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NVIDIA frustrated by Nintendo, is Working On Brand New SOC For Gaming Handhelds & Consoles

FStubbs

Member
What's fake?

See my post above, Nvidia have moved on, it's no longer the same company Nintendo were dealing with back in 2015/2016.

They don't give a fuck anymore about 1 billion over the course of 7-8 years, especially not when it's from a partner who aren't going to be showcasing their latest and greatest features.
Nintendo worked with nVidia on 3DS but nVidia couldn't get Tegra 2 done in time. They have a long standing relationship.

IIRC nVidia stated that a big reason they valued the relationship with Nintendo was because after Gen 7 they didn't want to be shut out of the console market again.

Sure, Switch 2 will be a lower percentage of their business than before, but huge companies like that have their hands in multiple markets. They'd still want to be involved in Switch 2.
 

Celine

Member
rBIHKab.jpeg


I bet Nvidia consider making business with Nintendo to be so insufferable...

EDIT: Before anyone ask the reason why the graph stops at January 2020 is that since then Nvidia stopped reporting the data for the Tegra segment.
Note that since April 2020 Nintendo has sold 85.55 million units of Switch consoles, that is 60.5% of the total Switch sales until March 2024 (141.32M).
 
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Hudo

Member
Do they?
Currently alot of mobile devices are able to emulate the Switch on non Nvidia Hardware.
Even the Switch can emulate itself in Linux where the games even run better with OC etc.
So getting the the Switch games running on any or new device isnt a problem here.
The normal user wont notice a difference between Emulation or real Hardware supported games, as long the game runs fine or even better.

(See BC on Xbox)

Latest example would be the other thread here with the Ayn Odin 2.
Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for 299$
Imagine if Nintendo makes a deal with Qualcomm for that SoC.
I think Qualcomm even has some handeld gaming dedicated SoC, too.

So there are alot of options fot Nintendo and they are not really limited to Nvidia, if they want a mobile SoC.
fair enough. I am sure NERD can code a pretty good Switch emulator or translation layer.
 

Three

Member
rBIHKab.jpeg


I bet Nvidia consider making business with Nintendo to be so insufferable...

EDIT: Before anyone ask the reason why the graph stops at January 2020 is that since then Nvidia stopped reporting the data for the Tegra segment.
Note that since April 2020 Nintendo has sold 85.55 million units of Switch consoles, that is 60.5% of the total Switch sales until March 2024 (141.32M).
They stopped reporting it either because it isn't a big part of their overall business anymore or because the numbers continued to trend downwards and weren't favourable anymore.
 

DonkeyPunchJr

World’s Biggest Weeb
and why they frustrated?
Imagine you’re a salesman, you have a meeting set up with an important client who you hear wants to buy 100 million units. You get a presentation all ready to go, all about your state-of-the-art new product and all the benefits it can bring to your client.

Then you have your meeting and your client tells you “eh…. I just want the cheapest, most outdated thing you guys can sell me”
 

Magic Carpet

Gold Member
I imagine the foundries running for a single day and producing enough Switch 2 chips to make 100 million Switch 2's and then Nvidia won't hear from Nintendo for another 7 years.
Nvidia needs Nintendo to order chips every day every year or it's not worth the time.
 

gokurho

Member


"According to @XpeaGPU, it looks like we might soon see NVIDIA returning to the console gaming segment. The leaker states that MediaTek is developing a next-gen gaming handheld SOC that'll feature NVIDIA's GPU IP as the company sees good potential in this segment. It is also stated that the SOC will be different than the other semi-custom stuff that NVIDIA is working on with MediaTek and that several Chinese clients are already showing interest in these chips."

"NVIDIA also made it official during GTC 2024 that MediaTek's upcoming Dimensity SOCs will use the next-gen RTX & AI GPU IP based on the Blackwell architecture. These Dimensity SOCs are aimed at the automotive segment but we can see how both companies are evaluating different opportunities at the moment."
source:
https://wccftech.com/nvidia-mediatek-soc-gaming-handhelds-console/

Nvidia looking at the Steam Deck like, "It should have been us"

ARM handheld PC ?
No Thank you:messenger_sunglasses:
 

Minsc

Gold Member
Yup. I am frustrated there is no new Shield Pro. Just bought a second one actually.

I don't see much reason to miss it anymore since I upgraded to a Fire Cube. It's not perfect, but it does everything I need for a media player that the shield did, including True HD Lossless Atmos + Dolby Vision streaming. I'd probably move to upcoming Apple TV if it did lossless True HD Atmos, but I don't expect it will, since it's not in the current version.

The shield not having AV1 and just being a bit slow with modern apps was the nail in the coffin for me.
 
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hlm666

Member
He answered the frustration question over on B3D.

"Source is within NVDA like all the stuff I share for over a decade

Frustration is Nintendo choosing a tech multiple gen behind the latest and greatest. It slows down new NV tech adoption, thus advantage. I have a story to share about the first switch deal for which Jensen travelled to Japan. He offered a custom SoC updated with Pascal for less than $1 extra aver the TegraX but Nintendo didn't care. And now for Switch2, it's the same story. Could be Lovelace but nah, Nintendo doesn't care again. Even worst, Switch will be launched more than 2 years after the SoC design completion"

 

Celine

Member
They stopped reporting it either because it isn't a big part of their overall business anymore or because the numbers continued to trend downwards and weren't favourable anymore.
Neither, that's because they remodeled their reportable segments from "GPU" and "Tegra Processor" to "Graphics" and "Compute & Networking".
 

Three

Member
Neither, that's because they remodeled their reportable segments from "GPU" and "Tegra Processor" to "Graphics" and "Compute & Networking".

They consolidated reporting because they weren't doing well in that segment. You can clearly see tegra revenue and operating income was on a decline. AI/Compute was also becoming an increasingly bigger part of their business. More than 80% of Nvidia's revenue is now from their data centre business.
 

demigod

Member
He answered the frustration question over on B3D.

"Source is within NVDA like all the stuff I share for over a decade

Frustration is Nintendo choosing a tech multiple gen behind the latest and greatest. It slows down new NV tech adoption, thus advantage. I have a story to share about the first switch deal for which Jensen travelled to Japan. He offered a custom SoC updated with Pascal for less than $1 extra aver the TegraX but Nintendo didn't care. And now for Switch2, it's the same story. Could be Lovelace but nah, Nintendo doesn't care again. Even worst, Switch will be launched more than 2 years after the SoC design completion"

I’m calling bs on this. Pascal was barely out. They would’ve had to do extensive testing only months before mass production. The switch chip wasn’t even 3 gen behind.
 

Trunx81

Gold Member
Nintendo doing Nintendo things. Why? Because it worked out for them in the past. Buy old hardware for cheap prices and transform them into a gold mine. That´s why I´m always amused by those "new Switch will have 4k!!!" news. They have a complete different philosophy about gaming hardware. And their track record, at least in handheld territory, proves them right.
 

Hudo

Member
Without? Did you miss Switch emulation on Deck and its brothers? What makes you think Switch 2 will not be emulated too?
so you want to launch an overpriced system that relies on the emulation to get games? And hopefully the devs will get the emulator to an acceptable state in a couple of years after the system launched?
 

rodrigolfp

Haptic Gamepads 4 Life
so you want to launch an overpriced system that relies on the emulation to get games? And hopefully the devs will get the emulator to an acceptable state in a couple of years after the system launched?
Overpriced how? And how will it relies only on emulation to get games?
 

rodrigolfp

Haptic Gamepads 4 Life
Because it's an Nvidia system, so you can bet your ass that it's going to be fucking expensive. And the emulation part was brought up by you. I dunno what you want from me.
We don't know the price yet and expensive is not necessarily overpriced if it is the best of the best in the market. I brought emulation as a plus to the handheld and I don't know where you got the idea that it will only emulate games and not have its own native games.
 

LordOfChaos

Member
Somewhat famously every console maker has only used Nvidia once, before being frustrated by their desire to control their whole stack and even shrink schedules, which iirc screwed the first Xbox when they wanted to shrink it to have a Slim like the PS2. Let's see if they can break out of that cycle this time. Nvidia for Switch 2 is pretty much a lock, but I wonder how they feel about the partnership after.

It's also pretty classic Nintendo that they didn't want to spend even a dollar extra to be another generation ahead, so they're both probably annoying lol
 
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Hudo

Member
We don't know the price yet and expensive is not necessarily overpriced if it is the best of the best in the market. I brought emulation as a plus to the handheld and I don't know where you got the idea that it will only emulate games and not have its own native games.
You said taht you don't want "4 year old trash" from Nintendo. The only reason why one would say stuff like that is if that individual is at least interested in Nintendo's games. Otherwise that statement doesn't make sense. So I pointed out that you won't get Nintendo's new stuff with it and it will be very pricey since you want Nvidia to include their new stuff.

Then you brought up emulation of Switch games, which are, by that point, not Nintendo's newest games. We don't have a Switch 2 emulator and we don't know how well that console will be emulated. So I dunno, man. You tell me what you meant with your original statement, then.
 

Mokus

Member
What do yo mean "drastic market philosophy differences"? They have the same philosophy of ripping off their customers. There just isn’t enough money to go around.
You are oversimplifying it. Of course in the end both are ripping off their costumers. But Nintendo usually targeted their customers with a cheaper and almost outdated hardware. Nvidia on the other hand had to bring constantly to their customers the most innovative and advanced GPUs. But lately Nvidia's hardware has become the hottest thing around the world and because of that they started charging Apple level of premium prices for them.

So yes, Nintendo is selling for profit yesterday's hardware meanwhile Nvidia is selling us future's hardware for premium prices. I have to remind you that for the PS4 Sony first approached Nvidia for the GPU. But when Sony told them what will be the budget (for a $400 console), Nvidia turned them down. Sony, who for the first few years doesn't sell their consoles for profit.
 
No actual sourcing or detail on the "frustrated with Nintendo" bit, so without a source, it's just made up conjecture & assumptions. Sorry but that's just nothing more than clickbait bullshit. 🤷‍♂️

I'm sure Nvidia enjoys the enormously profitable and mutually-beneficial partnership with Nintendo.
 
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Robb

Gold Member
Just because they are doing it, it doesn't mean they are happy with it. It's business, transactions like this happen all the time where there is animosity between both parties.

They are in the big leagues now:

big.webp
They can be unhappy with the outcome, but I’d say they obviously care. Otherwise they’d have pulled out.

Instead they’ve supposedly provided Nintendo with a customized chip that they’ve also very likely compromised on the price of in order to get it into the “Switch 2”.
 

Hero_Select

Member
Probably. Nvidia also know that they have Nintendo by the balls when it comes to backwards compatibility, which is something important now that everyone wants to trap people in their digital ecosystems.
How do they have Nintendo by the balls?

I don't think Nvidia can just pull the plug on the chips with a company they're working with and probably have a contractual obligation to provide Nintendo with the parts.
 

Haint

Member
I'd be frustrated too if I were Nvidia. Switch 2 trying to market itself as the technological marvel new hotness of 2025 is genuinely going to make Nvidia look incompetent and outdated themselves. If I were Nvidia I'd be barring them from referencing or advertising any "Nvidia" branding or components in their marketing material. Switch 2 will literally be like 4x slower than the AMD Z2 Extreme powering Steamdeck 2 or Rog Ally 2 launching the same year. Nvidia going to look like an industry fool cause miser ass Nintendo launching the 2nd most outdated piece of hardware in history. Wii U and Switch 1 were much more technologically advanced than the consensus agreement of what's in Switch 2, literally a 5+ year old SOC on a terrible 5+ year old node underclocked into the dirt.
 
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Gambit2483

Member
Why are they frustrated with Nintendo?

Its in tweet but doesn’t clarify.
It has to be $$$. It's always about $$$.

They know Nintendo is about to make a killing and probably wanted to renegotiate a better deal..?

Now everyone thinks they can make their own Switch.
 
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Gambit2483

Member
Would be interesting to know why. But I have no problem believing Nintendo is annoying to work with. Especially post Switch when they probably feel they can make actual demands/have some leverage in negotiations.
Nvidia probably wanted to get Nintendo to use higher end chip sets for two fold reason, 1. To better promote their mobile tech capabilities and 2. To get higher profit margins from their cut of hardware/chip sales.

Nintendo probably only needed the SOC to do certain processing capabilities while still being able to sell the system at a profitable price (or less of a loss).

Negotiations probably fell through on the more expensive chips and now they wish they could just make their own high end Switch 2/Steamdeck 2/ROG Ally...if I had to guess
 
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Hudo

Member
How do they have Nintendo by the balls?

I don't think Nvidia can just pull the plug on the chips with a company they're working with and probably have a contractual obligation to provide Nintendo with the parts.
They don't. Nintendo can tell NERD to write a decent emulator, if required.
 
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