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AMD designing an x86 or ARM chip for a "game console" to be introduced 2016

AmyS

Member
2016-2017 seems rather soon for a Wii U successor, but it wouldn't really surprise me.

Nintendo used to release consoles every ~5 years like clockwork.

SNES (U.S.) - 1991
N64 - 1996
GameCube - 2001
Wii - 2006.

2017 would be 5 years for Wii U, a generous amount of time for a failed console.
 
Boss★Moogle;144901306 said:
Why would 2016 seem early to you OP? Nintendo pretty much said they were done with the Wii U after Zelda. It's not like they can continue to go on for years not selling hardware. Glad to see Nintendo is finally getting rid of that piece of shit Gamecube CPU they been rehashing.

What makes you think people would buy what ever new nintendo console that would come out in droves?
 

Nachtmaer

Member
Nintendo used to release consoles every ~5 years like clockwork.

SNES (U.S.) - 1991
N64 - 1996
GameCube - 2001
Wii - 2006.

2017 would be 5 years for Wii U, a generous amount of time for a failed console.

Yeah, I know it's nothing out of the ordinary. I guess it just seems so soon because we come from a pretty long generation.
 

shark sandwich

tenuously links anime, pedophile and incels
x86 is more "ancient" than PowerPC.

Granted it's used a lot more, but even so.
Learn the difference between an instruction set (PowerPC, x86) and a microarchitecture (PowerPC 750, Jaguar, Haswell, etc). I was referring to the latter. PowerPC 750 is the same microarchitecture used by the MacG3. It dates back to the time of first gen Netburst (Pentium 4) and the original Athlon.

(Also technically today's x86 ISA is x86-64 which came out in 2003 and has been extended several times since then.)
 

jfoul

Member
I wouldn't be surprised to see a new Nintendo console introduced in 2017. We're probably in for a long generation, If the specs end up being equal, or slightly better than the PS4/XB1.
 

blu

Wants the largest console games publisher to avoid Nintendo's platforms.
Learn the difference between an instruction set (PowerPC, x86) and a microarchitecture (PowerPC 750, Jaguar, Haswell, etc). I was referring to the latter. PowerPC 750 is the same microarchitecture used by the MacG3. It dates back to the time of first gen Netburst (Pentium 4) and the original Athlon.

(Also technically today's x86 ISA is x86-64 which came out in 2003 and has been extended several times since then.)
Not quite. PPC750 is not a singular microarchitecture either. There have been a number of advances through the years. Gekko had microarchitecture advancements which were introduced with the FX in 2002. Later on IBM commercialized Gekko/Broadway as 750CL in 2006. So technically, one could argue Gekko corresponds to 2006 off-the-shelf technology.
 

Nikodemos

Member
Will the new Nintendo handheld (since it's pretty likely that's what we're dealing with) feature dedicated memory like the Vita? With AMD and Hynix have a working partnership regarding HBM (and the new AMD video cards being confirmed as having HBM), is there any likelihood of having 128 MB of HBM memory as an L3 cache/dedicated video memory? Fourth Storm, blu, anyone?
 

MDX

Member
If Nintendo is making a hybrid system does that mean they will go to solid
state storage instead of discs?
 
Do you know exactly what big guns Sony and Microsoft are releasing for 2016 then?

Sony and MS directy, no. But, I do know what big guns are guaranteed to be coming to their systems that year that won't be on Wii U. I'll go with Call of Duty, Assassin's Creed, and Madden.

I'd also predict that Gears of War, God of War, and Mass Effect are all 2016 games, and obviously won't be on Wii U. Maybe a Battlefield, New Rockstar (Red Dead 2 hopefully), who knows. The point is just about every single major third party release.

Nintendo has put the majority of their brands on the Wii U already and still haven't pushed enough units for third parties to really give a fuck. I love my Wii U, I'm not some anti-Nintendo person (do those exist?). These are just cold truths. They are in the shit position where they have a console that is too weak for modern ports and in an environment where most third parties don't make exclusives without some money being thrown their way.

Again, I don't have a fucking clue what they should do, but a new system in 2017 wouldn't be some crazy idea, or a slap in the face of Wii U owners.
 

Oregano

Member
If Nintendo is making a hybrid system does that mean they will go to solid
state storage instead of discs?

3DS game cartridges already go up to 8GB(though 4 is the biggest used so far) so it's very possible they could produce gamecards big enough for HD games.
 
Apple's continuous lowballing of RAM seems pretty bizzarre to me. Though I guess it helps them maintain certain controls/limitations on app developers.


Anyway, I don't believe Nintendo to be as stingy with it.

Post Iwata Nintendo is stingy with hardware in general.
 

Vena

Member
Post Iwata Nintendo is stingy with hardware in general.

Not really much of a sample set to say that. Mobile tech exploded after the 3DS has already been in development and, later, released. Wii was a very conscious and targeted decision, that wouldn't have worked with better hardware. And the WiiU was the WiiU.

Learn the difference between an instruction set (PowerPC, x86) and a microarchitecture (PowerPC 750, Jaguar, Haswell, etc). I was referring to the latter. PowerPC 750 is the same microarchitecture used by the MacG3. It dates back to the time of first gen Netburst (Pentium 4) and the original Athlon.

(Also technically today's x86 ISA is x86-64 which came out in 2003 and has been extended several times since then.)

And ARMv8a is 2013 or so, no?
 

Durante

Member
Not really much of a sample set to say that. Mobile tech exploded after the 3DS has already been in development and, later, released.
The 3DS was released in 2011, more than half a year after the iPhone 4, and at roughly the same time as the Galaxy S2. There's no denying that the ARM11 in the 3DS was completely outdated at the time of its release already.
 

QaaQer

Member
Apple's continuous lowballing of RAM seems pretty bizzarre to me. Though I guess it helps them maintain certain controls/limitations on app developers.

More ram, more power drain. iOS is very efficient, btw. & you can get 64gb ram on non-mobile apple stuff, so they aren't stingy when they don't have to be.
 

jelly

Member
Do Nintendo have a cross device account system yet and big hard drive as standard, decent versions of games worldwide, license transfers as well so people don't have to buy the games again and again?

Might not get all of that but Nintendo need to nail a few.
 

Chittagong

Gold Member
It could be Nintendo. They are keen to move on from Wii U but are smart enough not to pull a Sega, but instead waiting for the shortest cycle possible that doesn't look like they abandoned a console. I think they could get away with 4 years. It would be just one year short from their typical cycle:

Super NES (1991) - N64 (1996) - 5 years
N64 (1996) - GameCube (2001) - 5 years
GameCube (2001) - Wii (2006) - 5 years
Wii (2006) - Wii U (2012) - 6 years

In fact, it would return them to their X1/X6 pattern.
 
The 3DS was released in 2011, more than half a year after the iPhone 4, and at roughly the same time as the Galaxy S2. There's no denying that the ARM11 in the 3DS was completely outdated at the time of its release already.

The 3DS was Nintendo getting caught with their pants around their ankles.

It was supposed to come with the Nvidia Tegra one, Nvidia promised the world.....but at the end of the day underdelivered (performance/ Watt . wise). So...they kinda rushed something unconvential out of the gate ( Pica whatever + anemic CPU ).

I really don´t think we have to worry about something like that again.
 
Will the new Nintendo handheld (since it's pretty likely that's what we're dealing with) feature dedicated memory like the Vita? With AMD and Hynix have a working partnership regarding HBM (and the new AMD video cards being confirmed as having HBM), is there any likelihood of having 128 MB of HBM memory as an L3 cache/dedicated video memory? Fourth Storm, blu, anyone?

I don't think HBM is being targeted at the ultramobile sector, so while it's power efficient for the performance it offers, it would be too much a drain for a small handheld.

I'd imagine they'll use some combo of lpDDR4 and on-chip SRAM (new 3DS already has 10 MB--as much as Xbox 360's framebuffer). But it's Nintendo, so you never know. They could go out and license some type of RAM we've never heard of before...
 

sfried

Member
The 3DS was released in 2011, more than half a year after the iPhone 4, and at roughly the same time as the Galaxy S2. There's no denying that the ARM11 in the 3DS was completely outdated at the time of its release already.
What's the current ARM that people use nowdays?

What is considered a dated ARM by 2016 standards? (Withered tech philosophy)
 

Massa

Member
The 3DS was released in 2011, more than half a year after the iPhone 4, and at roughly the same time as the Galaxy S2. There's no denying that the ARM11 in the 3DS was completely outdated at the time of its release already.

People might argue with you on price, but there was also a $199 iPod Touch that was much more powerful than the ($249) 3DS.
 

Astral Dog

Member
The Wii U probably peaked this year and the 3DS has been around for a while, the introduction of some new Nintendo platform would make sense.

My safe bet is on a reveal at E3 2015 with a release somewhere in 2016.
No, they will introduce the 3DS successor in 2016, its too early for that, they still need to focus on Wii U and 3DS games.
 

Massa

Member
No, they will introduce the 3DS successor in 2016, its too early for that, they still need to focus on Wii U and 3DS games.

One could argue that they need to focus on next-gen games, to avoid having the problems they had with both 3DS and Wii U.
 

sörine

Banned
Do Nintendo have a cross device account system yet and big hard drive as standard, decent versions of games worldwide, license transfers as well so people don't have to buy the games again and again?

Might not get all of that but Nintendo need to nail a few.
NNID/eShop is crossplatform, they use open storage (sd, microsd, usb) and full license transfers (though you need both hardwares to do it).

I think next gen they just need to unify Virtual Console purchases across hardware (like PSN Classics) and allow remote account management.
 
The 3DS was Nintendo getting caught with their pants around their ankles.

It was supposed to come with the Nvidia Tegra one, Nvidia promised the world.....but at the end of the day underdelivered (performance/ Watt . wise). So...they kinda rushed something unconvential out of the gate ( Pica whatever + anemic CPU ).

I really don´t think we have to worry about something like that again.

Didn't do too badly for them though.
 
What's the current ARM that people use nowdays?

What is considered a dated ARM by 2016 standards? (Withered tech philosophy)

I'm optimistic. The ARM Cortex A57/A53 are being used in some phones this year, no? The design has been available for a couple years already. I think that by late 2016, ARM64 is a possibility for Nintendo. Presumably, with AMD doing the SoC, the A57 is already a part of their roadmaps...
 

Chittagong

Gold Member
I don't think Nintendo can lowball tech anymore like they did in the last few consoles and handhelds. The world has changed, consumer tech has got really bleeding edge and the expectations have grown. The silver lining for Nintendo is that it has brought cost down, too.
 

Astral Dog

Member
Yes, 3DS was outdated, but... it worked on its favor, it wouldn't got that many exclusives otherwise, its not a Wii U situation.
That is a good reason to worry, who is going to make a handheld exclusive when it costs as much as a console game?
 

Astral Dog

Member
One could argue that they need to focus on next-gen games, to avoid having the problems they had with both 3DS and Wii U.
The problem is, rushing a next gen console when its not ready is not a very good idea either.
The Wii U, for example, clearly needed another six months on the oven.
 

jelly

Member
sörine;144960937 said:
NNID/eShop is crossplatform, they use open storage (sd, microsd, usb) and full license transfers (though you need both hardwares to do it).

I think next gen they just need to unify Virtual Console purchases across hardware (like PSN Classics) and allow remote account management.

That's not bad, a step or two more like you said and it's getting there.
 
By 2016, it would be five years since Nintendo released 3DS so it would make sense for it to be the next handheld. Console will follow in 2017.
 

blu

Wants the largest console games publisher to avoid Nintendo's platforms.
Will the new Nintendo handheld (since it's pretty likely that's what we're dealing with) feature dedicated memory like the Vita? With AMD and Hynix have a working partnership regarding HBM (and the new AMD video cards being confirmed as having HBM), is there any likelihood of having 128 MB of HBM memory as an L3 cache/dedicated video memory? Fourth Storm, blu, anyone?
I'm not aware if HBM solves the DDR latency issue to any degree. Thus it might not be suitable for any cache level.
 
The problem is, rushing a next gen console when its not ready is not a very good idea either.
The Wii U, for example, clearly needed another six months on the oven.

Needed a year IMO. Launching with an operating system what was quick to use and games like Wonderful 101, Sonic Lost World, Zelda HD, Mario & Sonic Sochi 2014 would've been better than a load of last gen games and an OS that was like walking through treacle.
 

blu

Wants the largest console games publisher to avoid Nintendo's platforms.
People might argue with you on price, but there was also a $199 iPod Touch that was much more powerful than the ($249) 3DS.
Unless of course the $199 ipod spring '11 model was the 16GB model, with the 128 MB, ARM11@533MHz and MBX lite GPU.
 

Oregano

Member
I'm optimistic. The ARM Cortex A57/A53 are being used in some phones this year, no? The design has been available for a couple years already. I think that by late 2016, ARM64 is a possibility for Nintendo. Presumably, with AMD doing the SoC, the A57 is already a part of their roadmaps...

Wouldn't the handheld have to be relatively modern anyway by virtue of AMD not really being in that field at the moment?

Semi-related: The Pica in the 3DS has a specific extension for stereoscopic 3D. If they're going with something more conventional that might be more motivation not to include 3D right?
 

Nikodemos

Member
But it's Nintendo, so you never know. They could go out and license some type of RAM we've never heard of before...
Something makes me believe they'll play it somewhat safer hardware-wise this time around. The tech world has changed a bit in the past three years.
 

Vena

Member
The 3DS was released in 2011, more than half a year after the iPhone 4, and at roughly the same time as the Galaxy S2. There's no denying that the ARM11 in the 3DS was completely outdated at the time of its release already.

Hence why I said development. I know when it released but they likely were already too far into development to scrap the ARM11 for something else at the time without also making the thing even more expensive. I'd imagine the guts were established at least a year, if not two or more, before the console itself launched and software was already in development. So its not really 2011 but 2009-10.

The thing was supposed to launch with the Tegra anyway but that fell through because nVidia failed in their delivery. The whole of the 3DS was a bit of clusterfuck from creation to release to salvage operation.
 

Lonely1

Unconfirmed Member
The 3DS was supposed to launch in 2010, but was delayed due to software not being ready. Mobile tech companies (and PC) can launch new hardware without waiting for games to be ready. However, the 3DS (and Wii U) could indeed have a better CPU for it's time.
 

Noitshado

Member
I think Nintendo's push for a more unified development platform is the central point in the rest of their decisions in their plans moving forward. By lowering cost in developing for both handheld and console maybe that could imply that they could afford the development costs on more powerful hardware? And if they can offer a unified development platform to third parties it could provide an incentive for more third parties since it provides them with 2 platforms to release on for almost the cost of developing for 1 platform? Seems very credible for it to be Nintendo as i would think they would be in the biggest need to move away from their current architecture and move to x86 and all that so they can get back some third party support they so desperately need.
 

Ganondolf

Member
sounds like a 3ds replacement to me. with Nintendo using AMD parts for both their handheld and home console next gen it should help with singular OS framework which Nintendo wants so badly.
 

sörine

Banned
The 3DS was supposed to launch in 2010, but was delayed due to software not being ready. Mobile tech companies (and PC) can launch new hardware without waiting for games to be ready. However, the 3DS (and Wii U) could indeed have a better CPU for it's time.
This is also something Nintendo has a history of doing, holding back essentially complete hardware for various reasons. N64 and Gamecube were each delayed roughly a year because software wasn't ready while SFC and GBA were each delayed nearly 2 years due to the late overperformance of their predecessors.
 

Oregano

Member
Out of interest how close are mobile phones to PS3/360 levels nowadays?

I know there was the neutered Bioshock port but what's the best looking mobile game?

Mevius: Final Fantasy looks like it could pass as a somewhat rough around the edges PS3/360 game and it's an AAA developer(Internal Square Enix) is that a good representation of what highend mobile games look like?
 

AzaK

Member
Yeah, I know it's nothing out of the ordinary. I guess it just seems so soon because we come from a pretty long generation.
Remember that Wii U is a failed console. The sooner Nintendo can replace it with something that generates money the better.
 

pestul

Member
Out of interest how close are mobile phones to PS3/360 levels nowadays?

I know there was the neutered Bioshock port but what's the best looking mobile game?

Mevius: Final Fantasy looks like it could pass as a somewhat rough around the edges PS3/360 game and it's an AAA developer(Internal Square Enix) is that a good representation of what highend mobile games look like?
I don't think they're that close yet.. but the stacked memory should change that rather rapidly.
 
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