| mine said: [...]
It is unlikely that AMD will leapfrog Intel in terms of performance per core per watt. At least not in 2016. Instead those new designs will leapfrog by using "stacked" RAM which sits on the APU die. This will quadruple the bandwidth and uses even a bit less power overall. The next gen AMD GPUs which will be available this spring will be able to drive 4K resolutions.
Does Nintendo need that much power? Even double the power compared to a PS4?
Not at all.
But the one who needs it is FACEBOOK. They need at least the power to drive TWO Full HD screens for their Oculus Rift. Maybe they need even more to enable asymetric gameplay utilizing the TV screen too.
The AMD next gen AMD design: guess what? Amazon will use it. They are going after gamers with their next Fire TV. While Android games won't reach that overall quality of the consoles in the next years - having better graphics can't hurt at all. They have invested in games and have -suprprise - already reached the limits of their own hardware...
Nintendo knows that it is software which sells hardware. With the New 3DS they have enough room to expand on the handheld side. And on the Wii U side they just put a foot into the capabilities of online gameplay. But they are far away of "swimming like a fish"... |
Four times current gen max power for next gen would already be an affordable choice, just twice the power is the most conservative choice possible, if Ninty doesn't even need that, then it doesn't need a new console at all.
About Facebook, I agree, ARM already greatly helped Google and Android to dodge Microsoft and Intel possible attacks, making them arrive last and without legacy power in the new markets, and it's market leader and an efficient architecture in the low power consumption segments, so it can help a lot Facebook too for its new devices.
