Nintendo NX: A Closer Look at the Mystery Console

CommanderFrank

CommanderFrank

Cat Can't Scratch It
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Every large tech corporation has at least one product that failed the grade and Nintendo’s was/is the Wii U. The best remedy for a less-than-successful-product is to replace it as quickly as possible with one that will wow the masses and set the cash registers singing. Nintendo’s hopeful new contender in this endeavor will be the NX.

Well, that didn't take long. Less than two-and-a-half years after Nintendo launched the Wii U, the console stalwart has revealed plans for a new console, codenamed Nintendo NX.
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Would love to see a direct competitor to the PS4 and XB1.
I fear they will try to innovate again and fail.
 
I hope the 3DS stays around longer. A dedicated gaming platform that is small a portable (and cheaper than a gaming laptop) is certainly a welcome edition to current solutions. They do need to sort out how digital game licenses work, as well as their account system in general.

As for a home console, I hope Nintendo doesn't try another gimmick. I am not sure if they can survive another flop. Although even if it was similar to the PS/Xbox, I think it might still have a hard time gaining market share. Who wants to make a game for four major systems (PC, PS, Xbox and Nintendo)? Likewise, I don't think Nintendo has much of an online community outside of a few 3DS games. Someone can correct me there.
 
This reeks of Khronos/Mantle/DX12 compliance. I certainly hope so. The more players that get in the mid, the more (and better quality) cross-platform games we will have. It would go against Nintendo's MO to do so, but at this point, it's sink or swim for Nintendo.
 
Easy...
1. Give it a regular, non-gimmicky controller. Want a silly add-on like touch screen tablets or the Kinect? Make it an add-on. It still won't be supported by most developers, but it won't drag down the rest of the system either in limitations or unnecessary cost.

2. Give it modern hardware so it can run popular cross platform games.

Geez, this isn't rocket science. The U's failure was entirely predictable.
 
pxc said:
2. Give it modern hardware so it can run popular cross platform games.
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On the other hand, does the market really need a third platform for console ports? Even in the unlikely event that the hardware is substantially more powerful than the other two major consoles, the weakest of the three will still define the standard for the rest; what's the point? Yet if it's even just slightly less powerful, it will drag down the average for everyone.

Nintendo will continue to be in an awkward position until either Sony or Microsoft stumble, yet the odds of Nintendo being coincidentally positioned to step up are still slim.
 
While I don't own a PS4 and an XBox One my roommate does. The Wii U does have it's faults, but quite honestly I have way more fun with it than I do with the One or 4 (as does my roomie). It's only secondary to my PC. Games that actually make use of the controller in ways that make sense (ZombiU, Deus Ex HR, Nintendo Land) really adds to experience. Unfortunately most games don't make use of it, even Nintendo first party titles, which turns the controller into a power hungry brick for no reason.

It seems like most people I've talked to in person that have a Wii U generally like it more than the XBox One and PS4, but the lack of games is the real killer.
 
Umm, this article didn't provide a "look" at anything.

The simple fact is, Nintendo innovated themselves into irrelevance with the stupid Wii U tablet. I have Wii U, and the first thing I got for it was the pro controller. Whoever was in the conference room in Japan that decided their next console needed to rely on a damned tablet, should have been fired. Control is the most important thing in a game(you think they'd have learned their lesson after the stupid waggle controls on the wii that they had to upgrade, but still sucked).

I don't want motion controls, I don't want a second screen to look at, I don't want gimmicks. Just give me a decent box that I can play nintendo games on(and third party devs are willing to support) or give it up already and get the games onto the other consoles.
 
Catalan said:
On the other hand, does the market really need a third platform for console ports?
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No.

Nintendo as a platform is kind of weird. On one hand, its consoles often do have a fairly large install base, which attracts significant 3rd party ports if the system is capable of handling it. On the other hand, it's 3rd party title attach rate is horrible, driving off many developers -- even those who supported the platform.

3rd party support, and that's most often in the form of multi-platform ports, adds tremendous value to a console. The U's limitations show this perfectly. NX certainly could flop, especially if Nintendo goes with controller gimmicks and underpowered hardware again, which cause a death spiral for the platform due to poor 3rd party support. Whether Nintendo should even try is a good question. However, if Nintendo is going to offer a new console meant to take hands and eyes away from MS and Sony in the living room, it would be best to offer competitive hardware and mostly standard gaming controllers.
 
pxc said:
Easy...
1. Give it a regular, non-gimmicky controller. Want a silly add-on like touch screen tablets or the Kinect? Make it an add-on. It still won't be supported by most developers, but it won't drag down the rest of the system either in limitations or unnecessary cost.

2. Give it modern hardware so it can run popular cross platform games.

Geez, this isn't rocket science. The U's failure was entirely predictable.
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I think the U's failure had more to do with a lack of good marketing and no decent launch titles. I HATED the Wii U when it came out. I didn't want the tablet controller, and there were no games available I cared about. I finally bought one last Christmas, and I love the shit out of it, including the tablet. If Wind Waker HD came out as a launch title, or a brand new Zelda game, I think it would have sold more. The tablet completely changes the experience in Wind Waker. Having the map and items on the tablet screen is a huge help, and I don't think I could ever go back and play it on game cube.

Now, I do agree it should have been an add-on. I also waited because the price was too much for me at the time. There are few games that really benefit from the tablet. I really think they should have launched it at $200, and then sold a tablet + game add-on bundle for $100, or a complete bundle with everything for $300 like they have now.
 
Nintendo should just give up and make a Zelda game for PC.
 
I'm just saying the same thing you guys are, but Nintendo needs 2 things, 1: Hardware that is comparable to the current generation, and 2: A fucking control paddle....

I mean seriously, the last competitive hardware they had was the gamecube, and that came late as hell to the market.

And how many decades has consoles been using control paddles? Nintendo should fucking know better.
 
They need to drop the whimsical Sesame Street crap and provide a professional looking UI and less restrictive 3rd party licenses.
 
If not being a close of the XBOX and PS platforms means it's a failure, then fuck it, I guess it's a failure. And the thought of playing iconic Nintendo franchises on a PC or another platform makes me sick. I'd rather see Nintendo just completely fold.
 
Predaking said:
They need to drop the whimsical Sesame Street crap and provide a professional looking UI and less restrictive 3rd party licenses.
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YEAH! Make it more like Playstation and Microsoft. That'll fix everything. :rolleyes:
 
The only gimmick should be to use your 3ds as a controller, or even to be able to use the console to play your 3ds on the tv (top screen).

Next it should be able to play game cube / wii / wii-u games.

Then it should be able to let people download and play nes / snes / gb games without charging a fortune.
 
WiiU is not a failure. It is not the winner of it's generation, but sales have improved due to it's software lineup. Nintendo is making a profit. The VirtualBoy was the failure.
 
I know I'm the oddball in this thread.. but both myself and my kids really prefer the nunchuck-style controllers from the original Wii. I got the kids an xbox 360 for Christmas, and while they play it, after 3 months they still complain about the controllers. Really not sure why.. but the Wii controllers just feel easier to handle and this is coming from someone that grew up on the old NES controllers. Maybe it's the dual stick setup on the xbox. Maybe it's just not having to hold both hands close together in front of me (more freedom of hand/arm placement with the nunchucks).
 
Eradan said:
If not being a close of the XBOX and PS platforms means it's a failure, then fuck it, I guess it's a failure. And the thought of playing iconic Nintendo franchises on a PC or another platform makes me sick. I'd rather see Nintendo just completely fold.
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They likely would, you're already seeing them venture into different markets and allowing their IP on mobile devices.

Nintendo tbh is finally turning a profit on the Wii U but they took a huge chunk out of their Wii bank warchest.

Everyone mentioning powerful hardware or a standard controller aren't really looking at the larger picture. In order to compete directly with them they would have to invest hundreds of millions in online infrastructure, hardware R&D, marketing, etc. and that won't happen.

Even if they did third parties wouldn't come back unless Nintendo paid a few directly to cover costs. Nintendo is notoriously anti third party, it's not the hardware it's their complete lack of respect for them.

The only thing they can do is come up with some sort of gimmick that tries to catch lightening in a bottle again. We would have already seen signs of a turn around with third party relations if that was their goal.

They (Nintendo) has shown a generation over generation loss of market share since the original NES. If they fail to catch that lightening again I fully expect them to have LTD sales below 10m WW. Their base has been shrinking for decades.
 
I don't know if the market can support a third mediocre console platform with lazy and abusive mega-publishing outlets saturating the market with their Madden-grade rehashes. Would Nintendo really succeed by having a new platform where you can buy a third copy of Battlefield 42.5 with zombies DLC?

I think Nintendo's problem is it's old fashioned: They're so late to the "online connectivity" gaming trend, Sony/MS are a few years ahead in this area... while Nintendo's ecosystem is still more about the living room and less about friend lists.

But they're trying to catch up, the recent Mario Kart shows some promise/potential for example. They got some serious work to do there and it's not necessarily a hardware problem imho.

I guess we'll see what kinda eco-system will come with the new platform, see if the old dog learned any new tricks.
 
Honestly, I wish Nintendo would go 2nd Party for Sony. They'd have huge clot in designing hardware so they can do their console "experiments" and they could keep their own handheld that way.

Sony would bust a nut and break the bank for exclusive access to Nintendo's franchises for a console cycle. Then for the next one they play Microsoft and Sony against each other for big money.
 
I'd buy a new Nintendo console with a normal controller to play Zelda and Metroid in a heartbeat.
 
... There are normal controllers for the Wii U.

Though after Other M well be lucky to get Metroid soon.
 
The Wii U's library is 1000x better than the XB1 and PS4's currently are and probably will be for at least another year or so.

Which is a shame cause it's done nothing to drive hardware sales for the device.

WW:HD
Super Mario 3D World
Pikmin 3
DK:Tropical Freeze
Smash Bros
Mario Kart
Bayonetta 2
...
 
bloodypulp said:
WiiU is not a failure. It is not the winner of it's generation, but sales have improved due to it's software lineup. Nintendo is making a profit. The VirtualBoy was the failure.
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From shareholders perspective it is a failure. Its not a disaster like virtual boy but simply not doing well enough. Which is sad because i think its a good system and i like the controller myself.
 
Nintendo is alright. They can make their hardware and release their games for it and people will buy their stuff. They can take risks sometimes looking like jaded punks muttering gibberish in short breaths walking around an empty room with thousands of post-it notes covering the floors, walls, and ceiling. They can do that shit. Go Nintendo. Run wild and free with the wind in your hair. Go.
 
farscapesg1 said:
I know I'm the oddball in this thread.. but both myself and my kids really prefer the nunchuck-style controllers from the original Wii.
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You're not the only one. My nephew and his friends love them too.

But now is the time for a new games console and the reason is 4K. A console that will do 4K @ 30 fps will be a winner - 60 fps will just be gravy. Just use a GTX 970 - maybe even a 960 - without all the layers that Microsoft impose and you're done.
 
No console will do 4k at 30p, especially a Nintendo one. We'll be lucky for 1080p60 for the next cycle.
 
DejaWiz said:
This reeks of Khronos/Mantle/DX12 compliance. I certainly hope so. The more players that get in the mid, the more (and better quality) cross-platform games we will have. It would go against Nintendo's MO to do so, but at this point, it's sink or swim for Nintendo.
Click to expand...

Sink or Swim? You have no idea how much cash Nintendo still has stashed away from the original Wii. They could fail for years and years and yeaaaaars still. :)
 
MajorDomo said:
Every large tech corporation has at least one product that failed the grade and Nintendo’s was/is the Wii U. The best remedy for a less-than-successful-product is to replace it as quickly as possible with one that will wow the masses and set the cash registers singing. Nintendo’s hopeful new contender in this endeavor will be the NX.
Click to expand...

that to me just kills trust.

I brought a wii-u and if nintendo are giving the wii-u an early death I am not going to buy the replacement.

Think how sega died as a console company, they started doing rapid releases and it alienated their customer base.

will this now delayed zelda game be on the NX instead of the wii-u?
 
If they are delaying it for the NX, which isn't the only reason they'd delay Zelda as they don't release things until they're happy, it'd likely be like Twilight Princess and be on both.

The next Zelda is looking to be huge with the open world and they've had complaints of too few dungeons and/or them being too easy for the past several ones. They likely don't want those complaints about this one.
 
Wierdo said:
I don't know if the market can support a third mediocre console platform with lazy and abusive mega-publishing outlets saturating the market with their Madden-grade rehashes. Would Nintendo really succeed by having a new platform where you can buy a third copy of Battlefield 42.5 with zombies DLC?

I think Nintendo's problem is it's old fashioned: They're so late to the "online connectivity" gaming trend, Sony/MS are a few years ahead in this area... while Nintendo's ecosystem is still more about the living room and less about friend lists.

But they're trying to catch up, the recent Mario Kart shows some promise/potential for example. They got some serious work to do there and it's not necessarily a hardware problem imho.

I guess we'll see what kinda eco-system will come with the new platform, see if the old dog learned any new tricks.
Click to expand...

Actually Nintendo's problem was exclusively hardware. The tablet controller nintendo admitted basically doubled the cost of the WiiU. The controller wasn't well received and the cost of the console given how weak the hardware is as a result was a major turnoff. Even with only "OK" games at launch, everyone knows there are going to be great games for it at some point. However fact is that by the time those titles started coming out the damage to the brand because of the cost was done. Get rid of the controller and launch the WiiU at $250 out the door and I would bet serious money that thing would of killed in sales based on reputation. I know I would of bought one and I know countless people like me who also would of, but refuse to until the useless tablet is removed and the price is slashed in half. That controller literally sunk the WiiU by itself because of the cost that it added to the platform.
 
As an addendum to that, I still maintain my stance that the WiiU is salvageable as a platform. The problem is Nintendo is just too damn stubborn to admit they are wrong and they would rather scrap the entire platform than sell it how the customers want it. The controller isn't required by a single game that is worth a shit in the wiiU. If they swallowed their pride and just removed the damn thing and offered a version of the wiiu without it for sub $200 at this point it would sell. The problem is they are and always have been too damn proud to admit when they are wrong (not unusual for japanese companies). It would probably piss off a few of their developers, but then I can't imagine it doing so more then abandoning the entire platform. So it really just comes down to them refusing to admit they were wrong and should of listened to the market when it was ABUNDANTLY clear in the beginning that no one wanted that damn controller.
 
One thing the WII U has that the other two don't kids games. It was the main reason I purchased mine. If your a serious gamer that spend 20+ hours a week gaming your probably not going to like it, if you just want soothing you can pick up and play, or play games with your kids its great.
 
I think whatever is next for the big N, they should consider making connectivity optional.
By this I mean like the past, when you buy the disc you get the game, no multi gig updates, no crap. Multiplayer of course if you want to play it then sure, they need to have the store, the apps and all that of course.
 
Dekoth-E- said:
Actually Nintendo's problem was exclusively hardware. The tablet controller nintendo admitted basically doubled the cost of the WiiU. The controller wasn't well received and the cost of the console given how weak the hardware is as a result was a major turnoff. Even with only "OK" games at launch, everyone knows there are going to be great games for it at some point. However fact is that by the time those titles started coming out the damage to the brand because of the cost was done. Get rid of the controller and launch the WiiU at $250 out the door and I would bet serious money that thing would of killed in sales based on reputation. I know I would of bought one and I know countless people like me who also would of, but refuse to until the useless tablet is removed and the price is slashed in half. That controller literally sunk the WiiU by itself because of the cost that it added to the platform.
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It's not a tablet. It's a controller with a fucking touchscreen.
 
Wierdo said:
I don't know if the market can support a third mediocre console platform with lazy and abusive mega-publishing outlets saturating the market with their Madden-grade rehashes. Would Nintendo really succeed by having a new platform where you can buy a third copy of Battlefield 42.5 with zombies DLC?

I think Nintendo's problem is it's old fashioned: They're so late to the "online connectivity" gaming trend, Sony/MS are a few years ahead in this area... while Nintendo's ecosystem is still more about the living room and less about friend lists.

But they're trying to catch up, the recent Mario Kart shows some promise/potential for example. They got some serious work to do there and it's not necessarily a hardware problem imho.

I guess we'll see what kinda eco-system will come with the new platform, see if the old dog learned any new tricks.
Click to expand...

Why would you buy a third copy of a game? Do you already buy the sony and ms console versions of a game? That doesn't make any sense.

You're right, the market doesn't need another box just for the sake of playing CoD/BF/Madden/AC/etc. But the problem is that while there are people who want to play Nintendo games, there are more people who want to play Nintendo games but do not want to buy another console just for the sake of having something different to play as well.
 
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