this post was submitted on 08 Mar 2026
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[–] themoken@startrek.website 5 points 1 day ago

I don't think the convergence to x86/ARM is really lack of innovation, it's more recognizing that being on a separate architecture doesn't really help you. The innovation is now in form factor (e.g. the Switch), peripherals (e.g. VR or alt controllers) or software (e.g. streaming). Now, having an x86 just means your base platform is cheap and you don't need a lot of custom work, although these platforms still get integration attention. Also makes ports much simpler.

The PS3 is actually a great example of the industry learning this lesson. The Cell architecture was really hard to leverage. It took years for any games/engines to use the Cell SPUs right.

As for Linux though, PS3 Linux was effectively just PowerPC Linux which was already fully supported years before in every major server distro. The Cell PPUs (main, boot cores) were pretty much off the shelf PowerPC. Similar to the Wii/WiiU.

Source: work in semiconductors, the Cell was one of my first platforms out of school.