Nintendo teases next hardware: the NX
03-17-15, 06:57 AM
#1
DVD Talk Reviewer/ Admin
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: Greenville, South Cackalack
Posts: 28,819
Received 1,881 Likes
on
1,238 Posts
Nintendo teases next hardware: the NX
While speaking about their mobile deal with DeNA, Nintendo reaffirmed their support for dedicated hardware with the NX.
As proof that Nintendo maintains strong enthusiasm for the dedicated game system business, let me confirm that Nintendo is currently developing a dedicated game platform with a brand-new concept under the development codename "NX." It is too early to elaborate on the details of this project, but we hope to share more information with you next year.
03-17-15, 06:59 AM
#2
DVD Talk Legend
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Formerly known as "orangecrush18" - still legal though
Posts: 13,844
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like
on
1 Post
Re: Nintendo teases next hardware: the NX
I would love for that to be true. I love Nintendo so much and want them to continue to make great games and to start making less stupid decisions.
03-17-15, 07:12 AM
#3
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Nintendo teases next hardware: the NX
I know it's possible to piece together the NES and SNES library via digital downloads, MAME and OUYA, etc... but if Nintendo could give me a system that played all the old games in one system, I'd be in heaven. I know that's probably not possible given third party rights; but it'd be awesome.
03-17-15, 08:03 AM
#4
Banned
Re: Nintendo teases next hardware: the NX
I guess Nintendo must have high profit margins on their hardware so that they remain profitable despite low sales, but honestly I just wish Nintendo would get out of the hardware business. Nobody except diehard Nintendo fans is buying their hardware anymore. (The Wii is the one exception to this rule since the N64 era.)
I am not at all interested in this next-gen Nintendo hardware. I have enough hardware cluttering up my entertainment system as is. I have no interest in a console that is more than likely not going to be supported by third party developers. I do like some first party Nintendo games, like Mario, Zelda, Donkey Kong, Metroid, etc., but I am never going to buy another Nintendo console just for them. As I said, I already have enough hardware cluttering up my living room.
I would love to play Mario or Zelda on PS4/XOne though. I feel there are probably millions of people like this. People would love to play Mario or Zelda, but they just don't want a Nintendo console. I do realize that this is never going to happen though as long as the hardware business remains profitable for Nintendo.
Nintendo remains profitable because they don't make "hardcore" consoles anymore simply because it would kill their profit margin. "Hardcore" consoles are more expensive to make. Nintendo deliberately makes lower cost consoles so that they have high profit margins and therefore still make profit despite selling to a small niche audience. It works for them, and it isn't going to change anytime soon.
I am not at all interested in this next-gen Nintendo hardware. I have enough hardware cluttering up my entertainment system as is. I have no interest in a console that is more than likely not going to be supported by third party developers. I do like some first party Nintendo games, like Mario, Zelda, Donkey Kong, Metroid, etc., but I am never going to buy another Nintendo console just for them. As I said, I already have enough hardware cluttering up my living room.
I would love to play Mario or Zelda on PS4/XOne though. I feel there are probably millions of people like this. People would love to play Mario or Zelda, but they just don't want a Nintendo console. I do realize that this is never going to happen though as long as the hardware business remains profitable for Nintendo.
Nintendo remains profitable because they don't make "hardcore" consoles anymore simply because it would kill their profit margin. "Hardcore" consoles are more expensive to make. Nintendo deliberately makes lower cost consoles so that they have high profit margins and therefore still make profit despite selling to a small niche audience. It works for them, and it isn't going to change anytime soon.
03-17-15, 08:08 AM
#5
DVD Talk Godfather
Re: Nintendo teases next hardware: the NX
As the NX is not a replacement for the WiiU or the 3DS, I am guessing the X is for Experience and this will be some form of a VR console.
03-17-15, 08:29 AM
#6
Banned
03-17-15, 08:54 AM
#7
DVD Talk Reviewer/ Admin
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: Greenville, South Cackalack
Posts: 28,819
Received 1,881 Likes
on
1,238 Posts
Re: Nintendo teases next hardware: the NX
...that they've said. They also said the DS was a third pillar with the GameCube and Game Boy Advance, but I think we can all agree that the DS replaced the GBA. Let's say the NX is announced next year and is released in 2017. That'd be 5 years since the Wii U launch and 6 years since the 3DS launch. That's pretty typical turnaround time for Nintendo hardware.
03-17-15, 09:42 AM
#8
DVD Talk Legend
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: San Antonio
Posts: 20,804
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Re: Nintendo teases next hardware: the NX
Rumor is a combined handheld/console with yet another second screen, after the failure of the WiiU, which is held back almost entirely by its second screen.
Another gimmick that isn't optional? I can't even.
If they were selling a $150-200 version of the WiiU without that tablet, and if they patched the 2-3 games that actually use it, WiiUs would fly off shelves, and they could extend this generation by at least a few years.
Another gimmick that isn't optional? I can't even.
If they were selling a $150-200 version of the WiiU without that tablet, and if they patched the 2-3 games that actually use it, WiiUs would fly off shelves, and they could extend this generation by at least a few years.
03-17-15, 09:48 AM
#9
DVD Talk Reviewer/ Admin
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: Greenville, South Cackalack
Posts: 28,819
Received 1,881 Likes
on
1,238 Posts
Re: Nintendo teases next hardware: the NX
The more compelling rumor is that Nintendo is going for more of a platform approach. Iwata has talked quite a bit in the past few investors' meetings about how they're interested in the way Android and iOS devices function where you can buy a game/app on your iPhone and also use it on your iPad. This would solve one of Nintendo's biggest hurdles: their inability to supply a steady flow of software to multiple devices. It could also be more compelling to developers since one effort would have a broader reach.
I don't think a hybrid is out of the realm of possibility, but it seems like it'd be the worst of both worlds. Nintendo seems to be idolizing Apple at the moment (even to the "New 3DS" naming), and I'm expecting them to follow suit with their own take on iOS.
Nah. The Wii U's biggest problem isn't its price tag: it's that very few people want one.
I don't think a hybrid is out of the realm of possibility, but it seems like it'd be the worst of both worlds. Nintendo seems to be idolizing Apple at the moment (even to the "New 3DS" naming), and I'm expecting them to follow suit with their own take on iOS.
Nah. The Wii U's biggest problem isn't its price tag: it's that very few people want one.
03-17-15, 09:53 AM
#10
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Nintendo teases next hardware: the NX
03-17-15, 09:56 AM
#11
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Nintendo teases next hardware: the NX
I lost the Wii U in the divorce. Not interested in buying another one, but I have been throwing the idea of getting a New 3DS around.
03-17-15, 09:57 AM
#12
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Nintendo teases next hardware: the NX
All the consoles need content, but Smash Bros would have moved more consoles if it were appropriately priced. Again though, that could just be in my small circle of real life friends. And I still don't get the appeal of Smash Bros.
03-17-15, 10:08 AM
#13
DVD Talk Legend
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: San Antonio
Posts: 20,804
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Re: Nintendo teases next hardware: the NX
I maintain that they are the best publishers in the business, and I don't think it's close, so they should leverage that strength with a simple box that's just powerful enough to get third party support at a price that undercuts Sony/MS.
What they can't continue to do is sell previous gen hardware with dumb non-optional gimmicks.
03-17-15, 10:12 AM
#14
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Nintendo teases next hardware: the NX
Yay, another Nintendo system to go with the one I havent played in months 
03-17-15, 10:13 AM
#15
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Nintendo teases next hardware: the NX
Nintendo's biggest hurdle is dinosaur management. Their board needs to boot Iwata and his entire team, plain and simple. They've had the same issues for over a decade now. The general consumer doesn't want hit or miss innovation. They want the same third party titles & support that they can get on the other consoles along with Nintendo exclusives.
03-17-15, 10:14 AM
#16
DVD Talk Reviewer/ Admin
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: Greenville, South Cackalack
Posts: 28,819
Received 1,881 Likes
on
1,238 Posts
Re: Nintendo teases next hardware: the NX
The gamepad is probably severely limiting their ability to drop the price of the Wii U without taking a loss. Even though the failure of the gamepad looks apples-to-apples with the Kinect, Microsoft never made a meaningful effort to use the Kinect on the Xbox One (outside of navigation, anyway) and gave it up without a fight, but it looks like Nintendo is more hellbent on proving that the gamepad wasn't a waste rather than just writing it off.
Since the Wii U is still less expensive than the Xbox One or PS4, I think Nintendo still sees it as the value proposition, even if it doesn't have nearly as much power under the hood as the competition.
Since the Wii U is still less expensive than the Xbox One or PS4, I think Nintendo still sees it as the value proposition, even if it doesn't have nearly as much power under the hood as the competition.
03-17-15, 10:16 AM
#17
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Nintendo teases next hardware: the NX
I just don't see how that controller is a limiting factor for price. The hardware involved in it is substantially less than the $30 tablets that get sold everywhere. I know I've seen a few breakdowns for price that seemed ridiculously high, alas I haven't really researched it recently.
03-17-15, 11:04 AM
#18
DVD Talk Reviewer/ Admin
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: Greenville, South Cackalack
Posts: 28,819
Received 1,881 Likes
on
1,238 Posts
Re: Nintendo teases next hardware: the NX
Where I'm coming from: I don't think the Wii U was ever seriously evaluated by the market at large the way the Xbox One and PS4 are/have been. There's no buzz behind the console. Nintendo seems to do as little as it possibly can to promote it. Aside from parents with the TV tuned to Nickelodeon or whatever, I would imagine very few adults have seen the Wii U or any of its games on TV.
I love my Wii U, and -- a far cry from what I ever, ever would've guessed -- it's my go-to console this generation. Outside of the microcosm of gaming forums or tightknit groups of hardcore gamers, I just don't think the Wii U is a product anyone really wants. In the same way that dropping the price of a Segway by half wouldn't massively change the landscape, I don't think dropping the price of the Wii U would make a tremendous difference. I'd absolutely expect there to be a spike, but I'd also expect things to level out pretty quickly.
I just don't see how that controller is a limiting factor for price. The hardware involved in it is substantially less than the $30 tablets that get sold everywhere. I know I've seen a few breakdowns for price that seemed ridiculously high, alas I haven't really researched it recently.
Iwata thought the Wii U was going to sell 5.5 million units in it's launch year. It only sold 3.45 million.
Then Iwata said that Wii U's second year was going to be the one where the booster rockets were really going to kick in, and predicted that it would sell 9 million in it's second year, for 12.45 million total. Sales were low all year, but right before Nov/Dec (Nintendo's best selling period), Iwata reiterated that everything was going smoothly. The Wii U stalled out over the holiday and ended up selling 2.72 million in it's second year (6.17 total), which was worse than even it's underperforming launch year.
Iwata shut down production and put out the fire, but production doesn't start and stop on a dime, these things take time to get up to speed and you've made all sorts of contracts with suppliers. Since Wii U crashed into Holiday 2013 anticipating 12.45 million in sales, it stands to reason that Nintendo bought 12 million units or more worth of various parts before it had to shut down. That's why people think Nintendo is sitting on enough parts to make 12-15 million Wii U's.
Nintendo took a big loss in 2013 because they had to pay for those unused parts, but since then they've been able to go back to assembling Wii U units and calling that profitable.
The Wii U was unprofitable before it crashed. It started out as Nintendo's least profitable system by far, and it's bad first year forced Nintendo to make a price drop they didn't want. The Wii U apparently blows a lot of money on the GamePad and overall the system wasn't designed to quickly drop in price like the GameCube was. It was designed to... I dunno. Even Nintendo's first party studios never asked for the GamePad. Such a senseless design.
Anyways, Nintendo toughed it out, and kept throwing great games at the system, one after another, even announcing more games than they originally signed up for (when they could've been spending that effort on the 3DS), and now they seem to have one or two years of life left in the Wii U, and they seem to be one or two years away from selling 12-15 million consoles at near-full price.
If Nintendo drops the price of the Wii U to try and sell more units faster, they're going to lose their profit margin, and once they run out of spare parts, they're going to have to find new suppliers who can make compatible parts, which probably means a "slim" redesign, but they're going to have to put money on the table again, probably push Wii U back into a money-losing position, and bet that the Wii U has more life left in it. Which is crazy, because Nintendo has almost gotten most of their money back from the last time they bet money on Wii U, and if the price cut and slim redesign don't work, Zelda won't be able to pull Nintendo's butt out of the fire. Zelda has it's work cut out for it as-is. And if Zelda fails, that's when they fall back on the price drop.
The new narrative for Wii U's success is how much fun it is and how many great games it had on it. It's never going to reach GameCube's numbers, so it's pointless to get worked up about how close it can get to them.
Then Iwata said that Wii U's second year was going to be the one where the booster rockets were really going to kick in, and predicted that it would sell 9 million in it's second year, for 12.45 million total. Sales were low all year, but right before Nov/Dec (Nintendo's best selling period), Iwata reiterated that everything was going smoothly. The Wii U stalled out over the holiday and ended up selling 2.72 million in it's second year (6.17 total), which was worse than even it's underperforming launch year.
Iwata shut down production and put out the fire, but production doesn't start and stop on a dime, these things take time to get up to speed and you've made all sorts of contracts with suppliers. Since Wii U crashed into Holiday 2013 anticipating 12.45 million in sales, it stands to reason that Nintendo bought 12 million units or more worth of various parts before it had to shut down. That's why people think Nintendo is sitting on enough parts to make 12-15 million Wii U's.
Nintendo took a big loss in 2013 because they had to pay for those unused parts, but since then they've been able to go back to assembling Wii U units and calling that profitable.
The Wii U was unprofitable before it crashed. It started out as Nintendo's least profitable system by far, and it's bad first year forced Nintendo to make a price drop they didn't want. The Wii U apparently blows a lot of money on the GamePad and overall the system wasn't designed to quickly drop in price like the GameCube was. It was designed to... I dunno. Even Nintendo's first party studios never asked for the GamePad. Such a senseless design.
Anyways, Nintendo toughed it out, and kept throwing great games at the system, one after another, even announcing more games than they originally signed up for (when they could've been spending that effort on the 3DS), and now they seem to have one or two years of life left in the Wii U, and they seem to be one or two years away from selling 12-15 million consoles at near-full price.
If Nintendo drops the price of the Wii U to try and sell more units faster, they're going to lose their profit margin, and once they run out of spare parts, they're going to have to find new suppliers who can make compatible parts, which probably means a "slim" redesign, but they're going to have to put money on the table again, probably push Wii U back into a money-losing position, and bet that the Wii U has more life left in it. Which is crazy, because Nintendo has almost gotten most of their money back from the last time they bet money on Wii U, and if the price cut and slim redesign don't work, Zelda won't be able to pull Nintendo's butt out of the fire. Zelda has it's work cut out for it as-is. And if Zelda fails, that's when they fall back on the price drop.
The new narrative for Wii U's success is how much fun it is and how many great games it had on it. It's never going to reach GameCube's numbers, so it's pointless to get worked up about how close it can get to them.
03-17-15, 11:08 AM
#19
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Nintendo teases next hardware: the NX
I have 3 friends any myself who have Wii U's. And even in the age of a new Mario Kart and Smash, we never play together. But load up Diablo or some other game and we are in a party in no time. Like Adam says, theres just no hype around it.
03-17-15, 11:18 AM
#20
DVD Talk Godfather
Re: Nintendo teases next hardware: the NX
I feel like i'm losing more and more interest in Nintendo hardware as I get older; even if there's more then just Mario, it's the main Nintendo properties that I once loved that I just have less desire and hype to play now. After buying a 3DS last year, I realized I didn't care much for Mario Kart anymore, I only played the base Mario levels on Super Mario 3D Land, haven't bothered unlocking all the characters on Smash Bros, and really only loved Link Between Worlds probably because Link to the Past is my favorite Zelda game of all time and I really missed the style and gameplay.
This probably goes to some of the previous discussions we've had in other threads about game length, but these days I feel more inclined to play a ~8-10 hour solid single player experience with a good story and move on, a few rounds of a shooter, or 30-40 minutes for a sports game and be happy.
I'd still love to see a Nintendo console that can compete hardware wise and get it's share of 3rd party ports, but it seems like that will never happen again.
This probably goes to some of the previous discussions we've had in other threads about game length, but these days I feel more inclined to play a ~8-10 hour solid single player experience with a good story and move on, a few rounds of a shooter, or 30-40 minutes for a sports game and be happy.
I'd still love to see a Nintendo console that can compete hardware wise and get it's share of 3rd party ports, but it seems like that will never happen again.
03-17-15, 11:39 AM
#21
DVD Talk Legend
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: San Antonio
Posts: 20,804
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Re: Nintendo teases next hardware: the NX
And on price, I imagine the tablet has to add something to the price of the console to the extent that it's been functionally more expensive than the XO (at retail, of course) for most of the past 6 months. And that's nuts, because the XO is a much more capable machine, and even casual consumers know that.
I don't think dropping the price of the Wii U would make a tremendous difference. I'd absolutely expect there to be a spike, but I'd also expect things to level out pretty quickly.
And on the NX, please keep it simple for those who want it simple, and make it capable enough for multiplats, even if they are slightly lesser versions.
03-17-15, 12:32 PM
#24
DVD Talk Hero
Re: Nintendo teases next hardware: the NX
They can't even get crossplay/cross purchasing working on their current gen of systems, and it's not due to technical limitations. Heck, the process to port accounts over from device to device is the most painful of all the console/handheld manufacturers. I don't understand how they're going to all of a sudden make this the strength of their platform?
