Expert Claims ‘Mario Kart World’ on Nintendo Switch 2 Uses ‘Fake HDR’—’A Disappointment from Top Developers’

Oh man, where do I even start with this thing? So, the buzz around this Mario Kart World game on Switch 2 being called out for “fake HDR” is all over. TechTubers love to jump on this stuff. Rage farm? Yeah, maybe. But Alexander Mejia, who’s like the HDR whisperer, jumps in with a no-nonsense blog post. He’s like, “Yep, they messed up HDR-wise.” Something about using a plain SDR pipeline and then slapping an “HDR” sticker on it. It’s like putting lipstick on a pig, I guess?

Anyway, when Mario Kart World launched, they promised all this glorious 4K60 HDR magic. Spoiler: Mejia ain’t buying it. Says even the elite devs are dropping the ball with HDR. Like, c’mon, guys, have you seen the colors Rec.2020 could crank out? Anyway — wait — what was I saying? Oh right, HDR.

Mejia kind of levels with game devs, like, “Hey, screwing up HDR isn’t rare, unfortunately.” Embrace it from the start, dude. Don’t just add it like ketchup at the end. Probably not the best metaphor, but you get me.

Ah! There’s this gallery section full of techy speak — something about console brightness maxing at 10,000 nits but barely hitting 950 in-game. Not cool, Nintendo. Messing with bright colors like that should be a crime. And, man, the disappointment – it’s like hyping up a killer party and then nobody shows up.

So, Mejia lays out all his techy wizardry on how he tested the game. There are graphs, numbers, the whole shebang. The results? Not flattering. Even when you max out brightness, it’s like watching a movie with sunglasses on. And the color space? Stuck in a Rec.709 world when Rec.2020 could’ve added some real pep. Seems Nintendo overlooked that little nugget.

Now — and this had me chuckling — Mejia, ever the pro, smoothly slides into promoting his consultancy stuff. Smart guy. Throws out an offer for HDR pipeline consulting. Maybe Nintendo should give him a call?

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