The release of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is almost here and its technical flaws are turning into one of the greatest arguments for an upgraded Nintendo Switch. The Switch has never been a graphical powerhouse, but Nintendo has been able to squeeze some incredible visuals out of the system, especially in games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The Switch is showing its age, however, and many fans are eagerly awaiting a mid-cycle hardware revision for the system.
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet reviews have now been published, and the consensus is that the game is one of the best Pokémon entries in years, but it's let down by a litany of technical issues. The bigger of these are performance issues, which are still present after the implementation of the day one patch. The lagging performance of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet might be the best argument yet for a Nintendo Switch Pro, which will hopefully do a better job of bringing the more ambitious games to the system in the future.
Pokémon Scarlet & Violet's Reviews Are Criticizing The Games' Performance
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are said to have tremendous issues with texture pop-in and long load times, coupled with more mundane glithces, including a camera with a tendency to misbehave. The fact that Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are open world means that there is a tremendous amount of pressure placed on the Switch's hardware, as it tries to load more and more things on the screen at once. It doesn't help that the other Pokémon games on the Nintendo Switch had similar struggles, especially Pokémon Sword and Shield, whose visual shortcomings were mocked by the fanbase ahead of its launch.
If the new Pokémon games are struggling this badly, then the time might be right for a new model for the Switch. Fans have been expecting a hardware update for the Switch line for a while now, with many expressing disappointment that the OLED Switch didn't offer any significant upgrades. There have been many Nintendo Switch Pro rumors over the past few years, but the ongoing chip shortage that is affecting the industry might be holding it back.
Nintendo is either going to release an updated Nintendo Switch or a successor in the next few years, and that system can be promoted on the fact that games like Pokémon Scarlet and Violet and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom will perform better on the new console. It's just a shame that the current players are stuck with a game that has so many issues, unless Game Freak is able to get a major patch out soon. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are meant to be great games, but the hardware of the Switch seems to be holding the whole series back.