derpysquirtle64 said:
Not only because it's cheaper. I guess both Sony and Microsoft doesn't really want to work with Nvidia at this point. Nvidia screwed both companies in the past. They screwed Microsoft with GPU prices for original Xbox which led to a lawsuit. And they made the worse GPU for PS3 than what was inside Xbox360 which came out a year before. I guess it costed more for Sony than X360 GPU as well.
The price difference won't be the same as in retail. Not to say that the console GPUs will only be based on desktop counterparts, not be the exact same thing. Console manufacturers never pay retail prices for their chips. Otherwise we would never have seen a 400-500$ consoles. I also hope Microsoft won't go with Radeon VII for Scarlett. Choosing Navi even if it will be slightly less powerful would be a wiser choice as this GPU will have more new technologies that won't be present in Radeon VII |
It will be interesting to see if Nintendo has the same problems with Nvidia that the other two did. On one hand, they may not want to screw up their last chance to stay in the console market, so will treat Nintendo well. On the other hand, which the way the CEO talks make me think it may go this way, they know they have Nintendo by the balls for a mobile chip suitable for them, so may refuse to negotiate much lower prices. This could affect Nintendo's ability to price cut when needed.
As for Navi, I have a feeling MS may not have access to it. Sony is rumored to be working pretty closely with AMD on Navi. I kinda doubt they would want all of their input to go into their competition's machine. I would imagine Sony is going to have console exclusivity on Navi, at least for the beginning of the gen. I think Radeon VII, most likely customized, is the way MS is going to go. We have over a year for them to drop prices, which, like you pointed out, aren't the prices MS pays, anyway. It would give them a numbers win, most likely, in terms of Tflops. Of course, it won't be that large of a win, will cause it to be ~$499 vs a ~$399 PS5, and have fewer of the new technologies found in Navi. In the end, MS is going to make sure they can tout the most powerful system next gen, but I think it will mainly be on paper. Sony's 1st parties are going to show just what next gen can do.