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The old cartridges held the data uncompressed. In read only memory that slotted directly into the system bus. There was no loading the game after pushing the cartridge in.
Modern systems have data with multiple compression formats. Held in hierarchical file systems accessed through separate devices on the system bus. That don't have the speed or latency of system memory. And even compressed modern games still take up to 3 million times more space than old cartridge games.
Well said.
Simple version: it’s not actually “loading” anymore. It’s loading (pretty fast), decompressing (not very fast), and in many cases precomputing (potentially very slow). Current cartridges are storage for the same kind of data that was found on CDs and other media, just in solid state form.
OG cartridges, as was pointed out by someone else, were not doing any of those things. They weren’t even always exactly just storage, they were basically a black-box addition to the logic board. In fact, some cartridge games included entire additional processors that were looped into the logic to provide additional processing power for graphics or audio. That’s what Super FX on the Super Nintendo was: a math coprocessor in the cartridge that helped handle 3D graphics.
I’ve often wondered that as well. I can copy a file the size of an entire game cartridge across my home LAN in the time it takes some games to load the welcome screen.
The last truly next gen console Nintendo made was the N64. They've been stagnant for decades now.
Nintendo never wanted to be bleeding edge, they even openly state that they like using older cheap hardware
And that's ok, but you'd think they would be in the 4k space by now
This sentence seems contradictory. The PS5 and latest Xbox don't even run at 4k for most games. Why would you expect something with older hardware to be able to do it?
When Nintendo came out with the OLED model, we all figured I'd come with a resolution and quality upgrade too, but then they said I'd only be the screen that's better and nothing else well, that's another flop. Most people will still play this on a TV and still look like a Wii u
I can't speak for the OLED model but the Switch has outsold both the PS5 and Xbox. Hardly a flop. Guess people don't care as much about graphics as you think they do.
I wasn't calling the console itself a flop, hell I bought one, I was saying flop that the newer model did not increase resolution or picture quality at all, that was the flop
Why would they do either of those things? Old games probably wouldn't be able to take advantage without a game update and then they'd have to handle old and new Switches. Doesn't seem worth it for anyone involved because most people who already had a Switch aren't going out to buy the upgrade. Then, if you did those things the battery life is going to be much worse.
To bring themselves up to an industry standard? To make the games look good on standard tvs? Lots of reasons.
That makes sense for a new console, not a refresh.
Ps4 pro would like to have a word. It's no excuse
PS4 Pro doesn’t have to worry about battery life. The Switch need to limit itself to 15 watts or less to avoid overheating and battery life would be so short that it would be useless as a handheld console.
Neither does the switch when it's docked
The newer Switch models use a smaller node for the APU. Nintendo had a lot of available overhead but they chose to keep the system down-clocked and more than double battery life. A long battery life is more important to a handheld console than higher resolution.
Even with the downclocking the newer systems actually have better performance than the original models.
I don’t think you know what the word “flop” means.
I wish I could flop the same way the OLED Switch flopped.
that’s another flop
You are ignorant or dishonest. As of today, 7 Nov 2023, The Switch has sold 132 million units. What a flop.
Someone didnt understand the assignment