Ray tracing is basically a technology that makes light in video games act like it does in real-life, and with this technique, developers can make virtual rays of light appear to bounce off objects, cast realistic shadows, as well as create photorealistic reflections. This may be no issue for modern game consoles, like the PS5 and Xbox Series X, but the Super Nintendo Entertainment System is probably the last device you’d expect to handle ray tracing. However, there is a workaround, thanks to a clever developer. Read more for an in-depth look at the SuperRT cartridge.
It’s based around a modern DE10-Nano FPGA dev board, which contains three ray tracing cores that do most of the processing, but the final rendering is taken care of by the SNES. Sure, the 200 x 160 pixel resolution and 256 colors won’t be running any form of Cyberpunk 2077 anytime soon, but just having a maximum frame rate of 30 fps gives the classic video game console a somewhat breath of fresh life.
- The console is also decorated with images of recognizable characters: Tom Nook and Nooklings Timmy and Tommy
- Includes a Switch console, Switch dock, Joy-Con (L) and Joy-Con (R), and two Joy-Con strap accessories
- Game not included
