Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

@rallydefault: and this thing if legit, especially if it has a full HD freeform screen, ps4/xbone level power, a pack in game, etc. Sounds like a $400 USD device to to me.

Yeh it will be probably about $550 AUD which I would be pretty happy with. I wonder is Nintendo will bundle some sort of mini game disc with the NX like they did with Wii sports and Nintendoland

I'm highly sceptical of the idea of an ARM based home console. You'd be spending more than an x86 equivalent chip for lower power consumption. Which sounds like a very Nintendo thing to do but you have to remember there aren't any other ARM based gaming platforms on the market with this spec. Sure porting from their portables would be easier but it'd be at the cost of easy porting from XBOne, PS4 and PC. Why would you make it harder to port from the only platforms that have a similar spec?

I'll also add this little thought. There was a story doing the rounds last year about how Apple's newest phone beat their Core M based MacBook air in some benchmarks. That was no trick. However it's worth noting how it beat it. The Core M is Intel's most power efficient chip, so much so that Apple decided they didn't need a fan. Which isn't an issue... until you run benchmarks and the Core M has to slow down to stop itself from overheating. That's how the high-end ARM chip in the iPhone managed to beat it in some benchmarks. If the Core M had a fan? The ARM chip wouldn't have had a chance. Do you think the NX will be so slim that they don't put a fan in there? I can't see it, especially if it's still using optical media.

So unless you think they're going for a very low spec machine, a very small form factor or giving up on third parties entirely? I can't see them going with an ARM based system. And the person in the link doesn't seem to think they're doing any of those things. They talk about matching the PS4, continuing with optical media and constant talk of it "competing" with the PS4 and XBOne.

tl;dr
If it's under your TV and they want happy third parties? x86
If it's under your TV and they want Wii U backwards compatibility? PPC
If it fits in your pocket? ARM

Agreed. Also, there's not a snowball's chance in hell that, if they are going with a second screen, their main focus is second screen gameplay. Nintendo has witnessed an experiment with second screen gameplay crash and burn, so they are going to need an approach that at the very least seems different to the average consumer.

A screen on the controller could still happen (no matter how unwise I think it would be), but it would be focused on something like customizable buttons or long-range remote play.

@iKhan:
It's almost like the person who wrote it listed the specs of the PS4 and then just tacked on some rumours on the end. The one about the controller and the one from a while ago about it being Android based. Without actually thinking about whether any of it fit together.

I'd also add that the bit about storage in there is interesting. Not because I think it's a huge insight but because it says something about where the average gamer's head is. When this generation started a 500GB laptop HDD was $65AU and a 120GB SSD was $150AU. Currently a 500GB laptop HDD is $65AU and a 500GB SSD is $150AU. So it's interesting that they bet on a 1TB HDD. Nintendo has a long history of loving solid state media. If I was to gamble on what Nintendo's next home console has I'd say it might have 250GB of flash with external HDD support.

@skywake: Do you know the difference between porting from x86 to PPC and to ARM? Is it any easier porting to ARM? I understand that x86 is the way to go if you want to please third parties, but they also stuck with PPC with the Wii U; and if ARM is going to make ports between their own games easier, and that MIGHT be a possibility.

One the other hand, that ''leak'' seems to suggest that the controller is a device on its own; I don't know how much that changes the situation. I don't think it's real, but I wonder how much of it is actual possible.

I'd imagine in theory it'd be just as hard porting to ARM as it is porting to PPC. Mostly because PPC and ARM are both RISC based as opposed to x86 which is not. RISC is more efficient sure but it's like trying to talk with only a limited number of words. That's why it's generally easier to do stuff with x86. But ultimately what's easier to work with depends on what architecture most people are used to. Where the experience lies.

If anything ARM might be trickier given that there isn't much of a history building high end games on ARM. It's basically just Nintendo's portable line and the Vita. Whereas PPC was used on the Gamecube, PS3, 360, Wii and Wii U. I'd assume that big studios have a lot more talent working with PPC than they do working with ARM. Although I'm sure they'd all prefer x86 if they had a choice given that PC, XBOne and PS4 are all x86.

Well I mean again a lot of third parties are fairly familiar with ARM and engines like unreal 4 and such work fine on it. I just don't see Nintendo using Jaguar.

Again I'm not saying it's legit, it probably isn't, but it does match up with what the WSJ describes and ARM is something I see Nintendo using over Jaguar.

@WebHead: Wasn't there a company bragging that they sold some ARM and X86 chips last year? So maybe NX and PS4K confirmed? (lol)

@WebHead:
You shouldn't use CPU micro-architectures and architectures as if they're the same thing. ARM and x86 are CPU architectures, Jaguar is a specific implementation of an x86 architecture by AMD. Saying that x86 makes more sense than ARM is not the same as saying they'll exactly the same CPU micro-architecture as the PS4 and XBOne.

Anyways, I think you're missing the first point I made about this supposed leak. There just flat out aren't PS4-spec ARM CPUs available. Not publicly anyways. I'd assume that in order to keep the costs down Nintendo would be using a slightly tuned version of an off-the-shelf chip. Probably one from a few years ago. If it's going to be more powerful than the Wii U? That rules out ARM.

To help you visualise here's the typical range widely used:
Small PPC: Console
Big PPC: Super Computer
Small x86: Console
Big x86: Super Computer
Small ARM: Chromecast
Big ARM: iPad

@skywake: idk I've read on BG%R that 4 1.5 ghz A75s(or A72s unsure) can match the PS4 and xbone cpus pretty easily. few devs utitlize the full power of those flagship phone processors. And I am 100% sure whatever NX is won't be using PPC. IBM i don't think even makes those types of cpus anymore.

@GrailUK: Yeah AMD. But then again it does look like enhanced PS4 and Xbone models are on the way as well.

@GrailUK: Given that PS4.5 and XB1.5 are confirmed, we're probably dealing with ARM for Nintendo. Given what above comments have said about ARM, that would suggest a handheld. It could be that NX handheld is technically a Wii U Gamepad replacement where you can play handheld games on it by itself but you can also connect up to Wii U / NX home console for it to act as a Gamepad.

So what I am understanding is, the NX is ARM based mocro console?

@DefHalan: I still like my idea of "Nintendo Mini" as the name for such a device.

http://nintendoeverything.com/photos-of-the-2016-nintendo-com... hmm

@WebHead:
I think it's fair to say that comparing performance between ARM and x86 processors is hard. The main difference between them is the fact that they effectively speak entirely different languages. So obviously it's hard to have benchmarks that compare the two. Especially when you add to that complication the fact that a console is an unknown. Consoles by design are closed systems.

But from what I understand I think it would be fair to say that the mobile CPU in the iPad Pro is the best ARM based CPU on the market. From the few benchmarks I could find? It's close to the PS4. Possibly beating it in some single threaded workloads but falling behind when you use 4+ threads. But you know what part of the issue is? We're comparing a top of the line, late 2015 mobile CPU to a not particularly impressive for 2013 desktop CPU.

If I'm being honest here some digging has changed my mind very slightly. This discussion has muddied the waters a bit IMO. But I still think it's far more likely that Nintendo would use a proven architecture. Not only because it'll be cheaper but also because it'll be an olive branch to third parties. Of course if this thing is quite a bit less capable than the PS4 all bets are off....

@skywake: at the same time looks like the x86 design win from AMD is likely for PS4K.

http://www.playstationlifestyle.net/2016/03/28/report-ps4-5-a... it's all but official now.

@WebHead:
I'm not sure what that says about NX though. It could be that AMD didn't spill the beans on what's happening with Nintendo. It might be that Nintendo are getting their processors from someone else. I'd point out the fact that Nintendo are not alone in their love of low power designs. Or of course there's the other possibility that is, somewhat surprisingly, both still on the table and not yet confirmed. The NX is not a PS4 competitor at all.

@skywake: Skylake powered NX would be a dream.