The only hope for Adobe is high-end hardware: iPad 2, iPhone 4G and high-end Android smartphones and tablets.

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"You're going to need a lot of high-end hardware to run the newer games, " he said.

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Another interesting thing about the development of this engine is the role of software in high-end hardware design.

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Nvidia, traditionally a manufacturer of high-end graphical hardware, announced its Project Shield console at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January.

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Serial entrepreneur and founder of SA Baxter, high-end maker of architectural hardware such as door knobs and lights in New York's Hudson Valley, Baxter has managed to clock double-digit sales growth during the recession.

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As it turns out, audio hardware, particularly on the high end, has been no less hard hit.

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"With the installed base of Android and Tegra already at critical mass, developers looking to have their games stand out have the promise of financial reward to invest in high-end content, not to mention the hardware processing that can power next-generation games, " Iida said.

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Games may be a problem, as high-end gaming is most likely to exploit ARM architecture hardware extensions, and as such not perform as expected on x86 processors.

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