By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close

Forums - Nintendo Discussion - Source: NX "Is Definitely Not Aiming To Compete With PS4 On Horsepower"

Scoobes on 07 July 2015
MajorMalfunction said:
Scoobes said:

An AMD x86 CPU would be far more power hungry than an ARM processor. That said, AMD are in a position (or will be in about 2 years time when they round up development on their ARM chips) where they can actually supply an ARM and an x86 SOC to Nintendo (with the same GPU architecture on both chips).

This would fit quite favourably with the NX concept. And whilst x86 CPUs can emulate ARM processors, I'm not sure Nintendo would favor this as it's fairly inefficient. I think they'll probably look to make dev tools that can translate the same set of code for both architectures. I think Sony do something similar with PS4 and Vita.

Another option is to put an ARM CPU and an x86 CPU on the same SoC, and have an ARM/GPU SoC for the handheld and an ARM/x86/GPU SoC for the home console. It's a little crazy, but hear me out: ARM had great support for co-processors. Something as ubiquitous as a CPU's MMU is a co-processor on ARM, at least pre-ARMv8. After ARMv8, the MMU was integrated with the CPU and coprocessor support was phased out, so Nintendo would have to add it back in. Other components like USB controllers, etc. would be separate chips from the SoC. In both cases, the OS would run on the ARM CPU. I've looked at die shots for all the 8th gen consoles, and all 3 use ARM CPUs as part of their security during boot time, so it's not totally far-fetched. I'm not convinced that this isn't a terrible idea, but it seems, at the very least, plausible.

I was thinking the same thing, and the only company I know of that could pull that off (due to licensing) is AMD. What's held me back from suggesting that particular x86/ARM hybrid SOC is that AMD currently don't have anything like that in their pipeline. I don't know if that's for technical reasons or if they could do it for a custom SOC but there's no market in consumer tech.

Either way, if they could pull that off, it could be an easy way to meld hand-held and console.




Get your Portable ID!

Around the Network
Scoobes on 07 July 2015
Soundwave said:

The problem is see with the home and portable variants being so close is in that scenario and both playing the same games, I think most people will simply opt to buy the handheld version and just opt to have a PS4 or XB1 as their console if they even want a console. Which isn't probably all that different from now.

I guess there's still benefit here in that Nintendo would benefit from not having their bigger gun games like Splatoon and Mario 3D World "trapped" on the lower selling console side, but I'm not sure this really does anything for the console, it would probably just sell about the same as the Wii U is on pace for (about 18-20 mill). 

The way Nintendo sometimes mentions the device also sounds like its a singular device, so I'm starting to wonder if Nintendo maybe experimented with multi-SKUs, but then came back to a singular device, more or less (a portable that can stream games to the TV and maybe even the iPad) with another controller gimmick tied to it. Iwata did say they could have multiple SKUs in the future but that also it may just be one. 

From the little I've read from Nintendo, I suspect it'll be one unified device. It may throttle performance for the sake of battery life when taken as a portable, but when connected to a TV and some kind of dock (and power from the wall), will unlock the clockspeed and free up the chip performance for a more home console experience. 




Get your Portable ID!

zorg1000 on 07 July 2015
Soundwave said:

The problem is see with the home and portable variants being so close is in that scenario and both playing the same games, I think most people will simply opt to buy the handheld version and just opt to have a PS4 or XB1 as their console if they even want a console. Which isn't probably all that different from now.

I guess there's still benefit here in that Nintendo would benefit from not having their bigger gun games like Splatoon and Mario 3D World "trapped" on the lower selling console side, but I'm not sure this really does anything for the console, it would probably just sell about the same as the Wii U is on pace for (about 18-20 mill). 

The way Nintendo sometimes mentions the device also sounds like its a singular device, so I'm starting to wonder if Nintendo maybe experimented with multi-SKUs, but then came back to a singular device, more or less (a portable that can stream games to the TV and maybe even the iPad) with another controller gimmick tied to it. Iwata did say they could have multiple SKUs in the future but that also it may just be one. 

I understand the concern but at the same time, what's the point of having a vastly more powerful console variant when all or most games are going to be shared and not likely take advantage of the extra horsepower?



When the herd loses its way, the shepard must kill the bull that leads them astray.

Soundwave on 07 July 2015
zorg1000 said:
Soundwave said:

The problem is see with the home and portable variants being so close is in that scenario and both playing the same games, I think most people will simply opt to buy the handheld version and just opt to have a PS4 or XB1 as their console if they even want a console. Which isn't probably all that different from now.

I guess there's still benefit here in that Nintendo would benefit from not having their bigger gun games like Splatoon and Mario 3D World "trapped" on the lower selling console side, but I'm not sure this really does anything for the console, it would probably just sell about the same as the Wii U is on pace for (about 18-20 mill). 

The way Nintendo sometimes mentions the device also sounds like its a singular device, so I'm starting to wonder if Nintendo maybe experimented with multi-SKUs, but then came back to a singular device, more or less (a portable that can stream games to the TV and maybe even the iPad) with another controller gimmick tied to it. Iwata did say they could have multiple SKUs in the future but that also it may just be one. 

I understand the concern but at the same time, what's the point of having a vastly more powerful console variant when all or most games are going to be shared and not likely take advantage of the extra horsepower?


I'm starting to think it may just be one SKU, a portable type device that can wirelessly transmit a signal to the TV and maybe even things like your tablet (using a sync app). That and it ships with a controller/input gimmick. If it gets really popular, then Nintendo may make other SKUs.  At home it can be used like a party game device, and you can also pick it up and take it outside of the house and play on the go. 

To be honest too even if the console was "cheap" by our metric $200 isn't really cheap just to play the same games on your TV if you have the portable version already (which is likely to be far and away the majority of NX owners in a multi SKU scenario). 

That's actually fairly expensive just to play the same games in a different way. 



Eddie_Raja on 07 July 2015

Another last-gen console confirmed. Honestly unless they can sell this for like $150 as a go-to secondary console I don't see how this will do better than the Wii U.



Prediction for console Lifetime sales:

Wii:100-120 million, PS3:80-110 million, 360:70-100 million

[Prediction Made 11/5/2009]

3DS: 65m, PSV: 22m, Wii U: 18-22m, PS4: 80-120m, X1: 35-55m

I gauruntee the PS5 comes out after only 5-6 years after the launch of the PS4.

[Prediction Made 6/18/2014]

Around the Network
zorg1000 on 07 July 2015
Soundwave said:
zorg1000 said:

I understand the concern but at the same time, what's the point of having a vastly more powerful console variant when all or most games are going to be shared and not likely take advantage of the extra horsepower?


I'm starting to think it may just be one SKU, a portable type device that can wirelessly transmit a signal to the TV and maybe even things like your tablet (using a sync app). That and it ships with a controller/input gimmick. If it gets really popular, then Nintendo may make other SKUs.  At home it can be used like a party game device, and you can also pick it up and take it outside of the house and play on the go. 

To be honest too even if the console was "cheap" by our metric $200 isn't really cheap just to play the same games on your TV if you have the portable version already (which is likely to be far and away the majority of NX owners in a multi SKU scenario). 

That's actually fairly expensive just to play the same games in a different way. 

Perhaps they have a separate handheld and console each retailing for about $150-200 but they also have a $40 Chromecast/Fire Stick type of device that let's u stream the handheld to the TV. There should still be a TV only alternative for people who don't care for handhelds.



When the herd loses its way, the shepard must kill the bull that leads them astray.

zorg1000 on 07 July 2015
Eddie_Raja said:
Another last-gen console confirmed. Honestly unless they can sell this for like $150 as a go-to secondary console I don't see how this will do better than the Wii U.


There are a few rumors going around and if they are true than it will be a $150 device with upgraded Wii U specs and an Android-based OS. To me that sounds more like an Apple TV/Amazon Fire TV competitor than a Playstation/Xbox competitor.



When the herd loses its way, the shepard must kill the bull that leads them astray.

Soundwave on 07 July 2015

The way Reggie, Tanabe and now this Unseen 64 guy have spoken about NX, they speak of it in singular terms.

So that's why I'm kinda hedging on the multiple SKUs thing. If there's not going to be a big difference between the handheld and home variant in power, then you may as well just let the handheld stream games to the TV.

Maybe the portable + home nature of the device is integral to the gimmick/novelty too. IE: say you can pick the NX up and take it into the kitchen table and set it up so that the family can play there somehow. If it has a screen on it you can play in any room and maybe there's some novelty to it design to bring people/family together in any room. Sounds Nintendo-like enough. Stuff like that. 



zorg1000 on 07 July 2015
Soundwave said:

The way Reggie, Tanabe and now this Unseen 64 guy have spoken about NX, they speak of it in singular terms.

So that's why I'm kinda hedging on the multiple SKUs thing. If there's not going to be a big difference between the handheld and home variant in power, then you may as well just let the handheld stream games to the TV.

Maybe the portable + home nature of the device is integral to the gimmick/novelty too. IE: say you can pick the NX up and take it into the kitchen table and set it up so that the family can play there somehow. Stuff like that. 


Of course they speak of it as a single device, because referring to them as multiple devices completely gives away the secret.



When the herd loses its way, the shepard must kill the bull that leads them astray.

Soundwave on 07 July 2015
zorg1000 said:
Soundwave said:

The way Reggie, Tanabe and now this Unseen 64 guy have spoken about NX, they speak of it in singular terms.

So that's why I'm kinda hedging on the multiple SKUs thing. If there's not going to be a big difference between the handheld and home variant in power, then you may as well just let the handheld stream games to the TV.

Maybe the portable + home nature of the device is integral to the gimmick/novelty too. IE: say you can pick the NX up and take it into the kitchen table and set it up so that the family can play there somehow. Stuff like that. 


Of course they speak of it as a single device, because referring to them as multiple devices completely gives away the secret.

I dunno. And Reggie calling it a "console". Just makes me think. Maybe Nintendo was looking at multiple SKUs, but who really is buying the console SKU if its roughly the same as the handheld?