By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close

Forums - Nintendo - The nintendo AMD arm x86 arq on the next consoles would have backwards compatibility?

mine on 18 January 2015
captain carot said:
Two ways for compatiblity:
Hardware: Have Wii 3 an actual SoC with Wii U CPU and GPU.

Software: Emulate PPC and GPU. If the triple core PPC in the Wii U is as standard as most think it actually isn't that difficult to emulate. It might need much CPU-power to emulate it with enough speed though.
The really challenging part would be the GPU. WiiU has likely a design based on Redwood or even RV730. AMD has already made a completely new GPU design since then and that basically means there might already be compatiblity issues.

As for a Wii U on a chip, it would cost money but could possibly be done pretty cheap with a future manufacturing process like 14nm.
Softwareemulation would cost some money as well in development. And need fast enough hardware.

 

Software emulation: that would need a really fast CPU to deliver the performance. Absolute the opposite of current Nintendos direction.

Hardware: a die shrink would help them to cut production costs of the Wii U too. But I guess it might cost them much more to get IBM doing that... 

Overall the Wii U is a very balanced console with state-of-the-art manufacturing. 

 

I bet Nintendo is more worried about the next generations of gamers than about the next generations of consoles...



Around the Network
RenCutypoison on 18 January 2015
Ninten78 said:
Didn't the PS 3 having 2 chip for backwards compatibilty add to its hefty price at 1st? I'm all for backwards compatibility but being afforable when the gates open is a huge advantage


That and a mandatory GamePad makes it a bad bet for Nintendo.



Alby_da_Wolf on 18 January 2015
mine said:

[...]

AMD announced two new design to launch in 2016: x86 APU and ARM APU.

 

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.



Stwike him, Centuwion. Stwike him vewy wuffly! (Pontius Pilate, "Life of Brian")
A fart without stink is like a sky without stars.
TGS, Third Grade Shooter: brand new genre invented by Kevin Butler exclusively for Natal WiiToo Kinect. PEW! PEW-PEW-PEW!   


Cobretti2 on 18 January 2015
Darwinianevolution said:
Cobretti2 said:
me thinks it is time to drop backwards compatibility.

Why would you prefer a console with less options? Backwards compatibility instantly opens a whole library  to a console, it's like having two machines in one.


What library? It is so thin on the Wii U it is not worth the effort. People can just keep their Wii Us.



 

 

Miyamotoo on 18 January 2015

I think so, Nintendo will want to sell Wii U games (at least digital) on next console too.



Around the Network
walsufnir on 18 January 2015
Soundwave said:
lol at anyone thinking nintendo will use x86.


There isn't anything other avalaible if you want power. But then again, we are talking about power... Which was missing in Wii and WiiU considering the competition.



teigaga on 18 January 2015
walsufnir said:
Soundwave said:
lol at anyone thinking nintendo will use x86.


There isn't anything other avalaible if you want power. But then again, we are talking about power... Which was missing in Wii and WiiU considering the competition.

-power

-scalibility

-cost efficiency

There is literally no reason to believe they wouldn't go with x86.



jonathanalis on 18 January 2015

mine said:
Don't "buy" into this rumours. They don't make sense at all.

AMD said that the new designs are going into production for 2016 products.

Will Nintendo abandon the Wii U already in 2016?

Those who wish a more powerful console - hardware wise - ask yourself: will this Nintendo really help?

The console wouldn't sell by itself. And I can't see the majority of Wii U owners flocking over to the next one after this short period.

Thirds won't port or develop for the next one unless there is a viable market for them. Which won't as there would be even less owners then the Wii U has now.


So: Nintendo would hurt itself by bringing up a new console in 2016. It doesn't make any sense for them to do so. And Nintendo knows.


And: don't hurt Nintendo and its Wii U by speculating over a new console in 2016. The only thing what happens is to make people unsure

about buying a Wii U NOW.

You an easily draw the conclusions WHY that new AMD design WAS NOT brought together with FACEBOOK: the self touted "next gen" consoles will look dated as they are already...

Their designs are "nintendoish" as never before - instead of providing high end power as the generations before. Instead they delivered low-end to middle-class power to make money as soon as possible. Exaclty what Nintendo is doing since years...

Who was saying 2016?

2016 holidays could be the time for the handheld release(and AMD word is kept), and 2017 holidays they could release the home console. 5 years seems a reasonable life time for a nintendo console. 
And also, which other gaming company would use it? of course i dont know the future, but for me makes more sense to be nintendo than any other.



Mr Khan on 18 January 2015
mine said:
teigaga said:

Moving forward Nintendo have nothing to gain by making their next system backwards compatible. Smash and Mario kart will get their piece of the pie as they always do each making previous entries obsolete, Zelda Wii U can be remastered and re-released alongside X and everything else will naturally be forgotten or replaced with a sequel.

Might be the case - but not in 2016. At some point in time they will drop BC if they are forced to change the CPU architecture and the new one isn't fast enough to emulate the PowerPC...

the Wii U has a lot of live in it as Iwata said: Nintendo won't release a new console until they have satisfied the Wii U owners.

And their is nothing other than Nintendos own capabilities which hinders them from making the Wii U more successfull by reaching new audiences. There are tens of  millions of Wii owners still waiting for Nintendo to give them a reason to buy a Wii U...

They have nothing really to gain from clinging to Wii U owners, though, who *might* total 20 million at the end of the day, and that's if Nintendo shunts the console into the bargain bin to get that last 5 million.

Just hope i have a solid job next year, because i still think they're going to drop both platforms almost at once. Cross-compatibility in the hardware architecture would mean there'd be no reason to cling to Wii U for too long after the new handheld is out: it would be a waste of resources to continue Wii U development, since likely the N7 and the GB6 will have development in the same pipeline.



Monster Hunter: pissing me off since 2010.

snowdog on 18 January 2015

ARM processors and x86 processors have a completely different architecture as far as I remember, and there's no such thing as an ARM x86 processor as far as I'm aware (although I haven't kept up with hardware for the last few years so I will of course stand to be corrected!).

ARM processors (again, I'm going on my memory which isn't great at the best of times lol) have considerably less transistors than x86 processors which is why they're primarily used in portable machines such as smartphones, they generate less heat and use less power.

As far as I remember the guy (or was it a press release..?) from AMD said they're working on an ARM processor and an x86 processor and ONE of them will be used in Nintendo's next console...probably the 4DS for want of a better name lol. We also know that Nintendo are going to use a weird-shaped screen on the thing.