Nintendo Apologizes for Switch 2 ‘Error’ Over VRR Support

In a late development, Nintendo has apologized, in a statement to Nintendo Life, for falsely asserting that its upcoming Switch 2 console will include variable refresh rate (VRR) support while docked. The error, which was initially published on the Nintendo Switch 2 website, was largely to blame for exciting prospective purchasers unnecessarily who were waiting for the ability to use the console on high-refresh-rate TVs or screens.

VRR stands for variable refresh rate. It is a technology that coordinates the frame rate output by a rendering device with the refresh rate of a display. This coordination minimizes screen stutter and tearing, which are typical visual problems that arise when a screen’s refresh rate gets out of synchronization with the frame rate of the image on screen. Secondly, VRR can also cut down on input lag, or faster and more responsive gameplay, particularly for games featuring unstable frame rates.

While Nintendo originally teased the Switch 2 as having VRR in both docked and portable modes, the company has since made it clear that the console will feature VRR only in the latter. In response to Nintendo Life, one firm representative said, “The incorrect information was first presented on the Nintendo Switch 2 website, and we regret the error.”

Even in spite of this explanation, there is still a small chance that the Switch 2 might get docked VRR support at some point after release via a system OS update. Based on some leaked component shipping manifests, the console dock features the Realtek RTD2175N-CG chip, a DisplayPort 1.4 to HDMI 2.1 converter. Though this specific model number isn’t officially listed by Realtek, its designation implies that it’s associated with the VRR-compatible RTD2173.

Apart from that, the console’s Nvidia-designed graphics processor has native VRR support in handheld mode, which means that it is able to give a VRR-compatible output. Nintendo attributed Switch 2 tech overview on handheld VRR support on the console to G-Sync, which is a variable refresh rate technology owned by Nvidia.

Nintendo is keeping quiet as to whether VRR support will be ever implemented in docked mode on the Switch 2 through a software update.