Did Sony make a mistake by be first to release an upgraded console.

[KBG29]

Intrinsic said:

KBG29 said:

I was taking into account new form factors. I fully believe Sony and Nintendo will put out more options to build out their ecosystem, considering how important their hardware and ecosystems are. It would not shock me to see a Portable PS4 next year, and a Switch Mini. Then a PS4 and XBO revision in 2019, followed by a Switch revision in 2020, and so on and so forth.

It just seems like we have reach a point where they are no longer trying to compete head to head at the same launch, and they are all willing to take time and try to capture the spot light in their own window.

Thats the thing though... what you are saying sin't possible either. People keep saying this thing a lot. A PS4 portable...... but when I see that I just think to myself that these people don't really know how hardware works.

The switch in docked mode has a peak power draw of around 17watts. Mind you, thats 17watts for the entire system so it covers everything that requires power to run in the switch and not just the APU. The PS4 on the other hand draws a max 140watt of power. Thats like 7 TIMES more power needed!!!! And this isn't even taking int consideration that sony would have to make cart versions of all its PS4 games or go all digital and still put in a significant sized nad flash module(s) in the unit (which is way more expensive than throwing in a HDD.

For there to be a PS4 portable, max power consumption has to come down to around 20watt. Even shifting to a 7nm node..... thats just not possible.

 

I think people only look at the launch PS4 numbers and have not looked at recent numbers on the slim. The Slim uses significantly less power than the day one model, and even the 1200 model had a decent size reduction in power use, without a shrink in the APU. Actually PS4 Slim only draws a maximum of 86 Watts in the most load heavy situation, with the front end at 47W and 4 player split screen on Rocket League taking 63W. 

There are already rumors of an even slimmer PS4, and it would make sense that this would have an even lower power draw than the current slim. As times goes on, everything in the system shrinks, and in some cases, things can be eliminated, and their operation can be picked up by other components at a cheaper cost powerwise and monetarly.

It is very possible for Sony to rework that PS4 into a portable if they want to. They can customize the components to reach the power levels they need. It would definitly be harder right now, but they could always be looking at 12 or 10nm options, which will be available sooner, and make it easier. Once the reach 7nm, I have no doubt they can pull it off. Even under the current curve they would be looking at just over 40Watts in the worst scenario at 7nm. That can easily be ironeed out if they are focusing on a portabe design.

As far as cost is concerened, I think it is all about making a profit, and less about massive market penitration. If it has to cost $499.99, to make it viable, then that is what it should be. Though I don't think it will be that bad. Samsung expects the price of NAND based memory to drop below traditional drives $/GB by 2020, and that would be the single most expensive component. I think if they launched this year it would be $399.99. As long as they give it 4G and Calling/Texting it will be worth $800 to me, because it will be a smatphone on steroids.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2016-hands-on-with-the-playstation-4-slim-cuh-2000