The compilers were fine, even if not producing maximally optimized code. Intel’s decision to add x86 compatibility circuitry to the die was probably the fatal one, it slowed everything down; made for terrible comparisons with existing x86 performance and generally signalled a lack of confidence. Something like Rosetta was out of the question, but they could have just had better transitioning tools for those code bases that couldn’t be recompiled easily.
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