Apple A9X: The Mobile Processor That Outperforms a Wii U?

[Soundwave]

spemanig said:

Soundwave said:

I don't think a $20 processor gets you PS4/XB1 graphics, not even scaled down at 480p resolution. RAM would have to be $30 at least probably more. Unless Nintendo is using a shit screen again that's $50 at least for your touch panel. Sensors/NFC/WiFi is another cost. NAND Flash. And you're going to need a huge battery to power the thing too. 

I have doubts they can sell that at $200 without taking a loss. Like I said the mentality here is too much of "well just design the console first and then we'll slap together whatever for the handheld". For a unified platform, particularily where the handheld is more likely to be 4:1 the best seller, you can't have that approach. 

I think they have to build the portable chip first, then it's easy to scale that up, but that's not workable IMO using desktop PC components or even laptop components that have the benefit of being cooled internally by a huge casing and a fan. 

I don't see Nintendo magically eating $50 of the hardware cost if you buy both either. What's in it for them to take $50 less on the hardware (that likely is already being sold at margin/loss) just because you want to buy both? 

Is anyone really expecting the NXDS to have PS4 level graphics? I'm expecting it to have Wii U level graphics when the 3D is on at 544p on the top screen, and I think it's absolutely insane for anyone to expect anything more than that.

I also think it's insane for anyone to think that the NX and NXDS are going to have any kind of power parity at all. The NX and the NXDS are going to be as much of a generational gap in power as the Wii U and 3DS before it. The difference will come from the way the architectures and OS is designed, specifically for the purpose of making games as easy to develope for between the two as possible. You're still going to get massive differences in the way games look and perform between the two. The difference will be far more than just resolution. The games will have much less polygons on the NXDS, they will likely have dumbed down physics, lower draw distances, less enemies on screen, and many 60fps games will probably run at a lower framerate. You aren't going to get anywhere close to real parity on this platform. You'll get the graphical spectacle on the high end NX and the portable novelty on the low end NXDS, and no sane consumer is expecting anything more than that from the handheld.

This it the level of difference you'll be seeing between the NXDS and the NX:

Nothing more, and people will be fine with it, because the low-end NXDS versions will look almost as good as the images on the right/bottom, only as 544p and that will be more than good enough on a 5in screen. You are vastly overestimating how powerful the handheld needs to be to be able to play scaled down NX games.

That's fine, but that's not a unified platform then. 

If a third party developer has to basically in effect make two different versions of a game for it to actually run on both devices, then largely speaking I think most developers will say "thanks but no thanks". 

I don't think that console NX will get much support at all either. Third parties went through this before with the Wii U, the PS4/XB1 versions of all their multiplats are just going to sell like 1 million+ on the PS4 and then the XB1 a little less, and then waaaaaaay down there you're going to have the NX console version with like 80k for Madden or Bio Shock. 

Most devs won't bother. The whole appeal to the unified platform was always that you might be able to get at some of that REAL Nintendo audience, that is the one that buys their portables. If it's too much trouble though or devs have to use last gen engines, they'll probably just not bother with that either. 

The console NX is just an automatic no-go, it may as well be the Wii U 2. Too little, way too late, developers have to pay their bills and that means focusing on the PS4/XB1 that have an actual audience that is proven to buy the types of games they make.