Fan Imagines What New Horizons Might Look Like On The Rumored Switch Pro
Animal Crossing: New Horizons' release early in the ongoing pandemic turned what otherwise may have been a moderate hit for Nintendo into a bona fide cultural phenomenon. Though it undisputedly remains a smash success, there are nevertheless players who have at least envisioned some key improvements to the existing game. One such individual, YouTube user SnazzyAI, recently shared a look at what New Horizons might look like running at 60fps and in 4K resolution.
SnazzyAI describes their channel as "movie, game, and TV show trailers AI upscaled to a snazzy degree." It includes a selection of trailers from the 90s to today rendered in resolutions greater than those at which they were originally released. However, their recent New Horizons video is a hit. It has been viewed upwards of 20,000 times, while many prior videos sit at view counts in the hundreds.
One key difference between this look at an upscaled New Horizons vs. other media properties is, as evoked in the title of the video, its relevance to a theoretical Switch Pro. An upcoming, technically superior version of the base Switch console has been long rumored and even detailed by supposed leaks. According to the currently-circulating amalgamation of leaks, rumors and conjecture, one of the key features of the Switch Pro will be its capability to run Switch games at 4K resolution.
While one supposed leak seems to contradict its capability for 4K and a recent interview with Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser suggests there won't ever even be a Switch Pro, it's the theoretical 4K Switch that SnazzyAI evokes when titling their New Horizons video "Fake Switch Pro Trailer."
Compared to the original prerelease trailer that provides this new version's source material, the more colors are more vibrant and character movement is visibly smoother in SnazzyAI's version. That said, not all viewers agreed on the merits of the upgrade. One comment by user sarethums calls the game's inability to run at 60fps "absurd." However, user Sky Blue found that the improvements made them dizzy. Meanwhile, user Stan Van Houten couldn't perceive the differences between the original and upgraded versions of the trailer.
Most recently, New Horizons players got to experience its New Year and Christmas-inspired holidays in-game. Only Groundhog Day, Festivale and Valentine's Day in February and Shamrock Day in March remain before the game has been out for a full year. While it will then theoretically lack new content, an upgraded Switch Pro version is among ways with which New Horizons could continue to be updated once its full slate of in-game content has been exhausted.