[NintendoLife]AMD in new Nintendo console?

[thilanliyan]

http://www.nintendolife.com/news/20...at_amd_will_provide_the_nintendo_nx_processor

Hope they get some decent profits out of this...they really need it lol

 

[NTMBK]

Interesting that they assume AMD == x86...

 

[tential]

Interesting that they assume AMD == x86...

There's been talk of it being arm based so definitely not a given of being x86

 

[Red Hawk]

Makes sense to me. Wonder if they'll use a semi-custom variant of Carrizo.

 

[Silverforce11]

ARM in a major console? I can hear the cries of a million gamedevs who would have to spend extra resources & manhours just to port all the x86 cross-platform games..

Btw, AMD's recent conference call, they mentioned a new semi-custom SoC win, starting in 2016.

Pretty sure its for the NX. Hopefully nintendo has asked for a beefy design giving it more power than the PS4.

 

[Azix]

ARM in a major console? I can hear the cries of a million gamedevs who would have to spend extra resources & manhours just to port all the x86 cross-platform games..

Btw, AMD's recent conference call, they mentioned a new semi-custom SoC win, starting in 2016.

Pretty sure its for the NX. Hopefully nintendo has asked for a beefy design giving it more power than the PS4.

nope. News was that it would be weaker. Nintendo is on drugs.

 

[Sabrewings]

Nintendo likes to keep the costs down and isn't very in to the "selling consoles at a loss to make money back on game sales" model.

 

[antihelten]

ARM in a major console? I can hear the cries of a million gamedevs who would have to spend extra resources & manhours just to port all the x86 cross-platform games..

Btw, AMD's recent conference call, they mentioned a new semi-custom SoC win, starting in 2016.

Pretty sure its for the NX. Hopefully nintendo has asked for a beefy design giving it more power than the PS4.

I've been wondering if the lack of a fully enabled Tonga GPU (except for the few going to Apple), could have anything to do with Nintendo's new console, but then again that wouldn't really square up with the rumor of it using a semi-custom SoC.

 

[monstercameron]

It would be interesting if nintendo did something like:
quad excavator
r9-290 gpu
4GB shared ram

with heavy focus on gpgpu.

 

[tviceman]

Awesome news for AMD. They need all the revenue/profit they can get right now.

 

[Rezist]

PS4 will be 350$ or less when this launches, X1 could be even less. If they don't sell for 300$ or less on launch it's screwed.

 

[jpiniero]

ARM based would make a lot of sense so that Nintendo wouldn't have to worry about what happens when AMD gets bought or goes bankrupt. And yes, a conservative design is to be expected. Maybe somewhere between the Shield TV and the XBone in terms of performance.

 

[Rvenger]

It would be interesting if nintendo did something like:
quad excavator
r9-290 gpu
4GB shared ram

with heavy focus on gpgpu.

That would be a space heater.

 

[RampantAndroid]

That would be a space heater.

I just don't see that happening ever... And why 4GB shared? Why not 8?

Nintendo has made it clear they don't do top of the line performance, and they prefer other things to set themselves apart (sadly, often gimmicky things.)

 

[monstercameron]

I just don't see that happening ever... And why 4GB shared? Why not 8?

Nintendo has made it clear they don't do top of the line performance, and they prefer other things to set themselves apart (sadly, often gimmicky things.)

Shaving off the bom keep the price ~$449 or less.

 

[RampantAndroid]

Shaving off the bom keep the price ~$449 or less.

I honestly think that would be a 100% failure for them. The current consoles are already saturating the market, and cost <$400 while doing so. If they come to market in 2016 with a $450 console, I don't see everyone with an XB1 and PS4 running out to buy another expensive console.

Nor do I see shoving a higher end CPU and GPU into a system and then starving it of RAM, which is absolutely what 4GB would be doing.

 

[Blitzvogel]

There's no telling where in the spectrum of performance Nintendo is aiming for. Looking at Nintendo's past, it's easy to predict a machine that's on par or even weaker than the Xbone. Optimists will predict that Nintendo has learned it's lesson and will produce something closer to the PS4 or even a bit more powerful.

We could see another Octo-Jaguar/Puma APU with an accompanying large scale graphics array (likely based on GCN 1.3). Given the amount of time a predicted new console from Nintendo could launch (earliest would be holiday season 2016), there is time for AMD to ready a Zen based part with Bonaire or Pictairn class graphics. Also, since Nintendo has a thing for special memory setups, it's possible we could see HBM2 either as the single pool of RAM or in conjunction with a cheap large volume memory. Hell the same APU AMD might release for the PC market could be what is used for NX. Too many directions that Nintendo and AMD could go here, even something like Carrizo is entirely possible with some changes to the memory controllers and maybe more CUs that are GCN 1.3.

 

[monstercameron]

I honestly think that would be a 100% failure for them. The current consoles are already saturating the market, and cost <$400 while doing so. If they come to market in 2016 with a $450 console, I don't see everyone with an XB1 and PS4 running out to buy another expensive console.

Nor do I see shoving a higher end CPU and GPU into a system and then starving it of RAM, which is absolutely what 4GB would be doing.

Nintendo can make another gimmicky console and hope for another Wii or they can go beyond what is currently available. If they go beyond tech-wise and make interesting games with their Nintendo style, they could claw some market share from the current gen.

My wish-specs would mean heavy focus on pretty shaders, and gpgpu solutions.

 

[Silverforce11]

Going for crap console hardware specs and gimmicky gameplay didn't do too well for Nintendo. Big time devs just abandon it as they focus on Xb/Ps4 for all the AAA titles while Nintendo is left with the typical kiddies titles..

 

[tential]

ARM in a major console? I can hear the cries of a million gamedevs who would have to spend extra resources & manhours just to port all the x86 cross-platform games..

Btw, AMD's recent conference call, they mentioned a new semi-custom SoC win, starting in 2016.

Pretty sure its for the NX. Hopefully nintendo has asked for a beefy design giving it more power than the PS4.

So I'm guessing you don't follow console market at all with a comment like this lol?

Going for crap console hardware specs and gimmicky gameplay didn't do too well for Nintendo. Big time devs just abandon it as they focus on Xb/Ps4 for all the AAA titles while Nintendo is left with the typical kiddies titles..

I don't have a XBONE or a PS4, I have a Wii U though lol....

 

[iiiankiii]

I really hope the NX is more powerful than the PS4. I dying to see some of those classic IPs (Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Smash, Mario Kart, etc.) with next gen graphics. I've always found the graphics for Nintendo's game to be gorgeous despite its limited hardware. A powerful console will bring those IP to life so to speak.

 

[Tuna-Fish]

The thing is, the low-power strategy is actually working reasonably well for Nintendo. Wii U had a very rocky start but is now recovering quite surprisingly well. We can call it a kid games console all we want, but frankly there are a lot of people who play Mario Kart and the like, and targeting people who won't buy PS4/XB1 can be a very good business strategy. Certainly better than stepping under the steamroller that is PS4, the fastest selling game console in history...

The release time appears to be aimed for the finfet processes. This presents interesting opportunities -- while the PS4 and XB1 will of course shrink down to the most economical processes very quickly, they can only make use of the power reductions and the die size reductions. A Nintendo console designed for 14/16nm would be able to hit higher clocks instead, meaning that they can reach the same performance at lower die size.

Whether they are interested in using this advantage to challenge the lead consoles is something only Nintendo and AMD know at this point, but I wouldn't bet on it.

 

[Silverforce11]

Launching in 2016, should have more powerful hardware than PS4, esp if its 14nm ff.

And yes, I do have a Wii, its a gimmick. I'm not buying an NX if it end up with weaker specs.

 

[Wreckem]

ARM in a major console? I can hear the cries of a million gamedevs who would have to spend extra resources & manhours just to port all the x86 cross-platform games..

Btw, AMD's recent conference call, they mentioned a new semi-custom SoC win, starting in 2016.

Pretty sure its for the NX. Hopefully nintendo has asked for a beefy design giving it more power than the PS4.

Umm Nintendo has pretty much had lackluster 3rd party support for multiple gens now. ARM on Nintendo's next console wouldn't cause that many developers to have issues because they wouldn't be developing for it either way.

 

[Wreckem]

PS4 will be 350$ or less when this launches, X1 could be even less. If they don't sell for 300$ or less on launch it's screwed.

Unless it is truly next gen beyond the PS4 and XboxOne, it has to be priced at $199.99 to be viable.