Nintendo Switch device specs won’t be as powerful as PS4 or Xbox One, but the console will apparently have its own unique strengths. This much was suggested in tweets from Wall Street Journal reporter and trusted Nintendo insider, Takashi Mochizuki.
Analyst good at tech details says Switch would be powerful, but not in a way PS and Xbox are so. Interesting.
— Takashi Mochizuki (@mochi_wsj) November 5, 2016
In specific, he said that his sources indicate “Switch would be powerful, but not in a way PS and Xbox are.” He followed that statement with the assertion that Switch is likely using a 14/16nmFET CPU with a Pascal-based GPU. All in all, it’s concluded that the power of the APU bus, between APU and DRAM, will likely be weaker than PS4. Ironically, however, this second tweet did not offer comparisons to Microsoft’s machine.
Ace Yasuda: Switch likely using 14/16nmFET process; GPU would be Pascal-based. Power of APU, bus between APU and DRAM likely weaker than PS4
— Takashi Mochizuki (@mochi_wsj) November 5, 2016
Those spec statistics get a bit technical, but it’s the basic point of the statement that matters. Just like all recent console generations before this one, it appears Nintendo will opt for less powerful hardware than its competitors in turn for a unique service. From what we saw in the Switch reveal trailer, that service is the hybrid console portability of the device. Large-scale games can be played on big screens and on the go using a single product.
Is this novelty precisely what Mochizuki’s source was thinking about when he or she said the unit would still be powerful? Is its power in that added convenience? It’s possible. Another thought is that maybe the Switch’s true talents lie in the efficiency of its hardware. The specs may not provide as much visual shine as PS4 or Xbox One, but maybe its innards work together in perfect harmony to offer great battery life considering what’s on show.
After all, Nintendo continued to push issues of power consumption during the entire Wii era. Both the Wii and Wii U used far less power than their contemporaries, and, despite its better specs, the Wii U drained even less annual wattage than the Wii. As a portable console that plays top-tier games on a battery, maybe the Switch will benefit from some of that prior research. Rumors suggest a far less palatable battery life of three hours for the Switch, but maybe Nintendo will prove that speculation wrong with some very smart design choices. Especially for portables, endurance is a huge part of a system’s perceived power and usefulness.
That being said, having weaker specs than PS4 and Xbox One could pose a challenge when trying to convince third-party developers to support the Switch. Making the necessary downgrades takes extra coding, coding takes time and time costs money. It’s the same gulf in horsepower that forced the Wii U into essentially becoming a Nintendo-only box. In that case, the decision to go low meant trouble.
Nintendo Switch is expected to release in March 2017.
What do you think about the Switch possibly having lower specs than PS4 and Xbox One? Can it still be powerful in other ways? Tell us in the comments section!
