Is nVidia sinking?
Over the last few weeks there have been articles (some written by me) talking about the massive issues that nVidia is facing. These issues range from bad mobile GPUs to failed high-end chipsets. But amid all of this rumor and fact nVidia stands there in a manner reminiscent of that scene from “Eric the Viking” claiming all is well, and for everyone to remain calm while the their island is sinking around them… (“come on sing with me”).
Many people have stated that nVidia’s calm manner and repeated reassurances (just like the doctor in Monty Python’s “The Meaning of Life” when he tells an officer that has had his leg bitten off he will be "right as rain in a couple of days"… "Any more reassuring I can do for you?") are proof that nothing is wrong. But there is another side to all of this.
Right now nVidia is threatened. ATi/AMD have finally gotten their collective heads out and given us a GPU that challenges nVidia’s current supremacy in the form of the 4000 series. Intel is fast at work on Larrabee and this is all just in the GPU realm. On the chipset side nVidia only holds the lead with AMD CPUs (the nVidia 700 series for AMD being just as horrible as the 500 series) while the newer AMD CPUs are running off of AMD’s 790 series chipset (and doing quite well) for Intel CPUs nVidia has a shadow of the market after three mediocre chipsets, the 680 and 780 and now the 790. Each of these has had more than its share of problems and now the 790i is being pulled by many manufacturers due to complaints from consumers and the high cost that nVidia imposes. So the question begs to be asked; why would nVidia deny these problems?
The answer is simple; Perception and Image.
Right now the last thing nVidia needs is a bad image and for people to perceive they have lost their ability to manufacture high-end enthusiast based products.
They have too much at stake to lose face now.
First there is NVISION 08, which nVidia hopes to see replace E3. According to them E3 is no longer a viable venue for a gaming convention due to a format change. According to a TGdaily interview Roy Taylor from nVidia has said
“The original format went bust… two or three years ago (2006). It was very big and it was hard work. But it was a real show, and it was a stage for you to present what is coming up in the next year. It was an important event. Today, you know… all they did is handed it out to Nvision. Nvision is the new E3 and you can quote me on that. Old E3 was celebration of gaming, while this new E3 stopped being that. We feel that the time is right to offer gamers celebration of gaming once again.”
They also are hard at work on efforts with Cuda, developing it to be a GPGPU. There is proof of this in their latest “Big Bang” announcement.
If nVidia were seen to have “lost their game” people would not get behind them for these endeavors. Game developers would jump ship and work with the faster and more prevalent GPU. They would also be leery of branding a game with the Logo of a company that is perceived as failing. This goes even more so for a show like NVISION.
Again if nVidia is seen to be a failure and to have lost their ability to produce top of the market products who would want to go to an event sponsored by them?
Would you trust them to tell you what is best for gaming?
In the end nVidia has to make the most of positive marketing right now, by putting on a happy face a smiling at the press and consumers alike.
In the end I am reminded of a scene from “Animal House” where Kevin Bacon is trying to stop a panic stricken crowd.
“Remain Calm. All is Well”
The rest of us like the crowd in that movie, might see things differently.