Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank777
I understand that Nintendo refuses to get into a spec war, but I don't think it's the same as Apple's game.
If Apple ever went as long as Nintendo without upgrading hardware, there would be riots inside Apple Stores.
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Sure.
It all depends on the application.
Like, if the Mac were a machine focused on word processing and spreadsheets (like the Canon Cat from one of the original Macintosh folks, say), you could make the argument that it would do OK if it had the specs of a ca-2010 machine today.
But it doesn't; it has the demands of a broad array of applications, from web browsing to spreadsheets all the way to software development and video production and, for some particularly adventurous people, even games. And as long as we're still in an era where some of those (not exactly spreadsheets) continue to use the latest and greatest specs, well, people will demand that the Mac follow that path.
But for gaming consoles, there's sort of a bifurcation. There's games like Breath of the Wild that could look a bit better with newer specs, sure, but would they be significantly more fun to play? And then there's games that are indeed demanding of high specs, such as VR games.
I.e., I think Nintendo can afford to be a bit of a laggard here, and they know it. As a bonus, they don't just get high margins, but also very reliable, battle-tested chips rather than the latest and greatest which may have flaws and may not be available in massive quantities.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank777
When an Apple machine goes three years without an update, there's no shortage of Mac news site reviews and buyer's guides telling you not to buy it. If a Switch is really iPhone 5-era tech, that's even worse than I thought.
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Yeah.
(I checked, and it is indeed more favorable for the GPU. It comes close to the specs of the A10, i.e. the iPhone 7.)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank777
It's fine to put experience over specs - a la Apple - but definitely not cool to be so many generations behind technologically.
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I guess in practice, I never really hear about Switch users who feel "boy, that game looks outdated and/or ugly". Which I suppose is a self-selecting bias: if they feel that way, they don't get a Switch.