Alan Cecil, a security consultant and administrator for TASBot, an automated tool for speedrunning, made an intriguing discovery about Super Nintendo consoles: they’ve been subtly speeding up, thanks to one of their chips. As covered by 404 Media, these retro consoles utilize the Sony SPC700 APU for audio processing at a rate of 32,000 Hz. But back in 2007, programmers working on SNES emulators realized these chips actually operated a tad faster—at 32,040 Hz—to stop some games from malfunctioning.
The SNES relies on the SPC700 coprocessor, which sets its frequency through a ceramic resonator clocking in at 24,576 Hz. The catch? This component’s delicate nature means it’s susceptible to influence from environmental factors like heat.
In a post around late February on Bluesky using the TASBot account, Cecil floated his theory and sought data from SNES users. The preliminary findings were surprising: as these consoles age, the SPC700 chip seems to slightly increase its speed. The highest registered frequency reported is 32,182 Hz. While it’s under a 1% increase from the initial 32,000 Hz, this shift could impact audio playback and disrupt certain gaming experiences.
### How the Frequency Shift Affects Speedrunning
Now, if you’re using the SPC700 purely for audio playback on your SNES, the change in frequency won’t alter your gameplay — especially if you play without sound. But for speedrunners, precision is key, and the faster processing speed could alter game timing. As soon as a level completes and the screen fades to black, the console starts loading data for the next stage, including the audio. If the APU transfers data to the CPU faster than usual, it might lead to a decrease in loading times.
This acceleration might not pose a big issue for the average gamer, but it could significantly scramble speed-running records and the performance of speed-running bots. Thankfully, human speed runners remain largely unaffected by these minor boosts in performance.
“We still don’t fully comprehend the extent of its influence on extended speedruns,” Cecil notes. “What we do know is that it affects data transmission speed between the CPU and APU to some degree.”
TASBot’s precisely timed playthroughs, however, might see some disruption, given its millisecond-level accuracy requirement. Cecil continues to collect more data to understand the temporal effects on SNES consoles better. As these classic gaming systems—and many others—age, understanding and adapting to their evolving characteristics is critical for preserving the beloved games of our youth.
