Crys, you're more technologically savvy than me, what do you think of the rumored CPU and GPU?
To explain processing power is hard because you have to make assumptions on the softwares that are driving the unit. R700 is top of the line for power/performance and it does a great job of handling various memory access clusters in a small amount of space. 512mb is more than enough memory, because of how fast it will go in and out at the desired need for the games themselves.
The real concern is the use of 3core IBM power chips. This is a budget move. Power chips and Cell processors act very different, and thats why Sony has a huge advantage if they continue to follow that path for PS4. But cell architectures work so differently from a programming and development standpoint, we haven't even seen software on the PS3 that can take full advantage of its capabilities.
So in short, this is a system that was designed to be A. Affordable. B. Simple. C. Easy to Develop for.
I would say that the PS3 will oddly be able to stay on par with the Wii 2, if businesses continue to develop native games for it. But the Wii 2 will be MUCH more simple as far as development, that the overall experience will seem better.
Sounds like Wii to mii! Which is a good thing, sell what works! Especially in an era where people have had TOO many hardware problems with the 360 and PS3, Nintendo's plan is exactly what most consumers will be interested in buying.
Also, the IBM Power line allows Nintendo to release many levels of the Wii 2. Because it's an easy SMP design, Nintendo can release a 4 core or 6 core model that consumes less power in the future, when costs make sence to make the change. This is great for both Nintendo and IBM, because IBM can phase out production of a CPU, and Nintendo can easily use another one as a replacement. The same is not as true for the R700, but AMD/ATi use a different roadmap for development. This is where AMD renames the R700 to something different for entirely different applications. We already know that AMD/ATi designed R700 to be their future chip for mobile devices with a lot of different codenames, so the chips will be made for a decade in some form, making Nintendo's job ridiculously easy.
In the end, unlike Wii now, the Wii 2 games will be easier to port to future handheld devices. The current Wii and gamecube classics, like Mario Galaxy, Sunshine ect, will require emulation on ARM powered gameboy-whatevers.
That's what I think, sorry for the long reply, but thats tech for you.
