendo user interface. What was palpable was the complete lack of imagination. And that’s the thing. At this point, we have a pretty solid understanding of what the Switch 2 will actually be like. We’re totally confident that it’ll be powered by a new Nvidia SoC, probably the T239 first mentioned by the most reliable leaker of them all – kopite7kimi. Expect eight ARM A78 CPU cores, a likely 128-bit memory interface, and an Ampere-class GPU with CUDA core counts in the 1536-2048 range, plus a couple of custom additions that have been suggested in Nvidia LinkedIn profiles and oblique mentions in Nvidia Linux updates. At this point, DLSS2 support seems very likely, as does RT support – although the high power requirements of ray tracing may see limited use.

• 00:00:58 News 01: The Spider-Man 2 trailer is out
• 00:20:48 News 02: Watch out for fake Switch 2 leaks!
• 00:35:09 News 03: RTX 4060 Ti 16 GB launched
• 00:44:31 News 04: An improbable mini Sega Saturn console?
• 00:50:15 News 05: Dolphin emulator skips Steam
• 00:58:01 Supporter Q1: Have you considered comparing CoD on Steam Deck to determine if it’s “too big for Switch”?
• 01:00:49 Supporter Q2: Should Sony include a wired option for its streaming-based Project Q handheld?
• 01:03:13 Supporter Q3: Could Intel enter the console market?
• 01:08:12 Supporter Q4: Which Japanese-only Sega Saturn games would you recommend to someone who doesn’t speak Japanese?
• 01:13:58 Supporter Q5: What old game media would you like to see re-released in better quality?
• 01:21:25 Supporter Q6: Digital Foundry turns 18! What do you think of DF after all these years?

Historically, what defines the dodgy leak of Nintendo hardware is the pure optimism of the leaker. Development kits booted with the best of the best graphics hardware, clock speeds that are totally unachievable for a mobile device, comparisons to current consoles that just don’t make sense. The reality is that Nintendo would almost always trade decent battery life for game frame rates – the logic being that in every type of console, developers will work with what they’re given. Ever since the Wii, every Nintendo leak has had to come with some level of expectation management and plausibility assessment!

For me, the big question mark surrounding Switch 2 isn’t really about the specs themselves, but more about how Nintendo is going to further innovate the Switch concept. Based on the massive reorganization within Nintendo that has seen the handheld and home console teams unite around a single platform, it’s highly unlikely that the company will move away from the core concept of a single system for mobile and docked play. However, Nintendo is also a company that defines new products with innovative new ideas – which can be difficult when your new machine To be a switch.

There is also the issue of backwards compatibility. In the age of digital catalogs that cross generations with the reader, the idea that a new Switch couldn’t do that would be a major problem. Modern Vintage Gamer’s take on this explains the technical difficulties, but on the other hand, Nintendo can rely on the engineering skills of Nvidia. The hardware side of things can be tricky, but Nvidia’s software staff are some of the best in the business, so I’m hopeful in that regard.

Meanwhile, in the Direct, questions from our supporters continue to deliver the goods, discussing everything from John’s Saturn import recommendations, a general appeal to gaming media to preserve press materials and debug builds, and other discussions about Sony’s Project Q streaming handheld. And the support program itself? Join us To access our amazing community, get regular updates on our experiences with 4K120 and 8K60 video capture, early access to new videos (Remnant 2! PC Games on the Xbox Series X CPU!), a weekly newsletter with a detailed breakdown of what each team member is up to – and much more.

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