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

Sure thing, here it goes:

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Whoa. So, I stumbled upon this whole Mario Kart World on Switch 2 debacle—bunch of tech folks all riled up over what they’re calling ‘fake HDR.’ Kinda nuts, but I can’t help but get sucked into the chaos. This blog by Alexander Mejia, seems like he’s got it figured out though, ranting about how the game’s been made with some ‘SDR-first’ stuff, whatever that means. I only have half a clue, but it’s like they slapped on HDR as a last-minute thing. Makes you think, right?

Now, don’t get me wrong, the Mario Kart folks probably had good intentions. They’re hyping 4K at 60FPS with HDR, which sounds, I don’t know, futuristic? But Mejia is all like, “nah, they don’t care about HDR!” The funny thing is, HDR tripping up developers isn’t new. Mejia’s kind of reassuring, saying, “It’s a headache for everyone.” Starts to feel like that thing where you realize everyone’s just winging it.

Oh, and here’s a bit about nits, which, yeah, a strange thing to focus on, but Mejia says even with the console brightness cranked up to some ridiculous 10,000 nits, their test image peaked at just 500 nits. Not a clue what that’s about—sounds like mismatched socks to me.

Then, there’s more talk about the game’s colorful style stuck in some SDR space. Something about Rec.709 vs. Rec.2020—like they’re missing out on a rainbow, you know? Felt like I was swimming in tech jargon.

Anyway, Mejia wraps up basically advertising his consultancy gig. Smart move, I guess. He wants to help studios sort through all this HDR mess. Offers insights on HDR pipelines and all kinds of fancy tech stuff that’s way over my head.

So, yeah, if you’re into this HDR saga—or just into seeing how folks mess up tech stuff—this whole thing’s worth a peek. Even if you’re like me and just left wondering what the fuss is about.