Nintendo Switch is powered by NVIDIA

[railven]

Didnt somebody just say it was easy to port?
And why is Tegra meh? It will likely be either pascal or volta based. Is there a problem with that other than it not being AMD?

My guess is Nintendo will aim for current Wii U graphics @ 1080p/60 where as the WiiU is mostly limited to 720p/60 for the console.

Handheld will target 720 or 1080/30 similar graphics levels.

If they can create cross play with online, I can see it selling strong as a mobile-centric device. The console would just be an accessory (why they'd want to keep hardware costs down).

3rd party titles would either be ported from PC via NV and their software

(this is the post I was referring to):

It's PC games ported to Android. NVIDIA has been driving developers to do this for awhile.

https://shield.nvidia.com/games/android

The list of games contains a mix of PC and Android original games.





With NVIDIA Gamestream you can. You'll still need to use NVIDIA servers (paid for service), or have a gaming PC in the house with an NVDIA GPU. It won't play PC games natively.

If the port work isn't too hard, Nintendo has access to PC ports with little work on their part.

Really will be interesting what Nintendo does. People are itching for Pokemon Go Battles, but it could be the app that pushes people to pick up a Nintendo DX. Using their phones still to catch Pokemons and their NX to battle them at home or on the go.

 

[Flapdrol1337]

If it's a mobile device I guess it makes sense to use nvidia instead of amd.

 

[Stuka87]

Didnt somebody just say it was easy to port?
And why is Tegra meh? It will likely be either pascal or volta based. Is there a problem with that other than it not being AMD?

Every Tegra chip thus far has been unimpressive compared to other options on the market. If this proves to be true, it will be the first real contract nVidia has gotten since the release of the Tegra 3. And even then that was basically forced on device makers and had horrible performance.

Maybe this chip will be different, and will be able to offer performance on par with what Sony/MS have.

And while there are tools that make porting between x86 and ARM "easy", the performance is horrible! Just look at Unity as an example. The dev would have to optimize their game for an entirely different CPU and GPU architecture. Possible, but it cost money. And its the reason AAA makers gave up on the WiiU.

 

[R0H1T]

I get you two are camp AMD, but you guys aren't looking at what Nintendo could possibly do.

A unified platform would benefit them greatly. Most of their best sellers are handheld games, which aren't graphically demanding.

Allowing users to play said games on a home console (sold separately, at a moderate price since the hardware won't be OMG 4k@60FPS) is just going to enhanced that for their player base.

With most console titles hitting PC, it is most likely Nintendo wants to be the go-to mobile device (as they've basically been regarded as due to lacking Wii U exclusives).

Have a PC+Nintendo NX, or PS4+Nintendo NX, or Xbone+Nintendo NX. They don't need to dominate Sony/MSFT. They will do just find selling their platform exclusive games.

Again, Pokemon sold 10 million copies. That beats any AAA-title multi-plat and the budget was most likely a small fraction in the process.

Unless they're porting some/most of the Android/iOS games to the NX I feel this move could very well backfire on them big time. The thing is gaming on phones has already outpaced & outnumbered anything the PC/console industry has ever seen. This is not to say that people will move away from the console or PC but I feel that the battle lines are already set in stone; graphically intensive, high quality, VR ready games are the backbone of PC/console industry. The mobility is what entices smartphone users, NX will have to carve out a niche that's beyond anything out there to move a large number of mobile users to their console.

Guess what was the platform? I doubt Nintendo is beating the smartphone manufacturers at their own game.

 

[therealnickdanger]

Obviously fake. Nv themselves said they are not interested in console market. High volume, low margins etc.

They said that years ago based almost entirely upon their experience with Xbox and PS3. Now that AMD is getting a constant flow of revenue, I'm sure the grass is looking a lot greener... er, redder...

I don't buy this rumor based purely upon it claiming it uses Tegra.

-------------------------------------

Pokemon Go isn't a Nintendo title. Nintendo owns a ~35% stake in the Pokemon Company which holds the rights to the game, but that's where their relationship to Pokemon Go ends.

 

[Headfoot]

I suspected they were going to do a cross compatible mobile + home console move. Which would necessarily entail a lower power home console as to not totally outstrip the mobile platform.

Hopefully they aren't using a 2015 chip for a 2017 console though...

 

[crisium]

It's all relative.

Porting from GCN x86 consoles to Tegra is easier than what? Porting to PowerPC? The Cell processor? Something else? Surely it is not the hardest port every conceived.

But by definition it cannot be easier than porting from GCN and x86 consoles to another GCN x86 console. Relativity folks. Nvidia and Nintendo will need to have a very good devkit system setup to make the porting process smooth, because that is what they are up against - literally the same hardware.

So it is almost certainly a compromise, but it may be a necessary one for their vision. Tegra performance per watt in the mobile space is virtually unchallenged. And all NX rumours point to mobile. They have little choice, and now it's up to the N companies to make it work. I wish them luck (I enjoy Splatoon and look forward to Splatoon 2).

 

[railven]

Unless they're porting some/most of the Android/iOS games to the NX I feel this move could very well backfire on them big time. The thing is gaming on phones has already outpaced & outnumbered anything the PC/console industry has ever seen. This is not to say that people will move away from the console or PC but I feel that the battle lines are already set in stone; graphically intensive, high quality, VR ready games are the backbone of PC/console industry. The mobility is what entices smartphone users, NX will have to carve out a niche that's beyond anything out there to move a large number of mobile users to their console.

Guess what was the platform? I doubt Nintendo is beating the smartphone manufacturers at their own game.

I agree, but what Nintendo has is a strong library of games that all sell healthy considering the restrictions of their platform.

I don't see Nintendo trying to lure people to consoles, more so the console itself would be the accessory. They are targeting mobile users directly with their strong catalog of first party titles. ie, Pokemon Go Battle could be an NX exclusive which I would see push a strong set of sales.

Again, I don't see them worried about 3rd party support. MSFT/Sony/PC basically have that locked, and even there they are seeing sales declines (with as you said a lot of casual gamers going mobile.)

I don't see Nintendo trying to beat smartphones, I see them trying to be their companion. It also factors into the size of the Unit. I'd personally rather carry my 3DS than then Vita and it's mostly due to size.

It's still too early to see what Nintendo has planned, but Miyamoto has been pushing for this since before Iwata died. With Miyamoto at the helm, I don't understand why anyone would be surprised Nintendo goes mobile first and console second.

 

[R0H1T]

So it is almost certainly a compromise, but it may be a necessary one for their vision. Tegra performance per watt in the mobile space is virtually unchallenged. And all NX rumours point to mobile. They have little choice, and now it's up to the N companies to make it work. I wish them luck (I enjoy Splatoon and look forward to Splatoon 2).

That's not true, Apple Ax & Snapdragon are the leaders in perf/w & have been for a long time. The tegra however leads in GPU performance.

 

[Grooveriding]

Probably the end of the line for Nintendo and home consoles if this is true. Wii U bombed pretty badly and they could go back to making little handheld gaming devices. Most kids use their iPhone or Samsung Galaxy though I assume. Nintendo has been a mess for a while now. One or two games a year worth playing and titles delayed endlessly, like Zelda for Wii U.

 

[4K_shmoorK]

The cost of kits and mods to play some good handheld games on a large screen are money Nintendo could have been pocketing for years.

The last time they supported a similar function was with the Gameboy adapter for Gamecube.

That's assuming anyone buys the thing. :sneaky: Assuming the release window will be timed up with Scorpio/PSNeo coupled with nintendo's non-existent third party market, why would any gamer with a collection of respective XBONE/PS4 games dump it all for the NX? Most only buy one console.

Don't get me wrong, I'd like to see Nintendo make a comeback but to me they are leagues away from positioning themselves next to MS/Sony in the home console market.

Probably the end of the line for Nintendo and home consoles if this is true. Wii U bombed pretty badly and they could go back to making little handheld gaming devices. Most kids use their iPhone or Samsung Galaxy though I assume. Nintendo has been a mess for a while now. One or two games a year worth playing and titles delayed endlessly, like Zelda for Wii U.

Yup. If I were Nintendo, I'd scrap console plans and focus on mobile and handheld devices.

 

[railven]

Probably the end of the line for Nintendo and home consoles if this is true. Wii U bombed pretty badly and they could go back to making little handheld gaming devices. Most kids use their iPhone or Samsung Galaxy though I assume. Nintendo has been a mess for a while now. One or two games a year worth playing and titles delayed endlessly, like Zelda for Wii U.

Wouldn't be surprised if they're pulling another EOL Gamecube.

Launch their new device with a strong 1st party title to catch some early buyers. Twilight Princess was endlessly delayed and by the grace of someone launched on GC sameday Wii U version launched :\

Pretty sure Nintendo's Wii U support is EOL, they've moved on. The console market is slowing down (I blame PC gaming growing). Even MSFT/SONY are showing huge YoY software drops. They're ready to reboot their consoles.

I can only dread the first year of Neo/Scorpio software sales:
Uncharted 4: 4K Remastered
Halo 5+6: 4K Remastered

You catch my drift.

 

[railven]

That's assuming anyone buys the thing. :sneaky: Assuming the release window will be timed up with Scorpio/PSNeo coupled with nintendo's non-existent third party market, why would any gamer with a collection of respective XBONE/PS4 games dump it all for the NX? Most only buy one console.

Don't get me wrong, I'd like to see Nintendo make a comeback but to me they are leagues away from positioning themselves next to MS/Sony in the home console market.



Yup. If I were Nintendo, I'd scrap console plans and focus on mobile and handheld devices.

Dump it all? Why would you dump anything? If the console is cheap again, like Wii was relative to other consoles, it would become an accessory console. No one is double dipping PS4/XBOX/Wii games. But anyone who owned a combination of the two (most often PS+Wii or Xbox+Wii) was definitely buying first party titles. Nintendo's attach rate for first party on Wii U rivals MSFT/SONY.

Even during the Wii days 1st titles sold rather healthy.

 

[crisium]

That's not true, Apple Ax & Snapdragon are the leaders in perf/w & have been for a long time. The tegra however leads in GPU performance.

Ok.

The latest Tegra will almost certainly be the leader in mobile GPU performance. It's the best performance-per-watt once you want a certain performance level, since the cell phone chips will not be able to get here, and x86 + GCN will consume more.

More signs to being somewhat of a compromise.

 

[Arachnotronic]

Cool, good to see NVIDIA get some console love, even if this is a console that's totally orthogonal to the PC market.

 

[4K_shmoorK]

Dump it all? Why would you dump anything? If the console is cheap again, like Wii was relative to other consoles, it would become an accessory console.

I guess that's where we don't see eye to eye. Most everyone I know buys only one console. I just don't see where Nintendo will be able to garner enough interest in their console just by releasing Zelda/Mario/Nintendo Lore games for the 10th time. That's been their strategy for years.

Especially now that most JRPGs are finding their way to PS4/PC.

 

[railven]

I guess that's where we don't see eye to eye. Most everyone I know buys only one console. I just don't see where Nintendo will be able to garner enough interest in their console just by releasing Zelda/Mario/Nintendo Lore games for the 10th time. That's been their strategy for years.

I guess so. Most people I know owned a Wii, at minimum. They didn't buy a Wii U because of price. Wii U saw a strong surge in sales with its first strong 1st party title. Something it lacked at launch.

Nintendo has basically survived on the back of its IPs. If you follow gaming forums, New Zelda is already on everyone's mind. I personally think it looks bad but I'll still buy it. Haha.

Especially now that most JRPGs are finding their way to PS4/PC.

I'm not sure what you mean since Sony has dominated the JRPG scene since PSX stealing Final Fantasy from Nintendo. If anything, this sudden spillage of once Sony exclusive JRPGs onto PC is hurting them. I can attest to having less use for my Sony console since most of the jRPGs are getting a PC version. I'm holding hope for Kingdom Hearts 3 and am confident FFXV will get a PC version. (I'd love for a KH-rerelease on PC actually ).

 

[AnandThenMan]

So basically a version of the Shield controller? Horrible, why would you do this Nintendo.

 

[DiogoDX]

I was hyped thinking the would be a pascal console but is only tegra.:thumbsdown:

 

[n0x1ous]

I was hyped thinking the would be a pascal console but is only tegra.:thumbsdown:

will be a pascal tegra

 

[nurturedhate]

I guess that's where we don't see eye to eye. Most everyone I know buys only one console. I just don't see where Nintendo will be able to garner enough interest in their console just by releasing Zelda/Mario/Nintendo Lore games for the 10th time. That's been their strategy for years.

Especially now that most JRPGs are finding their way to PS4/PC.

Nintendo consoles have been the perfect compliment to my gaming pc.

 

[Arachnotronic]

Interesting how a lot of people are acting like this is a horrible development...

 

[Yakk]

I thought game consoles were too low margin for nvidia?!

I guess we can't expect too much from this console hardware (again), and could explain why it has already been delayed so much.

 

[AnandThenMan]

Interesting how a lot of people are acting like this is a horrible development...

That's because it is. People were hoping Nintendo would be staying in the same console space as Microsoft and Sony but instead we are getting some mobile thing with detachable screens.

 

[crisium]

Interesting how a lot of people are acting like this is a horrible development...

Some people just had dreams of Nintendo returning to graphical competition with Sony and MS, and this shatters them.

But NX will have some kind of portable element, so it is good news in this sense since one would hope Nintendo would go with the best Tegra available and thus the best mobile chip graphics performance. If they went Snapdragon? Blah.

A mixed bag, if ever there was a definition.