It entirely means that they will be less competitive. The computer market is nothing at all like it was back when people bought the C64, and put them in the closet after a couple of months because there was nothing useful they could do with them. and please don't say that that wasn't done, because it was the big joke at the time. I remember it very well. The C64 was the best selling single model in history — at the time. today, almost any single model, from anyone, will outsell it.
People were told how easy balancing their checkbooks would be with a computer. When they found that it wasn't, and that there wasn't much else they could do with them, they either threw them away, or relegated them to the closet or attic.
Perhaps, using Amiga software, and hardware, you aren't aware of the modern computer scene, but chips change constantly. A one year old chip is already consigned to the trash.
The G4 is totally obsolete, useful for nothing. The G5 requires too much in ancillary support in the machine. The programming for the G5 is also different on several significant levels. Anything optimized for a G4 would have to be partly re-written to work properly on a G5. Sure, the older code will work, but as we found out on the Mac, portions will actually run slower, if the re-write isn't done.
And who will be using the G5's these days, other than some very small specialized manufacturers?
Your wish for the chips you mention is nothing more that that. It simply isn't relevent that the consoles will be competitive. Competitive with what? Each other? The hottest PC games already are superior to the ones coming out on the latest consoles. And so it will always be.
If the Amiga community lives with the expectations you have, then it will continue its rush to the grave.
The only chance it has, is to take advantage of the superior hardware out there, either Mac, or PC.
Any chips unique to the Amiga are totally irrelevant these days. CPU's and GPU's have made certain of that. No one will fund the development of new chips for what amounts to a few tens of thousands of users.
The Amiga OS teams have to get into the real world. The Amiga OS is today, no more than a hobby OS. As a program run under virtualization, it will sell to people who are interested in such things. But, if it is dependent on new hardware, then it has no hope.
Some understanding of this must be acknowledged. All of the infighting has done no one any good.
Most likely, there will never be any money to be made here, and the project should be relegated to Sourceforge. At least that way there will be some people working on it who really care. Unlike now.
SamuraiCrow wrote:
Speaking of not changing, the Playstation 3 will probably not change for the life of the product for compatability reasons. The Commodore 64 also followed that same pattern. The C64 was the best selling single-model computer in history.
Just because the chips change less doesn't mean they'll be any less competitive in the console market than they are today. If anything, that gives IBM the incentive to be more creative as the Cell processor and the Kilocore processor indicate. IBM is making great strides since Apple forced them out of their comfort zone.