I will buy this argument when you can prove that Nvidia actually makes a better GPU without any collusion. Let me be more specific. For the longest time you didn't see AMD chips in laptops. Was it just a case where all AMD chips sucked when compared to Intel...well, a bit. Poorer energy efficiency, but at the same time much better pricing. The problem is that behind the scenes Intel was playing dirty and basically forcing AMD out of the market.
I view the current AMD/Nvidia situation similarly. AMD focused their brand on value...and thus won the console war. They weren't making the best CPUs, and their GPUs aren't the absolute best, but the market spoke and our consoles are running primarily on AMD. The exception being the ultra budget Nintendo...who decided Tegra and energy efficiency above all else, to meld handheld and console, was what was desired. In the current market I believe that Nvidia dominates not by being the best, but by having the perception that they are absolutely better than AMD...without room for scrutiny.
What I am hoping is that refocusing on the value levels, without the silly race for absolute peak performance, is the start of a lively debate between all three players. Right now Nvidia is primarily sold off of RT...despite most games not having it (by virtue of most games being older than a couple of years). RT is...fine at high GPU performance, but even middle of the road GPUs can't do it and standard raster performance together. Most people own a 3060 level card...which isn't really viable for cranking out ray-tracing. You then get to the $500+ range, and Nvidia is willing to sell you something that will ray-trace. Cool...I can buy an entire console and some games, or one GPU. That said, if you ask a normal person Nvidia "just works." It's their perception after years of being told that Nvidia is better, and not taking it upon themselves to investigate because blowing a few hundred dollars on a curiosity is...stupid.
That said, I believe Nvidia is reaching the tipping point. The point where their ubiquity will be a poison, because their 3060 and 4060 are still nearly at full launch prices (minus scalping), and thus people will try both AMD and Intel because paying $250 for a new card is better than $300 for something already 4+ years old. Consider me a bit selfish here...but I think people will eventually get to the point where entry level hardware at premium pricing will have them trying Intel and AMD, and when they realize that (barring RT) the experience is no longer very different it'll be a no-brainer to buy AMD again, and try Intel.
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