An interesting piece of information has been tracked down on Nintendo’s jobs page by NeoGAF user BY2K. According to a recent job listing, Nintendo is currently seeking a Senior Software Engineer, whose duties look suspiciously like those required for working on new console or handheld hardware. The required qualifications for the position can be seen below.
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.
While it’s true that consoles are planned many years in advance, the Wii U is still young by modern console-cycle standards. The PlayStation 3 is currently in the process of tying up a successful 10-year life, and while the original Wii was a bit more short-lived, it lasted longer than its two most recent predecessors.
Related: Wii U Sales Increase to 97k~ Units During September
Of course, there have already been a multitude of rumors concerning what Nintendo might do next. Shigeru Miyamoto has hinted before that someday, if hardware advancements and reduced costs allow it, Nintendo may merge its handheld and console machines entirely. This would allow for more resources spent creating games on a single platform, and in theory could solve the company’s traditional 3rd-party console woes (mainly because outside companies have always contributed plenty on the handheld side).
Or, this could all just be much ado about nothing and business as usual. Regardless, I want a souped-up 3DS with HDMI-out and Wii U (or better) caliber graphics. Let’s go ahead and approve that idea, Nintendo.
