Report: Nintendo Taps Nvidia for New DS in 2010

Nintendo just introduced the DSi earlier this year, but according to sources cited by technology website BSN, Mario and crew are now aiming to launch a more powerful next-gen DS portable by the end of next year. The report indicates that longtime ATI customer Nintendo was in talks with Nvidia to use its Tegra "system on a chip" processor and that Nvidia did indeed win the contract.

The Tegra currently powers Microsoft's Zune HD, and even the low-end version of the chip clocks in at a respectable 600MHz. Furthermore, BSN suggests that the timing could be right for Nintendo to go with the second generation of Tegra chips: "With Gen2 Tegra offering quite a graphics punch; GeForce 9 based hardware [CUDA-enabled design] should offer immense experience on small screens - we see no reason why you could not have 4x Anti-Aliasing and 8x Anisotropic filtering on a dual-screen system."

It all sounds great, but one thing we've learned with the Wii is that Nintendo puts features and cost savings ahead of visual horsepower. More importantly, we have no idea if this report is even true. Nintendo of course labels it "rumor and speculation." The only thing we're sure of is that Nintendo is working on next-gen DS hardware (and a next-gen console, as they're always preparing for the future), but whether that new portable will launch next year, let alone be powered by Nvidia, is up in the air.

Although ATI may have lost Nintendo for the new DS, the graphics chip firm reportedly has signed on with Microsoft for the next Xbox.