Expert Claims “Mario Kart World” on Nintendo Switch 2 Uses ‘Fake HDR’ — Highlights Lack of Serious Approach to HDR by Top Developers

I mean, honestly, when I first heard about this whole “fake HDR” scandal with Mario Kart World on the new Switch 2, I was like, “Wait, what?!” And then I dove in, thanks to this blog by Alexander Mejia. (Side note: I recommend reading it just for kicks. The guy knows his stuff.) Anyway, he makes this case that the game’s got this weird “SDR-first, slap-on-some-HDR-at-the-end” thing going. Yeah, that might not mean much to everyone, but for HDR fans? It’s a biggie.

The thing is, the developers were all, “Hey, we’ve got 4K at 60FPS with HDR!” Sounds snazzy, right? But Mejia’s like, “Uh, no. They’re kinda faking it.” Get this — he’s been doing HDR for ages, and he’s worked with Dolby Vision on Xbox Series X. So, if anyone knows about this stuff, it’s him.

Oh, and here’s a kicker: not only did they hype up the HDR, they didn’t even go all in from the start. Mejia’s saying if you want that crispy HDR, you gotta embrace it at the get-go. Get this though — lots of peeps in the gaming industry seem to trip up here. So Nintendo? Not alone in this hot mess.

Somewhere along the line, there’s this hilarious bit where he goes, “Even if you crank up the brightness to 10,000 nits, you’re gonna max out at about 950 nits.” Now, I don’t know about you, but that’s a pretty big gap. Why even bother talking about such high brightness if you’re not gonna back it up? It’s like ordering a giant pizza and finding out it’s just a slice when it arrives. Super bummer.

And here’s a tidbit that stuck with me — the game art, which is supposed to be all vibrant and colorful, feels stuck in this SDR-like world. There’s this wider color space they could use, but nah, they didn’t. Imagine painting with just primary colors when there’s a whole rainbow at your disposal. Oddly limiting, right?

Oh, and one more thing before I let you go: Mejia wraps it all up by basically offering his consultancy services. Smart move. He knows there’s a crowd out there scratching their heads over HDR, and he’s ready to help. Clever guy.