catofellow said: One factor in my opinion going against Nintendo long term is their use of an IBM CPU. Apple, Sony, and Microsoft have all ended support for IBM CPU's, and Nintendo is the last holdout I am aware of in the gaming software space. Software developers would like to focus on x86 processors or ARM processors, both to allow for ports between platforms, and to reduce the skill sets they need to maintain within staff. Nintendo will enjoy XBOX 360 and PS3 ports for the time being, but eventually the Wii U will be significantly under powered compared to modern consoles and PC's with a completely different architecture. That will not make it easy for developers to port to or from other platforms. I'm no techie, but I think this will be an issue long term. |
It isn't going to be an issue at all, that's why games are developed with C++. CPU architecture isn't important, console architecture on the other hand is - it's going to be a great deal easier for developers to port between the Wii U/PS4/One than it currently is to port between the Wii U/PS3/360 because the console architecture for the former architecture is very similar...they're all GPU-heavy rather than the PS3 and 360 which are CPU heavy.
The console architecture of the PS3 and 360 were both odd design decisions tbh, before the 7th gen most consoles had the GPUs doing the heavy lifting, particularly floating point work.