It's been understood for quite some time that Nintendo begins developing its consoles right before the previous one is released.
Point in fact, the much maligned Wii U began development right after the Wii, which originally began its development as a peripheral for the GameCube. Now, it appears that the Big N is hiring architects for a new piece of hardware, according to NeoGaf.
This is all speculation of course, and I sincerely doubt we'd see anything concrete from Nintendo until 2017 at the very earliest, but the job posting is very real. Here it is in all of its "HR speak" glory:
"Nintendo Technology Development is looking for a lead graphics architect in the system-on-chip architecture group in Redmond, WA. The group is responsible for the architecture of Nintendo's game console SoCs. The graphics architect plays a key role in determining the SoC architecture. The job responsibilities are:
Evaluate HW graphics (GPU) offerings from SoC solutions available in the market based on performance, power, and silicon area.
Evaluate the performance of the SoC solutions for both proprietary and standard graphics APIs.
Determine workloads and simulation models for both performance and power characteristics of GPUs.
Keep track of GPU architectural improvements in the industry and devise strategies to incorporate them for future Nintendo gaming platforms.
Act as the graphics architectural evangelist working with global Nintendo teams for future and on-going programs.
Work with external SoC vendors as the Nintendo focal point for graphics GPU architecture.
Should be prepared to work through architecture, design, validation, and bring-up stages of SoC design in cooperation with internal and external teams.
Summary of Requirements
The ideal candidate will have had experience working directly in a GPU architecture and design team with significant responsibilities.
Low power and SoC design experience would be a plus.
The candidate is expected to have good architectural insights and the ability to apply that for setting future graphics direction for Nintendo.
A bachelors degree (graduate degree preferred) in computer science/engineering or electrical engineering.
5+ years of lead or architectural role experience are required."
SoC, or "system on a chip," is a vital part of all computers and similar processing hardware. It's entirely possible that Nintendo is simply hiring for someone to work on its upcoming "Quality of Life device," but given the emphasis on graphics, performance, and power in this listing, I think it's a good bet that the company is indeed looking for engineers for its next home console.
Stay tuned for more as it develops.
