The Nintendo Switch is the little console that could. The handheld console has blown past the competition and gone on to outsell even the Wii. So much so, that the Switch has become the third best-selling console in history. It’s been 6 years since the first Switch hit the market and Nintendo has not really given fans a substantial upgrade. We did get a small bump in quality with the Switch OLED but in terms of a next-gen experience, fans are stuck with the old hand-held console. But, if a new job listing is anything to go by, we could be seeing a new Nintendo next-generation console.
In a surprising turn of events, NERD (Nintendo European Research and Development) have posted a job listing that could signal a move to the next-gen. The opening is for a Game technologies R&D engineer/scientist. From what we can see in the job listing, it stated that the candidate must be fluent in high-performance implementation and cross-platform development. By itself, this means nothing but with the Switch coming closer to the end of its life span, Nintendo could be prepping to launch a new console. The job listing also states that the candidate will have to collaborate with game developers to bring new tech to the market. If that doesn't spell it out, I don’t know what will!
With both Sony and Xbox moving full steam ahead with the Ps5 and Xbox respectively, it looks like it’s time for Nintendo to join its associates. While the Switch is a console that prioritises gameplay over graphics, newer games will have a tough time running on outdated hardware and if Nintendo wants a piece of the third-party pie, the company will have to beef up the specs of its next console. And, with AMD recently announcing its Ryzen Z1 handheld gaming chips, the future does look rather bright.