For the Nintendo Switch, Nintendo ended up partnering with NVIDIA for their Tegra chipset to power their new system. NVIDIA has, other than Apple, the leading mobile chipset, and given the Switch’s form factor and hybrid console considerations, they were best suited to provide Nintendo with what they needed.
It seems like this has been a very happy partnership for the both of them, too. NVIDIA has spoken openly about how impressed they have been with Nintendo since working with them, and in a new statement released during their most recent financial earnings, CEO Jen-Hsun Huang spoke very highly of Nintendo.
“One major component of our Tegra business is the Nintendo Switch gaming console, and it’s just doing incredibly well”, he told investors.“I’m so happy for Nintendo because they’re risk takers. They’re innovators. They’re not influenced by what other people do, and they’re original thinkers. And I just love the way they invented the Switch and the way they’ve taken it to market. I’m so happy for them. And it’s doing really well.”
Of course, Nintendo has always taken risks. Nintendo takes risks with its hardware, Nintendo takes risks with its games, Nintendo is a legitimate trail blazer in the industry. For years, Nintendo has defined the path the rest of the industry will take. They had begun to fall behind in the Wii U era- with the Switch, we may see their influence returning.