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’d be thrilled if devs shifted to optimizing like they did with early consoles. Figuring out creative workarounds to hardware limitations got us some truly fantastic games.
The fact that the original Super Mario Bros is 31kb of space is baffling. Getting Kirby’s Adventure to run on the same hardware is pure technomancy.
Batman: Return of Joker is also an amazing feat of NES technomancy. Not a supremely great game, mind you, but what they were able to achieve graphically on the NES rivals some SNES games.
Especially with big AAA companies, I think devs have gotten lazy with their optimization passes, because bigger cards means they can just continue cramming more into a game without bothering to budget for optimization.
I checked out a playthrough video of this game and have to agree, the graphics and gameplay is very impressive for the nes.
I remember watching a video on how Contra Force did all kinds of weird tech stuff under the hood to get the game to run. That was technomancy mixed with forbidden occult arts.