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Switch 2 will be backwards compatible with Switch

(www.videogameschronicle.com)
285 points ashitlerferad | 3 comments | 06 Nov 24 14:32 UTC | HN request time: 0.624s | source
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Macha ◴[06 Nov 24 15:45 UTC] No.42064052[source]▶
Huh, I'd been assuming the Switch 2 would be AMD Z2 based. I guess they've managed to convince nVidia to make them another SoC. A little surprised, would have thought nVidia would want to use any spare fab time for AI chips, though maybe they have some older process capacity?
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1. mywittyname ◴[06 Nov 24 15:51 UTC] No.42064154[source]▶
I imagine something like the Switch is a great revenue stream for nvidia. It's relatively easy work and they'll be minting Switch 2s, thus paying licensing fees, well into the 2030s.

Even if they don't need that money, it's still good to deny the competition of such a lucrative contract.

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2. qwytw ◴[06 Nov 24 16:34 UTC] No.42064826[source]▶
There are some hints that Nvidia wants to seriously enter the ARM CPU market (again)? Switch guarantees high demand/volume regardless of anything else. Not clear how lucrative the contract is on its own, though.

Presumably it will reduce their current gross margins (which won't necessarily look great in their quarterly report. Nvidia's total revenue is only ~20% higher than Intel's was back in 2021 despite the insane valuations (in large part due to their obscene margins).

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3. rsynnott ◴[06 Nov 24 18:59 UTC] No.42067448[source]▶
> There are some hints that Nvidia wants to seriously enter the ARM CPU market (again)?

Fourth time lucky?

(Poor ol' Nvidia has had an unfortunate history with this, arguably largely through no fault of their own. The Zune, the Kin with Tegra 1, the Motorola Xoom with Tegra 2, a variety of less-beloved tablets and weird phones with Tegra 3. I think the only successful use-case besides Nintendo and car infotainment stuff was Nvidia's own Shield.)