cross-posted from: https://ttrpg.network/post/31067608
NVIDIA started to discontinue its GeForce RTX 3060 GPUs back in 2024. The original lineup, which was introduced back in 2021, is still the most popular gaming graphics card on Steam, and while the 4060 & 5060 are picking up the pace, it looks like NVIDIA might once again open up production lines for this GPU.
This indicates the extent to which the DRAM shortages have affected consumer GPUs. The GeForce RTX 5060 makes use of GDDR7 memory, and as DRAM costs rise, the RTX 5060 might not only be affected in terms of pricing but also in supply, since procuring the memory is also an issue due to poor supply. The 60-series product family is made for mass consumption, so NVIDIA will have to offer some alternative to its partners.
I wonder if we’ll see a shift towards graphical stagnation with upcoming game releases. With RAM and GPUs being so expensive, there will be a lot fewer customers that can afford the hardware to play upcoming, graphically-demanding games and so targeting that demographic is economically unwise.
It sucks that this is the situation we find ourselves in, but I’m actually kind of interested in what will happen. A new age of hyper-optimisation would be so awesome.
Or perhaps game devs can focus on optimizing to appeal to lower end pcs
They really should anyway. The Switch showed almost a decade ago how popular the handheld form factor can be when powerful enough, and the Steam Deck has capitalized on that beautifully. At this point a significant component in my purchasing of games is looking for that “Steam Deck Verified.”
Hades 2 for example. Steam deck game of the year. And it is not an eyecandy GPU eater.
While actually being beautiful eye candy!
On it’s own, yes.
To better use the computing power they have, too.
No, just basic and regular optimization. There are plenty of talented devs with YouTube channels that have shown that most AAA games are horrendously optimized, and in some cases can see 2x or even 3x+ performance gains with proper optimization.
I don’t know man. Maybe I just don’t understand it but games like BF1 for the most part look just as good as games today.
BF1 hits the in-engine frame limiter with modern cards on 4K and maxed out settings.
Yet new games for the most part run like dog shit.
So even with old hardware creating great looking games should still be possible.
Plenty of indie games that dont need big beefy cards
I imagine this would affect PC-only or PC-first games. I think it’s more likely that publishers will focus on releasing games for consoles rather than PC. I’m also wondering if this week drive more console sales in the future.