NVIDIA & MediaTek Allegedly Working On Brand New SOC For Gaming Handhelds & Consoles

NVIDIA and MediaTek might be working on a brand new SOC that will be powering gaming handhelds and consoles.

According to @XpeaGPU, it looks like we might soon see NVIDIA returning to the console gaming segment. The leaker states that MediaTek is developing a next-gen gaming handheld SOC that'll feature NVIDIA's GPU IP as the company sees good potential in this segment. It is also stated that the SOC will be different than the other semi-custom stuff that NVIDIA is working on with MediaTek and that several Chinese clients are already showing interest in these chips.

Yep and Mediatek is also working on gaming handled SoC with Nvidia GPU as Jensen is frustrated by Nintendo and he sees a good market potential. PS: its different than the new NV semi-custom div that tries to reenter the console market (some CN clients are already interested) https://t.co/sBuYVLJILc

— AGF (@XpeaGPU) May 15, 2024

Just a few days ago, it was rumored that NVIDIA and MediaTek were going to offer their new ARM-based SOCs which will tackle Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite CPUs in the laptop space. These chips are expected to be based on TSMC's 3nm process node and the design should be finalized by Q3 of this year (2024) with ass production expected in the first half of 2025.

Now this wouldn't be the first time that we have heard about NVIDIA going the ARM way for its own custom SOCs for the AI PC segment. Reports from last year already stated that NVIDIA was working with MediaTek on these chips and was leveraging TSMC's CoWoS packaging technology. This might explain the high $300 price per unit which is rumored at the moment though we have to wait & see if that's what the final chip should use.

NVIDIA also made it official during GTC 2024 that MediaTek's upcoming Dimensity SOCs will use the next-gen RTX & AI GPU IP based on the Blackwell architecture. These Dimensity SOCs are aimed at the automotive segment but we can see how both companies are evaluating different opportunities at the moment. This brings us back to the topic of gaming and handheld consoles.

While NVIDIA is very relevant in the handheld gaming space thanks to the Nintendo Switch, the company also once had its Shield handheld &  Shield TV platforms, both of which used the Tegra SOCs. NVIDIA also powered the original Xbox console and the Sony PS3 but since then, the traditional game console market has completely shifted to AMD, utilizing both its Zen & RDNA architectures. Even upcoming refreshes and variants from Sony and Microsoft will retain AMD hardware.

But handheld gaming consoles are a market that has recently seen major emergence with the likes of AMD already offering the Ryzen Z1 APUs which are specifically designed for these compact devices. Intel's Core Ultra CPUs have also found a space within this market and it looks like NVIDIA, who has some prior experience with its Shield and Nintendo Switch SOCs, will try to enter this market once again too. It will be interesting to see if NVIDIA manages to make a viable SOC for the gaming console and gaming handheld segment outside of the Nintendo Switch which uses a custom design.