Nintendo consoles are never the most cutting-edge hardware. Never have been.
Nintendo hasn’t really cared about pure hardware power since the ’90s. The Nintendo N64 may have been Nintendo’s last console with high-end hardware, and even then, that’s pushing it.
So, even though devices with the upcoming AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme are expected to outperform the Nintendo Switch 2, that lower performance won’t slow down Nintendo’s record-breaking Switch 2 sales.
And there are good reasons for that.
The Ryzen Z2 generation may have power, but it doesn’t have Mario
While Nintendo doesn’t traditionally compete against gaming PCs, the rise of handheld gaming devices does mean the comparisons are inevitable.
And that’s a comparison Nintendo is pretty much sure to lose.
Nintendo’s Switch 2 is powered by a custom Nvidia Tegra T239 processor, codenamed “Drake”.
While Nvidia makes great graphics cards, the Tegra processors have never been groundbreaking. We were impressed with how great the Switch 2 looked in our early hands-on experience, but we weren’t blown away by the graphics by any means.
On the other side of the line, we have gaming handhelds powered by Intel’s Lunar Lake with smooth graphics even on demanding titles, though AMD’s upcoming flagship Ryzen Z2 Extreme – which was unveiled at CES in January – and is expected to put AMD back on top in the handheld gaming PC chip rankings when it arrives in devices later this year.
The AMD Ryzen Z2 Extreme will power the Legion Go 2, MSI Claw A8, and Asus ROG Xbox Ally X. According to one leaker, the ROG Xbox Ally X could go up for preorder in August and be released in October.
But even if the new AMD chip trounces the Nintendo Switch 2, it doesn’t matter because the Switch 2 is not a high-performance machine. It’s a console designed to leverage Nintendo’s strong first-party IP.
In fact, when it comes to handheld gaming PCs in general, sometimes power matters, sometimes it doesn’t.
The Switch wasn’t the first time Nintendo chose to leverage its first-party library rather than fight a losing hardware battle.
We got the chance to go hands-on with the Legion Go 2 prototype with the Z2 Extreme in it back in January. While the Z2 Extreme is undoubtedly a powerful chip, performance doesn’t matter as much as price for many gamers.
And if you’ve got a less-powerful chip, there are ways around performance constraints. For the Legion Go S and Steam Deck 2, you can get more performance by simply loading SteamOS onto the handheld rather than going for Windows 11.
With the Switch and Switch 2, Nintendo opted to leverage its powerful first-party IP and optimized all Switch games for lower-end hardware.
Games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate performed smoothly on the original Switch and anchored Switch sales with new games in well-loved franchises.
However, the Switch wasn’t the first time Nintendo chose to leverage its first-party library rather than fight a losing hardware battle. Nintendo has been making that gamble since the Wii, and sales for the Wii, Wii U, Switch, and Switch 2 all indicate this is a worthy, long-term strategy for the company.
After all, the Venn diagram of handheld gaming PC power users and Nintendo fans is almost two completely separate circles.
When is the Ryzen Z2 Extreme coming anyway?
For all the chatter about AMD’s high-end handheld gaming chip, we still haven’t seen it out in the wild yet.
To recap:
AMD announced the Z2 Extreme at CES in January 2025 and expanded the Z2 series lineup earlier this month. And the Z2 Extreme handhelds are expected to launch sometime either this fall and in early 2026.
But regardless of the Z2 Extreme’s power, Nintendo will continue to break sales records with the Switch 2. No one will be dropping Pokémon in favor of Palworld at this point.
Even if Pokémon Scarlet & Violet was a bit of a flop, I’d take Scarlet & Violet‘s janky performance over the terrifying moral implications of Palworld any day.
