But older stuff was just less efficient. You can see the slim as an example of power consumption falling. Also, it wasn't exactly the biggest complaint that needed addressing.
The biggest complaints would have been with ps3:
- The cell chip - backfoot due to requirement of new dev tools to support third party partners
- Non-unified memory architecture - both the 360 and ps3 had 512mb of ram. NUMA granted more performance but unintentionally hobbled the playstation. The 360 had a slower single bank which gave and afforded easier development
I'd expect to see hd7950 performance or hd6950 with as low power consumption as feasible. I wouldn't even be too surprised to see a return of the cell. Iirc K Kuturagi or whatever he was called envisioned continuing down the cell road. I'd imagine the leg work to be mainly done by now. Maybe we'll see the 4.2ghz we were promised.
Edit: The 360 in general had a more flexible gfx card also. Less fixed function... Nvidia joined the party when they launched the 8800. Someone with more expertise should explain that... It's all old misfirings in my brain regarding these consoles