Samsung Electronics is manufacturing the main chips designed by Nvidia for the highly anticipated Nintendo Switch 2 gaming console, which launches in most regions in June.
According to industry sources on Wednesday, Samsung secured orders for the Nvidia-designed chips powering the upcoming console, which is projected in some of the highest forecasts to sell as many as 20 million units by March next year.
As the console firm previously relied on chips manufactured by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. for the original Nintendo Switch, Samsung’s latest deal is being hailed as a major win for the Korean firm, edging out its rival foundry.
Samsung has been striving to strengthen its foothold in the foundry market, where TSMC remains dominant, with major clients like Apple and Nvidia. While TSMC leads in advanced process technology and high-volume reliability, Samsung is investing heavily in next-generation nodes, like the 2 nm process, to close the gap.
The Nintendo chip deal marks a meaningful step in its push to expand market share, industry observers say.
Bloomberg reported that Samsung will be using its 8-nanometer node to produce the customized processor designed by Nvidia, and that, the production pace should be fast enough for Nintendo to ship more than 20 million units of the console by March next year.
The shipment estimate exceeds Nintendo’s own conservative projection of 15 million units.
With overwhelming demand anticipated, Nintendo’s decision to switch foundry partners for the upcoming console appears to be a strategic move to avoid the intense competition for production capacity that companies often face at TSMC.
Scheduled for release in Korea on June 5, the Switch 2 has already generated massive buzz worldwide, including in Japan, where 2.2 million people applied for lottery-based preorders last month. Since only users with a one-year online subscription and at least 20 hours of gameplay were eligible, actual demand is likely to be far greater.
herim@heraldcorp.com
