Nintendo Hardware is underpowered! 8 more days until Nintendo spills the beans

Did you hear about that underpowered console Nintendo put out? In terms of CPU alone, the competitors were THREE TIMES faster and pretty much a generation ahead. Clearly, no good games ever came out for it. No one bought it. And they certainly would never buy such a console thirty years later when it was clearly obsolete when it launched.

I am talking about the NES of course.

Let’s talk about Nintendo handhelds. They are all very much underpowered compared to the competition. But it didn’t matter.

My point is that you never perceived Nintendo hardware to be ‘underpowered’ until recently. Underpowered… defined by whom? Not to the child. Not to the family. Not to the customers.

Small. Cheap. Powerful. From those three options, choose two. This is how consoles are made.

My $199 price point hope for Switch may actually come true. I like the idea of the hardware being very reliable. Let me spend money on buying more games, not on replacing hardware. And I am going to buy ALL the games because they are on cartridges.

It’s amazing how clouded people’s views are by one single generation. Better thinkers can see all the generations. When they think of Nintendo today, they think of 3DS and Wii U, not DS and Wii, not Gameboy and NES, not SNES, not Gameboy Advance, etc. 3DS and Wii U did have major hardware flaws (OMG 3d and giant ass controller), but power was not one of the problems.

The problem Nintendo has right now is that no software has been revealed for the Switch (especially with Zelda BoW being a delayed release). The only thing people have to think about with the Switch, now, is the hardware.

Wait.

Wait until Nintendo’s presentation of the software. Your thoughts of the hardware will disappear because hardware is never important. The Switch is just a box we buy to get to the game. (paraphrasing Yamauchi)

I think Switch is poised to become a premier classical system that will live on for long time. A big reason for this is going to be the lack of internet needed for games (due to Switch’s mobile nature) and because of CARTRIDGES. Minecraft on a cartridge? Terraria on a cartridge? Yes, please.

For all we know, we all could be lined up at stores waiting to buy the Switch Mini being re-released after 30 years in 2046. You will either be dead or 30 years older. Stranger things have happened.

/master_malstrom

There's people who play games, and people who complain about what Nintendo is currently doing. Don't be the latter.

You didn't read the OP?

Yes, and other than saying not to obsess with power (which Nintendo fans never have) was there another point?

That was the point, everyone here is obsessed with power and not even thinking about the potential software. This mentality of Power = 3rd Party has to end.

Relative to the competition Nintendo has become non-competitive in terms of their hardware capabilities, there's a certain point where it wears completely thin and you realize this company is a decade behind technologically.

Why would I want that? Why should I give a company which has clearly quit trying my money? They're going to lose 3rd party support again, this system is pathetically weak and it's one of the reasons 3rd party jumped off the Wii U. Frankly they got tired of having to rebuild current games just to function on Nintendo's old bullshit hardware and I don't blame them. They need to drop the stupid ass gimmicks and just build a proper relevantly powerful console and release good games, that's it, not turn a dildo into a game console to try and innovate...

Yeah, and that's why I said what I said about the mentality of this board. So why did you ask if I read the OP?

Oh! Now I see, I screwed up in my part :P

I thought that post was directed at me, now I see you mean these power hungry fanboys ;) Gotcha

What's the point trying to get you again, we all know you'll get the superior Xbox Scorpio and even if Nintendo did try to cater to your needs, I don't believe you would be willing shell out 3rd party games on a Nintendo Platform when all MS has the supreme Online infrastructure and the greatness of 4K glory on a MS console. My point being that Nintendo will target elsewhere instead of the dedicated market. It's not going to be for everyone on SW.

We keep trying to tell people Nintendo has always been Nintendo. They keep thinking Nintendo use to be something else, when in fact, they have always done what theyve done.

Let me decide that, don't decide that for me by creating a fundamentally and pathetically weak system which automatically makes the decision for me, they have stopped trying, they've given up.

Just give me a decent console to play Nintendo games on and I am in...day one.

Give me gimmick hybrids and handhelds and they can shove it up their ass.

@dynamitecop: Go make your own console and then youll get to decide. PC is awesome. AAA gaming is getting expensive, look how many AAA games flopped on Xbox One in sales. You think Third Party wants this to continue?

Look how cheap Xbox One, PS4, and PC fans expect games to be. You think third party enjoys this shat? Yall thought this gen was bad for AAA, wait till you see next gen.

Oh the old "if you don't like it then do it yourself" reply..

Be quiet, and let me provide my completely valid criticism of this archaic company.

@dynamitecop: Sorry, but i love PC, you get to play dictator. I can build my PC to my liking, its awesome.

I don't know, it sounds like the Xbox1 in terms of power. but hey, as long Nintendo is able to put out fun games, power doesn't mean anything.

@FireEmblem_Man: Ummm...How the hell was the NES 3 times less powerful and a generation behind when it was released??? It was the most powerful console on the market at that point, blew the 2600, 5200, and the later released 7800 out of the water. The master system was more powerful when it released a year later but it wasn't 3 times more powerful, so please explain what you're talking about?

It was never about power to me, although ironically my favorite console of all time is the Gamecube- the last gen where Nintendo wasn't the weakest.

What it has always been about is content, and Nintendo has been rather disappointing for me in that regard for the past 2 gens. Even though they've had some great games, they were sorely lacking in that 3rd party support. Look at how strong the library was on the Gamecube, that's what I want from Nintendo Switch.

I'm a little hesitant at this point. If it's 200 then it'll be an easy purchase, but if it's more I might hold off for a while. I won't be taking the thing out of the house much- just sitting on the couch and playing it. Waiting to see what the games are gonna be like.

@drummerdave9099: Gamecube was missing a lot of content though. I remember we use to make fun of it cause it didnt have JRPGs or GTA, etc. Games we use to love like Metal Gear, Devil May Cry, etc were never on Gamecube. It also didnt have online like PS2, Xbox, and Dreamcast did. It was pretty much a joke.

@drummerdave9099: I liked some of GC games, like F-Zero GX, Wave Race: Blue Storm, Metroid Prime, REmake, and RE4 (GC version), and Rogue Squadron. But come on, all the 3rd parties were on the PS2 and Original Xbox or have the better ports on those 2.

Fug a side console.

I don't care about power when it comes to a console. It's been 3 years and I still can't see a difference between my PS4 and PS3 games. I buy systems for games not power. I choose Sony over Microsoft because of their exclusives. I like Nintendos exclusives the most. I don't buy shovelware from EA Activision and Ubisoft. So for the most part I could care less about 3rd party unless is something Japanese like Fromsoft or Techmo. If I wanted power out of a system I'd go PC. Just my personal preference.

@FireEmblem_Man: Source for the NES being three times slower than the competition.

Sure, Switch could be stronger.

It's still going to have awesome games, and the the potential to play some games like Dark Souls portable is awesome, even if they are graphically gimped.

Tell that to Master Malstrom, I believe he means since there was no real competition with Gen 3 consoles against the NES, the closet would be the Commodore 64, which is a PC, but it was also another gaming platform option other than the NES at the time

From

http://www.gamespot.com/forums/system-wars-314159282/nintendo-switch-cpu-and-gpu-clock-speeds-revealed--33373957/#174

http://kyokojap.myweb.hinet.net/gpu_gflops/

On GFLOPS in mobile mode, Switch is similar to Qualcomm S808 (172.8 GFLOPS FP32) e.g. Google Nexus 5X.

On GFLOPS in docking mode, Switch is similar to Qualcomm S810 (388.8~408 GFLOPS FP32) e.g. Google Nexus 6P

I hope Switch didn't compromise on mobile memory bandwidth i.e. I preferred at least 25 GB/s. This is very important since memory bandwidth can bound any raw FLOPS power.

Switch is far from XBO i.e. it has to beat MS Surface Pro 4's Intel IGP before it starts closing on Radeon HD 7770 aka R7-250X or Radeon Pro 450.

@FireEmblem_Man: No, there was the Master System and the Commodore was not even close to competition. The NES was the first console to have near arcade perfect ports of games. Also, the SNES, N64, and Gamecube were powerful consoles, so this nonsensem of Nintendo and it's fans never being about power is and out right lie. Stop trying to remake history.

The wii started this gimmick trend that the current Nintendo is now on.

What a lot of nintendo fans often don't realise, is there is a difference between being 'power obsessed' and expecting a console to have enough power to hold 3rd party multiplatform support a year down the line.

Sadly, if the current rumours on the switch power is true - the Switch may very easily end up with little to no third party releases after a short time, just like the Wii U.

While games are scalable, taking the lowest denomimator of the platforms (currently the xbox one) and then expecting developers to simultaneously develop on a console with only 1/10 of that power (if @ronvalencia: is right with his/her numbers)- its very likely going to be too tall an order for many, if not most games.

The Neo-Geo was more powerful (and expensive) than the SNES

I think that prudence is always a good thing.

And it swings both ways - as much as people can be completely wrong in their judgements about hardware power and what it means, it's also true that the Switch hasn't even been fully unveiled yet; so let's not start celebrating it as some classic console.

It has a hell of a lot to prove, and only time will tell if it succeeds; I don't see value in swinging the pendulum so far the other way that we become blind to the potential pitfalls.

There's this huge practical, reasonable middle-round between those two extremes. Come and join me here; the water's lovely. :-)

The neo geo's price wasn't just expensive it was astronomically expensive. $600 in 1994 is probably equal to about $1200 now. It was just out of most peoples price range. I remember seeing one on display at Funcoland and walking away thinking I'll never be able to play that system.

Also in reply to FireEmblemMan the NES wasn't king of graphics for long. The Genesis was 16 bit and came out 2 years before the SNES. The Turbo Grafx was also superior the NES and came out way before the SNES. Both the Turbo or Genesis couldn't compete with the NES. When the Genesis came out in 1989 Nintendo mania was at it's height. It took a couple years for the Genesis to catch on although it never had the fan base that Nintendo did.

@jdc6305: yep, also the NES was basically 1983 hardware. PC-Engine was the first 16-Bit hardware that came out in Japan in 1987 and came out as Turbo Grafix 16 in the west in 1990 and marketed as a 4th gen console in the west.

I had a turbo back in the day and loved it. It had a lot of really cool games but new releases just dried up after a while. I walked into a store once and all the games were on clearance for dirt cheap. The store was going out of business. I ended up buying like 10 games for $100. I didn't even know there was a cd attachment until a few years ago. I got a turbo for Xmas in 1990.

That's just the typical path logic for a home console, not a handheld that can play on a tv. The Switch isn't a console to compete with Sony and Microsoft in that arena. Instead, this is a move in to Nintendo's comfort zone.

I think anyone expecting strong third party Western AAA support are setting themselves up for major disappointment. Their third party support will consist of the Japanese variety, mostly.

It seems non-handheld gamers have a really hard time wrapping their minds around the whole concept of what the Switch will be. Most of them mistakenly compare it to the smartphone market, while ones like you tend to compare it to the Western console market. Both idea paths are wrong in the context.

I think by showing Skyrim, people somehow expect this to have ports of games from other current consoles. I don't think that will be the case. I think they showed Skyrim to tech demo the hardware to give you an idea.

This console must have it's own identity much seperate from the other two. It was never meant to directly compete. I believe it's meant to bring greatly enhanced performance over last gen, while using a handheld form to tap into Nintendo's handheld market so that the hardware will get the support it'll need.

If this is what Nintendo are going for, I'm definitely on board, I loved last gen and look forward to Nintendo's version. If however they are going for some sort of handheld current gen competitor, I'm not too interested. Last gen was amazing and Nintendo didn't get a chance to really have a piece of that because the Wii U didn't get the support.

Perhaps Nintendo looked at the Wii U and said 'ya know what the problem is, let's lose the TV element completely'. And Nintendo might be right. The TV element forces Nintendo to become a direct competitor in this area and it's not useful for them, now they have something much more powerful than the Wii U, but in their own area of expertise.

If you're looking for a competitor to PS and Xbox, you're looking for the wrong thing here.

I'll give it a year or so after release, before getting on board. If the Xbox One has taught me anything, it's to wait until it's a worthy product first. The guys that waited were smart.

wasnt it leaked to be 250?

And? That still doesn't negate the fact that Nintendo built powerful consoles for several generations in a row, much to the chagrin of the so called Nintendo historians.

Power does matter though, its what helps bring in third party games, which is the majority of big titles that release nowadays. It's not a first party mascot driven market anymore for the most part.

Historically, Nintendo has always made powerful systems until the Wii, due to the fact that Nintendo system sales were on a downward spiral. I really hope the Switch is at least powerful enough to get solid third party support, I want to be able to play AAA titles on the go and not only have Nintendo titles on it.

@flyincloud1116: The NES is old ass hardware when it came out in the US, since it was out in Japan in 1983, NEC already had made a 16-bit device ready in the 80's known as PC Engine. Commodore tried to market their PC as a home console replacement with the Amiga and Commodore 64 game system version.

@bowserjr123: SMS was more powerful than NES. Genesis was more powerful than SNES. N64 was different because Saturn and PS1 went to disc. Both had better cutscenes, 2D, etc. Then Gamecube got beat by Xbox, etc.

Nintendo has never released a console focused on power. They dont even reveal specs for people who preorder and buy. We wont get specs for Switch until people get them home and test them.

HAHAHAHAHA! So you admit by ignoring that the SNES, Gamecube, and N64 were powerful consoles. Also, just because the US was late to the party doesn't mean that the NES hardware was garbage.

No one is saying that the Nintendo consoles were the most powerful, but they were on par with the competition. Also, games looked better on the SNES than the Genesis.

@flyincloud1116: Nintendo was always just Nintendo. Even their handheld consoles were weaker than the competition. The have always played to the beat of their own drum. Nintendo cant win with power. They are a small gaming company competing with gigantic entertainment companies like Sony and Microsoft.

This is no longer small gaming company Sega vs Nintendo. Look what Sony and Microsoft do to each other. Nintendo doesnt want that, its disgusting. Look at the games, they have to be sold at massive discounts right after release. FF15 is $35 dollars right now. That shat just released.

You are making shit up. The NES was much more capable than the Sega SG-1000 and the ColecoVision. The NES had a larger pallette (54 vs 16 colors), could handle twice as many sprites (32 vs 16), displayed a higher resolution, and had expandable RAM.

How did that more powerful hardware work out for Nintendo? It clobbered the SG-1000 and the CelecoVision and give it enough momentum to kill the later Atari 7800 and Sega Master System.

TBH, they may have not always had the strongest console of the gen but for me the Wii is when they really went off the tracks and launched a very weak ass console and sold it for a high price when compared to what the others were charging for a much superior console in the beginnings of the HD VG revolution. Then continued that nasty trend with the Wii U as well.

It had all the Resident Evils- 0, remake, 2, 3, Code Veronica X, and 4, Viewtiful Joe, all the EA Sports Games, Tony Hawk, Beyond Good and Evil, Prince of Persia, the Megaman Anniversary and X Collections, Killer 7, the best version of Soul Calibur 2, ports of Dreamcast games like the Sonic Adventures, Skies of Arcadia, Phantasy Star, etc.

These were all great compliments to Nintendo's software. I'm not saying it was as good as the others, or enough on its own, but it was certainly good enough to go along with and compliment Nintendo's stuff.

@SecretPolice: But Wii was best console that gen. It was amazing and worth every penny. Wii was something everyone wanted to play. It was so popular that Microsoft and Sony copied it and started to cater to the same audience. They were like o shat, is that money over there.

Holy geez, the major damage control from Nintendo "critics" in this thread.

Totally not true when it comes to their home consoles. They started this gimmick stuff with the Wii, WiiU, and not the Switch, before that Nintendo's consoles were right there with the competition. Stop trying to rewrite history. The N64 was more powerful than the PS1, and the Gamecube was more powerful than the PS2. The SNES was on par if not better than the Genesis, especially when it came to visuals and the mode 7 chip. Then Nintendo up the game on the Genesis with the FX chip. Stop making up stuff in the face of Facts, but I totally forgot who I was talking to.