While Nintendo has chosen to wait until January to publicly reveal the specifics about their upcoming Nintendo Switch’s specs, a fresh new report gives us a decent idea for what to allegedly expect from the console-handheld hybrid terms of horsepower.
VentureBeat has heard from two uidentified sources that Nintendo Switch is using Nvidia’s Maxwell architecture graphics processing tech instead of the the company’s latest Pascal architecture. It was actually confirmed during the official Switch announcement event that took place back in October that the console would be using a variant of Nvidia’s Tegra chip.
Nintendo Switch’s reported use of the aforementioned Maxwell Tegra means that the console will show more than 1 teraflop of performance, as VentureBeat reports. This would actually come far below Project Scorpio (6 teraflops), the PS4 Pro (4.2 teraflops), the standard PS4 (1.8 teraflops), and the standard Xbox One (1.3 teraflops). Be honest to yourself, did you really expect Nintendo to come out with a beast rig console?
The custom Maxwell Tegra (which uses a 20nm process as opposed to the more efficient 16nm process of the Pascal) in the machine is still powerful enough to play Nintendo-style games that rely on quality art over horsepower, but don’t expect Switch software to match the graphical fidelity of the highest-end PS4 games,
says the report.
These sources mentioned to the site that Nintendo was in “such a rush” to release the Switch that it couldn’t wait for the newer Pascal version of the Tegra graphic processor to be made ready for use by Nvidia. Nintendo and Nvidia failed to comment when approached by the publication.
Expert Market researcher Jon Peddie further stated that it mostly won’t matter if the Nintendo Switch is somewhat underpowered as compared to its competition.
I don’t see Nintendo’s strategy as a risk, too many pundits and fanboys and investors make a serious mistake when they try to compare and contrast Nintendo with Sony and Microsoft. Nintendo has a niche in the affordable, accessible product, and performance is never a leading criteria for them. It is gameplay and immersion. They are never a technology pioneer. Trying to compare Nintendo to Sony is like comparing a Volkswagen to a Corvette. It’s a facetious and fallacious analogy and a discredit to fans who love Nintendo.
Nintendo has said it will discuss the Switch’s specs, as well as its price point and launch lineup, during its January 2017 event.
