Speedrunners Left Scratching Their Heads After New Discovery Suggests the SNES Works Faster as It Ages

The speedrunning assemblage is trying to wrapper its caput astir a technological improvement that is seemingly causing the SNES to tally games faster arsenic it ages.

Alarm bells rang successful aboriginal February erstwhile Bluesky idiosyncratic Alan Cecil (@tas.bot) dispersed the connection that the Nintendo's iconic console seemed to beryllium moving games somewhat faster present than erstwhile it near accumulation lines successful the 1990s. It’s a mentation that would mean the astir 50 cardinal SNES units sold whitethorn present diagnostic improved show with games similar Super Mario World, Super Metroid, and Star Fox alternatively of wearing down arsenic the years spell on.

The thought of a video crippled console — oregon immoderate benignant of exertion — moving much efficiently simply acknowledgment to the transition of clip sounds ludicrous, but Cecil’s findings suggest a azygous constituent whitethorn beryllium what’s mounting the SNES isolated from the rest.

The Fastest Thing Alive

As explained successful an interrogation 404 Media conducted with Cecil, authoritative Nintendo specs accidental the SNES’s audio processing portion (APU) SPC700 has a integer awesome processing (DSP) complaint of 32,000Hz dictated by a ceramic resonator that runs astatine 24.576MHz. Retro console fans person documented that these details aren’t rather accurate, with recordings from the past fewer decades showing somewhat altered DSP rates depending connected the carnal conditions — specified arsenic somesthesia — the SNES is recorded in. It means the console is often processing audio and sending it to the CPU astatine a antithetic complaint than Nintendo has communicated, and arsenic the DSP fluctuates, truthful excessively does the game’s velocity adjacent if it’s successful small, unrecognizable ways.

The SNES appears to beryllium getting faster with age. Photo by Aldara Zarraoa/Getty Images.

That’s each good and good, but wherever things get absorbing is however that fig has changed successful the past 34 years. Cecil asked SNES owners to grounds information related to their SNES units aft noticing somewhat higher DSP rates that were adjacent much retired of the mean than antecedently documented. The much than 140 responses gathered truthful acold amusement an undeniable inclination successful accrued DSP rates successful caller measurements.

Some antecedently recorded mean DSP numbers for the SNES’s SPC700 hovered astatine 32,040Hz successful 2007 — Cecil’s findings rise that mean to 32,076Hz. Factors specified arsenic blistery and acold environments bash play a portion successful higher and little stats, too, but not by capable to change DSP successful the mode needed to output these results. In different words, it looks similar the SNES is processing audio faster arsenic clip goes on.

“Based connected 143 responses, the SNES DSP complaint averages 32,076Hz, rising 8Hz from acold to warm,” Cecil explained successful a follow-up Bluesky station acceptable with a layout of the data. “Warm DSP rates spell from 31,965 to 32,182Hz, a 217Hz range. Therefore, somesthesia is little significant. Why? How does it impact games? We bash not know. Yet.”

Any%

Cecil admits that, portion fascinating, much probe is needed to find not lone however overmuch faster SNES units are processing crippled audio but what precisely the origin is. Data related to however consoles performed successful their archetypal decennary connected the market, for example, is limited. For now, astatine slightest connected the surface, Nintendo’s 2nd large location console appears to beryllium aging rather gracefully arsenic it nears its 35th birthday.

Regardless of what precisely mightiness beryllium down these bizarre circumstances, the imaginable of a fashionable gaming console gradually causing games to tally faster has made waves successful the speedrunning community. An SPC700 progressively processing audio to the CPU quicker than intended could, successful theory, interaction crippled show by shortening load times successful definite sections. Audio processing faster successful 2025 than it did successful an identical speedrun from 1990 could perchance nonstop much than 3 decades of leaderboard rankings and records into question. Thankfully, however a wiser SNES mightiness impact a Super Mario World speedrun isn’t truthful straightforward.

APU speeds aren’t a one-to-one translation to ocular crippled speed. In reality, adjacent the astir utmost circumstances related to these caller findings would apt lone shave disconnected little than 1 2nd of your mean speedrun. How each crippled mightiness payment from altered audio processing is besides up for debate, and there’s nary denotation of however importantly longer speedruns could beryllium impacted astatine the clip of this story’s publication. The speedrunning community's probe is successful its infancy, but adjacent arsenic further experimentation is conducted, the statement for present is that players person small to fear.

While Cecil continues digging into what makes the SNES tick, Nintendo’s console is charging done its 30s and feeling amended than ever. For much connected the SNES, you tin spot wherever the instrumentality landed connected the database of best-selling consoles of each time.

Photo by Dimitar DILKOFF / AFP.

Michael Cripe is simply a freelance contributor with IGN. He's champion known for his enactment astatine sites similar The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be definite to springiness him a travel connected Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).