Nintendo
Paper Mario TTYD includes code for 4K resolution, but don't get too excited yet
Unfortunately, there are a few logical explanations about why it isn't a Switch 2 confirmation.
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door for Switch is already out, but for some, it has become available earlier for various reasons. This allows those with the right tools to mess with the insides of the game and see what they can find.
These dataminers didn't waste any time searching for things in the game code, and it didn't take long for someone to find some interesting stuff, though the person who found it didn't find signs that it was anything concrete.
Ribshark shared his findings on Twitter regarding a piece of code indicating the handling of 4K resolutions. He mentioned that he does not know the exact purpose of this code; he just knows that it is there.
There seems to be code for handling 4K resolutions in the new Paper Mario TTYD remake. No idea if this is normal for Switch games or not but I thought it was interesting. pic.twitter.com/dVYnXsRUUx
— RibShark (@RibShark) May 22, 2024
The Nintendo Switch doesn't support 4K resolutions. While the hardware is technically capable of outputting this resolution, as some have claimed that by using non-legitimate methods, the console can output 4K resolution, Nintendo's official software does not allow it.
Some believe that this code could be there for the Switch 2, as many fans hope and speculate that Nintendo's next console will support Backwards Compatibility, and just like PlayStation and Xbox have done, the game would be enhanced if played on the newer console; but there is also another possibility, it might also just be residuals from when the development team was gathering marketing material; it could be that they added 4K to take the necessary captures for promotional material and opted/forgot to remove it from the final game.
It was discovered that the functionality works and the game would render 4K if activated, but it remains unused in the game; this does not confirm that the game will include 4K resolutions if played on Nintendo's next console.
After I pointed this out, @granimated looked into it further and determined that if gfx::sInstance reports that the resolution should be 4K, the game is natively rendered at 4K. So the functionality to run at 4K is there, unused. Thanks @RibShark for the initial finding.
— Meatball132 (@meatball_132) May 23, 2024
So, in the end, there is still no real answer to what this code's actual purpose is. The logical answer would be that it was there to take high-quality screenshots for marketing, but unless this same kind of code is found in older Switch games, we can't deny that it might be for the next console.
