Expert Claims “Mario Kart World” on Nintendo Switch 2 is ‘Fake HDR’ — Highlights Developers’ Lack of Seriousness Towards HDR

Alright, buckle up. So, I was skimming through this piece about Mario Kart World on the Switch 2, and it’s got some folks pretty riled up. Particularly some TechTubers, who are all aflame about this thing they’re calling ‘fake HDR.’ Yeah, fake. Like the time I thought I got a real deal on concert tickets, and they turned out to be forgeries. Anyway, this guy, Alexander Mejia, you know, sounds like he’s got it all figured out. He says, “Mario Kart World is doing this thing where they start with SDR and slap on HDR at the last minute.” Like putting lipstick on a pig, if you catch my drift.

Mejia’s got the chops, apparently. Something about delivering the Dolby Vision HDR experience to the Xbox Series X. Sounds like a big deal, right? And, I mean, the game’s marketed to support 4K resolution at, what is it, 60FPS with HDR visuals? In reality, it’s more like promising a free lunch and getting stale bread. Mejia goes, “even the highest caliber developers aren’t taking HDR seriously.” Maybe it’s intentional? Or they got distracted. Who knows, maybe they just watched too much TV.

To be fair, it seems HDR is like the Rubik’s cube of video game development. You’re not alone if you’re struggling. Mejia stresses that for HDR to really pop, you’ve got to be on board from the get-go. Start with HDR in mind, not as the side salad you barely touch. That’s what he advises, at least.

Oh, there was this test he did — something about image brightness peaks? I couldn’t follow it entirely, but it seems Nintendo’s setup peaks at only ~500 nits, even if you crank it to 10,000 nits. It’s like turning the volume up and still hearing whispers. Not exactly promising. A bit ironic, really, considering how vibrant and colorful Mario Kart is supposed to be. It sounds like the graphics are stuck in an old-school color space. The visuals could do with a new wardrobe, maybe embrace the Rec.2020 style for once.

There’s also a bit about comparing HDR across different platforms, with some fancy charts and images that Mejia whipped up. Not gonna lie; that stuff is a bit over my head. I mean, I did doodle a graph once or twice back in school, but this? Whole different ballgame.

As we wrap this up, Mejia circles back, pointing fingers at developers for not treating HDR like the serious potential it holds. Sounds like a wasted opportunity, especially when you have fancy TVs and consoles at your disposal. Mejia even tosses in a plug for his consultancy service, offering the golden ticket to HDR greatness with his “HDR first rendering pipelines.” Could be helpful, I guess, if you’re dabbling in game dev.

And there it is. Remember, this is just my take on it, but those HDR issues in gaming might just stick around like that song you can’t get out of your head.