Owners of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) have started to discuss a peculiar phenomenon: their consoles seem to be performing faster as they age.
Usually, as devices get older, they tend to slow down and show signs of wear and tear, and gaming consoles are no exception. A classic concern for retro gamers is the possibility of an old console failing to work when they try to switch it on. Availability of new retro consoles is limited, and finding parts for repairs can also be challenging. Even when parts can be found, there’s no assurance that they will be in good condition.
However, in a surprising twist, the SNES appears to be defying this typical aging process. Released over 35 years ago, the SNES is not only still widely loved but reportedly operates at a faster speed today compared to its performance during its original release in 1990.
This intriguing observation was shared in a thread on Bluesky by TASbot, a team dedicated to developing a robot that aids in speedruns (tasks completed in the shortest time possible) of video games. The team realized that the SNES’s audio processor, known as the audio processing unit (APU), often runs at a higher speed than intended. This accelerated processing leads to the game audio, including sound effects and music, being played at a higher pitch than expected.
TASbot commented in response to a query from a follower, stating, “The results we have show it is real… Consoles we measured are faster than the original specification.” The team suggested that further research is necessary to understand the reasons behind this phenomenon.
To gather data, TASbot encouraged SNES owners to conduct a specific test called the smpspeed ROM test on their consoles and report their findings. This request received a total of 143 submissions before the form closed on March 6.
While the technical details can be complex, the main point is that the SNES’s APU appears to run faster in 2025 than it did back in 1990. The data indicates that while the APU performs quicker at elevated temperatures, TASbot notes that the effect is not significant enough to impact gameplay, dismissing the idea that using heat could enhance speedrun times.
This statement might seem humorous, yet similar tactics were reportedly used by some speedrunners in Japan, who identified that certain glitches in games like Dragon Quest 3 could be triggered more easily at higher temperatures. Consequently, some players began using heating methods on their SNES consoles to increase their chances of success.
However, intentionally heating the console may pose risks to its internal components. If more consoles are displaying this faster behavior, it may indicate that the machines are approaching the end of their functional lifespan.
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