Is Nintendo always going to be behind Microsoft and Sony in graphics?

[Dodece]

Unfortunately the answer is probably yes, but I would like to give two reasons for this that nobody else is likely going to make in this debate. Firstly that controller will be a large consumer of console price. There is no way around this if Nintendo intends to have a reasonable entry price. Maybe not half the cost, but a quarter to a third of the console pricing is going to be this controller. Given the launch window it is hard to imagine the console coming to market without a game either for that matter.

Secondly are we forgetting the basics when it comes to game development. There is a learning curve as far as new consoles are concerned. Developers simply will not be pushing the limits of the hardware within the first year, and Nintendo didn't exactly push the limits of their hardware this generation. The fact that the specs haven't seemingly been finalized doesn't bode well for any developer Nintendo included having a good span of time to work with the tech.

So you will probably have a console going through growing pains. While developers have had five years to get the most out of the other two existing consoles. The games on those consoles are still going to look better. Further more I am sorry that is a damn small box, and Nintendo isn't notorious for building in a lot of redundant hardware in the first place. So stream lined and better maybe, but Microsoft/Sony use loss leading models. Which Nintendo doesn't do. A year later both will come to market with much more powerful consoles with more redundancy. Yes they will have growing pains as well, but their hardware will have more room for sloppy development.

I am sorry there just isn't a compelling argument for Nintendo pulling off a graphical coup. They are splitting the cost between two parts. Have a severely truncated development cycle. Are facing competition that splurges, and are supposed to pull this all off with what we all expect is a one year window. You have to admit this is all too far fetched to be believed. Can we be honest Nintendo is scrambling with this. By the time they get their shit straight it will be far past a time when they might have had a slim hope. There is simply too much to do, and not enough time.