The speedrunning community is abuzz with a fascinating phenomenon that suggests the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) may be running games faster as it ages. In early February, Alan Cecil, known on Bluesky as @tas.bot, sparked discussions by claiming that the SNES, with nearly 50 million units sold, could be performing better today than when it was first released in the 1990s. This theory implies that classics like Super Mario World, Super Metroid, and Star Fox might be running more efficiently on aging consoles.

While the idea of a console improving with age might sound far-fetched, Cecil's research points to a specific component that could be responsible for this anomaly. In an interview with 404 Media, Cecil explained that the SNES's audio processing unit (APU), the SPC700, has a digital signal processing (DSP) rate supposedly set at 32,000Hz by a ceramic resonator running at 24.576MHz. However, retro console enthusiasts have noted discrepancies in these specs, with the DSP rate varying slightly based on environmental factors like temperature.

The intrigue deepened when Cecil asked SNES owners to record data from their consoles, revealing a trend of increasing DSP rates over time. Data collected from over 140 responses showed an average DSP rate of 32,076Hz in recent measurements, compared to 32,040Hz recorded in 2007. This suggests that the SNES is processing audio faster as it ages, despite environmental factors like temperature playing a role.

In a follow-up Bluesky post, Cecil shared that the DSP rate increases by 8Hz from cold to warm conditions, ranging from 31,965Hz to 32,182Hz. However, he noted that temperature's impact is less significant than the overall trend of increasing DSP rates. The exact cause and its impact on games remain unclear, but the data points to the SNES aging gracefully as it approaches its 35th anniversary.

This phenomenon has significant implications for the speedrunning community, as an SPC700 processing audio faster could theoretically reduce load times and affect game performance. However, Cecil acknowledges that more research is needed to understand the extent of these changes and their causes. Historical data from the console's first decade is scarce, complicating the investigation.

Despite the potential for faster audio processing to impact speedruns, the effect on visual game speed is not straightforward. Even in the most extreme scenarios, these changes might only shave off less than a second from an average speedrun. The speedrunning community is still in the early stages of exploring these findings, and while further research is ongoing, the consensus is that players should not be overly concerned.

As Cecil continues to delve into the inner workings of the SNES, Nintendo's iconic console seems to be thriving in its 30s. For more on the SNES, you can check out its ranking on the list of best-selling consoles of all time.