Latest reports are claiming that chip maker AMD is working on the processor for the Nintendo NX, an upcoming gaming console believed to be released sometime in 2016.
The speculations began when AMD's finance chief Devinder Kumar mentioned in December that they are building two semi-custom chip designs, one of which is intended to be used for a device that will reportedly function "beyond gaming," while the other is believed to be for an upcoming game console.
Now, the rumors linking the chip manufacturer to the development of the Nintendo NX resurfaced after AMD CEO Lisa Su reported that they managed to seal the deal for a third contract for a semi-custom chip design, which will allegedly earn billions of dollars in terms of sales. However, the CEO refused to specify which product will use their third chip design.
AMD, a manufacturer of non-traditional gaming and high performance computing devices, provides the chips for Nintendo's present video game console, the Wii U, which is why it is not surprising if the Japanese gaming entertainment company will also entrust them with the chips for their new device. AMD also supplies the chips that run other popular game consoles in the market today, including the PlayStation 4 from Sony Entertainment as well as the Xbox One from Microsoft.
AMD describes the chips that they use for the game consoles that they have worked on as "semi-custom" chips, in which the central processing unit and graphics processing unit are combined to come up with a single chip.
According to VentureBeat, Moor Insights & Strategy analyst Patrick Moorhead believes that AMD will definitely work on the upcoming next-generation Nintendo console, saying, "I think it's a very high probability unless Nintendo goes Android where I would expect them to go with Nvidia."
Nintendo is still mum about the specifics of the Nintendo NX.
