| Mr Khan said: This generation made clear that if they want the AAA multiplats, they're going to need an x86 box with the same base capabilities as the competition. Change any of that (like a more powerful PowerPC or a weaker x86) and no dice. |
On that note, I wonder if Nintendo is any good with the x86 architecture and rule sets for their internal development. They've been using RISC for... ever? I suspect that was why with the WiiU it was: "We are listening to 3rd party devs..." and then a few days later they come out rolling out a big middle finger to said 3rd party devs.
I have a high suspicion that Nintendo will simply never roll over to x86's archaic designs not necessarily on principle but on the fact that its alien to them (and they are probably smart enough not to directly compete with PC...). I'd sooner expect to see them running with ARM RISC chips, which are not a dead-end like PPC at this point. Its a shame PPC has floundered as it has but the only way Nintendo can get PPC nowadays is to make specific contracts with groups like IBM for overpriced chips. ARM will greatly cut their hardware costs while letting them pursue much higher clock speeds, better efficiency, and throughputs.
