I think even the Sony and Microsoft consoles couldn’t do that and we are in the realms of using GPU for upscaling.
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Sketchy Rumor Claims Apple Developing Nintendo Switch-Style Gaming Console
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They're capable of running games, apart from an attached (or attachable), standardised pair of physical controllers. Too bad there aren't AAA titles for the platform - unlike with the Switch.
RE 8 runs at 4k60 (RT on or off) with CB reconstruction which was the point of asking about DLSS. Unless Apple thinks they have hardware powerful enough yet cheap enough to run games at 4k60 native.
I really hope this isn't true. It seems to me, with Apple's stance against certain types of content and the AAA studios making those games, it will already be on other consoles.
Nintendo has the market that I think Apple will want to go in, content-wise. Anything more adult will already be on Xbox of Playstation. Just like we don't need another streaming service, we don't need another gaming service. If this is a device just to play Apple Arcade, then again, what is the friggin point?
This will most certainly fail if true.
Nintendo has the market that I think Apple will want to go in, content-wise. Anything more adult will already be on Xbox of Playstation. Just like we don't need another streaming service, we don't need another gaming service. If this is a device just to play Apple Arcade, then again, what is the friggin point?
This will most certainly fail if true.
I think Nintendo's primary concerns with their chips are that they're cheap and efficient. It is possible that Apple is able to undercut Intel/Nvidia/the rest with the M2 (or M1 or other Apple silicon) on those metrics.
Nintendo doesn't go around touting technical numbers. They mostly just want you to be sure that the reason you put down your Switch is because you want to do something else and not because the battery was running low.
I'd have thought that a hybrid hand held/docked solution wouldn't necessarily go all out for the biggest numbers on the board. Nintendo always went for the engaging games before performance.
And if Apple were releasing - for the sake of argument - a version of the A14X that went for extra graphics cores over performance compute cores they could make it suitable for use in a handheld by deactivating the additional graphics cores when in handheld mode (off charger)
I wouldn't have thought that Apple would be that bothered in chasing ports of Grand Theft Auto, Resident Evil or Call of Duty. We all know those games take ages to make anyway.
The Nintendo model would appear to be what they will want to follow if buying the company outright is out of the question.
So what if Apple were already working with third party developers with commonly available dev kits based on an A14 or M1 CPU that was widely available from last year?
If they announce additional Apple Arcade games for the monthly fee to be launched in 2H21 I would expect at least some decent quality titles if some developers had a year to work on it in secret.
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“Word on the street” is that Nintendo got a sweet heart deal on those X1 chips because of nvidias screwup of the 3DS, so yeah I can see cheap being a requirement.
The OG Switch downclocks the GPU and CPU when not docked, though they have allowed performance profiles that increase the speed (most likely due to the Switch Lite). Unless Apple plans on selling their system for same price or less than the Switch they are going to need some banner feature (aside from killer 1st party games) that would entice folk to pick it up over the Switch for more money. Especially if they make the games cross-compatible with their other platforms (Apple Arcade).
The rest of the iOS ecosystem would be the Apple killer app if they were not going for a limited App Store categories to cut the price on it.
Not sure if it will become reality, but Apple is in a much better position today to release a console then -- say a decade ago. A14 and M1 CPUs are very good SoC processors for their consoles or even portable consoles. Their iGPU capability is very convincing, but even if they add a discrete GPU from AMD it could cover any gaps with XBox pr PS5 even.
They are in a good position to do it, if they want to to add that to their walled ecosystem.
They are in a good position to do it, if they want to to add that to their walled ecosystem.
I am curious what kinds of games this Apple hardware will allow that we would be missing from Nintendo or Sony otherwise. There is this interview with the Technical Director for Rift Apart which insinuates that the next Insomniac Games release will push the PS5 hardware even harder. Is Apple's hardware going to be that freeing for developers?
As a gamer the idea that the SSD (at least in the PS5) will allow for that kind of data streaming and level of detail is pretty bonkers. Apple has been using solid state storage in it's devices for years and seemingly nothing (games) have taken advantage of it in the same way (or really at all). Remember when they first started using high speed SSD's and we used to marvel at how apps would load in one bounce instead of two or three?
Given that Apple have never put bleeding edge GPUs into their products, never mind producing any kind of software rival to DirectX, and haven't exactly been forward in getting so-called AAA titles onto the platform I'm not holding my breath.
Maximum iOS App size is 4Gb plus supplemental follow-on (download packs). Given that AAA PS4 game seem to go into 3 figures for storage I don't think Apple (who were rumoured to be allowing as much as 64/128Gb storage tiers into their A14 based AppleTV 'Pro' console) have too much ambition to match that.
Sony's SSD setup for their PS5 sounds incredibly ambitious - some of the fastest transfer speeds going because it's apparently on a PCIe 4.0 data bus which is double the PCIe 3.0 commonly employed by Apple. Apple will be there in due course but I never get the feeling they are interested in competing at the bleeding edge with what Sony and Microsoft are doing.
Apple's SSDs are currently some of the best you can get on the PCIe 3.0 bus and it would be too early to see what they are planning for future Macs but PCIe 4.0 and PCIe 5.0 are just around the corner if Apple choose to use them in future Macs - especially the high end ones.
That's not to say they won't be announcing some sort of big gaming initiative at WWDC. There's a few software houses out there that could be working in secret on stuff and Apple might splash on them at the WWDC went - for instance ex-Blizzard staff went and formed Dreamhaven last year. They haven't announced a single project in 8 months so far and they appear to be hiring for a Unity engineer at the moment - for example.
As many people have said it makes more sense as an accessory to iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV. What Apple is missing out on is bundling the controller to establish Apple Arcade. For example, free controller for students (like the old free printer promotion) or free controller redemption code with the purchase of an Apple Arcade subscription.
No, then, because they owned Nintendo and Nintendo has a monopoly on Mario, that would mean Apple would then have a monopoly on Mario and in comes the lawsuits!
Thing is loads of people, especially gamers, have console controllers, they are probably happy with them too. So I would say it makes sense that Apple supports them natively in iOS.
This would especially be the case as every game in the Apple Store will support touch input - offering a real controller as an option would be nice to have for hard core gamers but I would say that Apple will want every game to have the option for touch control.
Apple should do their own controller, unless they have API for the impact triggers (xbox) or the adaptive triggers or touchpad (PS5) going with those controllers (if you don’t already have those systems) seems to be a bit of a waste of what makes those controllers special.
If I'm not wrong, the Apple Silicon SSD controller does not route thru the PCIe bus. It should be equal citizen with the CPU, GPU, NPU, ISP, etc cores.
Well loading times on Mac and iOS games isn’t great for all the bandwidth available.
Read speeds in the MBA appear to be half that of the PS5. But we shouldn't take these figures in isolation and, as you say, the whole system may be optimised to do certain tasks well. Plus, Apple may just not consider themselves to be in a stats arms race with Sony and Microsoft too.
Remember that Sony and Microsoft are taking losses on their hardware sales too so you can't judge the value of stuff based on the recommended retail price.
That's good to know. I haven't bought a Nintendo device in over a decade, though. I don't like how they do business.
I guess my point is that an iPad has probably 2x-10x the graphics capability of my Nintendo Switch. In the last two years I’ve spent around $5 in games on iOS but around $5000 in games on Nintendo Switch. None of those games depend on touch. The library of games on Nintendo Switch is stellar in part to the first party games by Nintendo but also many good ports. The touch first default is one of the problems that I see with Apple devices from being seen as legitimate consoles because game consoles are bundled with a controller. I completely agree that the hard core gamers will have controllers from other systems. The joycons and the dock make the Switch what it is — in the middle ground between casual iOS mobile gamers and hardcore gamers who also care about specs and have the latest gaming rig, PlayStation or Xbox. The Switch without its accessories is just an Nvidia tablet with the backing of Nintendo.
That’s a you problem man lmao. Missing out on some of the best first party titles they’ve put out in a long time. Who cares about their business, I showed up to play games lmao.
Yep. It certainly is a me problem. Nintendo can't be all things to all people. I'm sure that they don't miss me, as the Switch is still selling like hotcakes.