"New Discovery Leaves Speedrunners Puzzled: SNES May Accelerate with Age"

The speedrunning community is grappling with an intriguing phenomenon: it appears that the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) is running games faster as it ages. In early February, Alan Cecil, a user on Bluesky known as @tas.bot, sparked discussions by suggesting that the nearly 50 million SNES units sold might now perform better with iconic games like Super Mario World, Super Metroid, and Star Fox than when they were new.

The notion that a gaming console could improve its performance over time might seem far-fetched, but Cecil's research points to a specific component: the audio processing unit (APU) SPC700. According to official Nintendo specifications, the SPC700 has a digital signal processing (DSP) rate of 32,000Hz, controlled by a ceramic resonator running at 24.576MHz. However, retro console enthusiasts have noted that these rates vary slightly based on environmental conditions such as temperature, affecting how the console processes audio and, consequently, game speed.

Cecil took this a step further by asking SNES owners to record data about their consoles. From over 140 responses, he observed a trend of increasing DSP rates. Previously recorded averages from 2007 were around 32,040Hz, but recent data shows an average of 32,076Hz. While temperature does affect these rates, the change over time is significant enough to suggest that the SNES is processing audio faster as it ages.

In a follow-up Bluesky post, Cecil shared that, based on 143 responses, the average SNES DSP rate is 32,076Hz, with an 8Hz increase from cold to warm conditions. He noted, "Warm DSP rates go from 31,965 to 32,182Hz, a 217Hz range. Therefore, temperature is less significant. Why? How does it affect games? We do not know. Yet."

While fascinating, Cecil acknowledges that more research is needed to understand the extent and cause of these changes. Historical data from the console's first decade is limited, making it challenging to draw definitive conclusions. Nevertheless, the SNES seems to be aging gracefully as it approaches its 35th anniversary.

The potential impact on the speedrunning community is significant. A faster SPC700 could theoretically shorten load times in games, affecting leaderboard rankings and records established over three decades. However, the relationship between APU speed and visual game speed isn't straightforward. Even in the most extreme cases, these findings might only reduce a speedrun by less than a second. The effect on different games remains uncertain, and ongoing research suggests that speedrunners have little to worry about for now.

As Cecil continues his investigations, the SNES remains a robust and intriguing piece of gaming history. For more on the SNES's legacy, you can explore its ranking on the list of best-selling consoles of all time.