The Tegra X1 launched in May 2015 ... so it was only 1 1/2 years older than the PS4/XB1, and it was cheap from day 1 ... the Shield console was $199.99 in May 2015 so the chip itself was never that expensive.
There are other factors too. The possible implementation of DLSS can make a Switch 2, 2-3x more powerful in effective usage because the system can render at insanely low resolutions and save most of its power for visuals rather than being taxed for resolution.
There's also XBox Lockhart which Phil Spencer has all but confirmed as a cheaper XBox next-gen option ... the existence of that model means there's actually a lower bar for Nintendo to have to hit, if Switch 2 is close to the Lockhart model in power plus it has DLSS on top of that (so its actually more functionally powerful), than this is actually a better situation than what the Switch-PS4-XB1 is ... much better.
There's also DLSS 3.0 likely coming at some point, who knows maybe you'll be able to go down to some insane resolution like 320x240 (N64/SNES era resolution) and still be able to reconstruct that image up to 720p-1080p for undocked play. We already have seen 540p-576p DLSS can scale up to 1440p really nicely.
Last edited by Soundwave - on 17 July 2020
