Hardware Nintendo Switch has been worked on for TWO YEARS?

[DeoNaught]

so I was reading this article http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2016/11/nvidia_ceo_talks_up_incredible_nintendo_switch

and so I read this part of the article
"I guess you could also say that Nintendo contributed a fair amount to that growth. And over the next – as you know, the Nintendo architecture and the company tends to stick with an architecture for a very long time. And so we've worked with them now for almost two years.".

That's two years after the Wii u released.

 

[cots]

Interesting find. I have high hopes for this machine as I own a nvidia shield tablet and it's hella powerful. An upgraded one would be amazing. I'm glad Nintendo has created a semi-powerful machine (compared to PS4/XBOX1) that developers are going to support. Let's hope it sells!

 

[CatmanFan]

No offense, but I don't really care about how long it was worked on anyway

 

[flame1234]

Hardware development cycles are long.
The hardware people have to figure out what they're doing, then developers, both 1st and 3rd party, need to be brought up to speed. There needs to be time for manufacturing built in as well.
PS4 Pro / Scorpio dev cycle was probably half that because it's just a spec bump.

 

[RemixDeluxe]

No offense, but I don't really care about how long it was worked on anyway

"I'm going to post in a topic irrelevant to my interests and waste people's time."

 

[Cygen]

Nintendo always knew that The Wii U was (mostly) a failure. Its not that huge of a suprise that they wanted to invent a succesor as soon as possible. We can only hope they used this time wisely. We still dont know anything about the battery duration in mobile mode or if Its The Same as The Wii U and you cant buy The Screen or Docking Station seperate if something Breaks.

 

[foob]

That's two years after the Wii u released.

I am surprised it has only taken them 2 years to develop the Switch with Nvidia. I would guess that Nintendo spoke with many other companies to see what they could offer them before a choice was made. I would also guess that the hardware and software engineers (and accountants) were in heavy planning about requirements and concepts (and costs) for new hardware at least a year before their official partnership with Nvidia.

 

[DeoNaught]

I am surprised it has only taken them 2 years to develop the Switch with Nvidia. I would guess that Nintendo spoke with many other companies to see what they could offer them before a choice was made. I would also guess that the hardware and software engineers (and accountants) were in heavy planning about requirements and concepts (and costs) for new hardware at least a year before their official partnership with Nvidia.

so your saying is that its been in dev for three years maybe?

 

[Kioku]

Nvidia working with Nintendo for two years DOES NOT mean the switch has been worked on for only two years.

 

[eduall]

Nvidia working with Nintendo for two years DOES NOT mean the switch has been worked on for only two years.

ure right!

 

[foob]

so your saying is that its been in dev for three years maybe?

For sure. At least. Any new hardware release takes ages, if you go back to see it develop from the blank slate right up to sellable product

 

[RemixDeluxe]

Two years matches up with when Satoru Iwata first mentioned the NX was being worked on in 2014 when investors and shareholders thought Nintendo was leaving the hardware race. Isnt it crazy to think we've known about the Switch for over 2 years now? You dont hear about Sony talking about the PS5 that early.

 

[Bladexdsl]

is right as soon as ninty finish one console they get to work making the next one.

 

[grossaffe]

Yeah, new consoles don't just pop up out of thin air. A lot of planning, design, and engineering goes into it.

 

[rickpower]

quick question is the Switch going to have 3d screen ?

 

[ShadowOne333]

I'm guessing you have never been in a long term project where you go from the actual conceptual ideas to an actual prototype.
Making a worldwide hardware release takes a lot of time.
I take some months just to clarify the idea, some more to make some starting with hardware possibilities and possible partners, then the actual design and hardware schematics, etc.

I say a year is the minimum to be honest for a big company.
Two years was okay since they are trying new stuff and also new hardware and software partners.

 

[EntermateStar]

quick question is the Switch going to have 3d screen ?

no it wont

 

[sj33]

2 years is a remarkably short development cycle for a flagship piece of hardware.

 

[DeoNaught]

2 years is a remarkably short development cycle for a flagship piece of hardware.

Really? what is the regular?

 

[sj33]

Really? what is the regular?

It tends to be around 4-5 years. Initial planning starts roughly a year after the launch of their current console, though the Wii U's short life span has made the turnaround seem a lot faster.