Cypress 802.11ac Wireless Connectivity Solution Enables Robust Multiplayer User Experience for Nintendo Switch™

Cypress Semiconductor Corp. (NASDAQ: CY) today announced its cutting-edge, dual-band 802.11ac combo solution, which delivers high-speed Wi-Fi^® and Bluetooth^® connections using advanced Bluetooth and Wi-Fi coexistence algorithms, is now in production. The solution is used in the new Nintendo Switch™ gaming system to support online gaming and communication to the innovative Joy-Con™ controllers.

The Nintendo Switch system, with its multiple configurations and portable controllers, needed a careful and innovative design to deliver the smooth user experience gamers expect. Cypress’ 802.11ac solution delivered the robust speed and multi-radio coexistence portion of that design.

Leveraging the power of the IEEE 802.11ac WLAN standard, Cypress’ CY4356EC Wi-Fi and Bluetooth combo solution provides up to 837 Mbps data rates and up to 2×2 Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) support. The high-speed solution enables fast downloads and interactive online multiplayer gaming with low latency, along with enhanced coexistence for play with multiple systems and controller units. The CY4356EC is a low-power system-on-chip, helping to prolong the battery life of the portable system. More information on Cypress’ WICED 802.11ac solutions is available at https://www.cypress.com/products/ieee-80211ac-wlan-bluetooth-edr-usb-sdio-and-pcie.

“Nintendo Switch is a perfect example of the increasing number of emerging applications that can benefit from the high performance and advanced coexistence our dual-band 802.11ac solutions offer,” said Michael Hogan, Vice President of the IoT Business Unit at Cypress. “High-speed Wi-Fi helps provide low-latency for gaming online, and our enhanced Bluetooth coexistence allows uninterrupted play with up to four pairs of the system’s unique Joy-Con controllers. At the same time, you need low power consumption to add to the system’s portability. Bringing this all together is no small feat, so we’re very pleased that our 802.11ac solution helped Nintendo Switch meet the challenge.”

Cypress is demonstrating its full portfolio of IoT solutions for connected cars, the industrial IoT, smart home appliances, wearables and a wide range of applications, along with its supporting Wireless Internet Connectivity for Embedded Devices (WICED^®) Studio 4 software development kit (SDK), at the Embedded World trade show in Nuremberg, Germany in hall 4A, stand 148 of the Nuremberg Exhibition Center from March 14-16. The portfolio enables developers to combine Cypress’ state-of-the-art Wi-Fi and Bluetooth IoT connectivity solutions with its PSoC^® and general purpose MCUs and CapSense^® capacitive-sensing solutions, analog Power Management ICs (PMICs), USB-based connectivity solutions and high-performance memories to get products to market quickly.