Re: Nintendo teases next hardware: the NX
 

I just can't shake the feeling that a third-party Nintendo would be the worst of both worlds. I think they'd abandon a lot of their more experimental tendencies and double-down on a very small handful of can't-miss IPs. For people who only care about Smash, Kart, Zelda, and Mario, that's great, but I can't picture a third-party Nintendo bringing out anything like Bayonetta 2, The Wonderful 101, Xenoblade Chronicles X, etc.

I really am optimistic about the NX, though. There are plenty of other mistakes Nintendo could make along the way, but if the rumors pan out, it sounds like they've finally figured out how to address their software drought issues.

Re: Nintendo teases next hardware: the NX
 

But those titles are the Nintendo bread and butter.

Platinum Games would still exist outside of Nintendo, and the quirky titles would likely still make it out. And all I can think about Xenoblade Chronicles X is how much better it'd look on modern hardware (The game itself is kind of dull, but I didn't know Japanese when I was playing it which may have contributed). But that's all IMO stuff. Plus a joint venture between Nintendo EAD and Platinum / Monolith would probably still exist if it meant getting a popular character or two tossed in. Best case, if Nintendo ditched hardware and became a publisher with their own EAD as well as bringing on other companies as "in-house" such as Monolith and Platinum Games.

Re: Nintendo teases next hardware: the NX
 

I'm not too optimistic about the NX. I like the Wii U enough, but out of the three current gen consoles, I play it the least. The hardware is what killed it, and without the successful Wii mote "gimmick", it simply turned off both casual and hardcore gamers except for the die-hard Nintendo fans. I personally liked the gamepad controller, but it was only used well for some games. I don't think Nintendo should call it quits yet on the console front, but it's disappointing when the biggest game announcements over the last couple of years were 3DS games, and lots of Wii U delays.

Re: Nintendo teases next hardware: the NX
 

I really wish I could read a single thread about something Nintendo related without someone suggesting that Nintendo will/should become a third-party publisher.

Re: Nintendo teases next hardware: the NX
 

I think the main thread for the Wii U has remarkably little of it. Since this is about upcoming hardware I figured it fit but who knows.

I want Nintendo to succeed one way or another without resorting to microtansaction mobile titles.

Re: Nintendo teases next hardware: the NX
 

When I read about how the NX hardware is more powerful than XB1 and PS4 it made me remember a quote from some PC forum about how much more horsepower is needed for VR and that current gen systems aren't powerful enough to take advantage of the full potential of VR. I'm starting to think the NX will be some kind of VR/ console hybrid that'll bring VR into mainstream and blow everyone away.

The demonstrations of VR Sony showed off at PSX are further proof of this. All the games were pretty underwhelming. Everything still looks like a tech demo.

This might be Sony treading lightly in fear of VR becoming a failure. Sony has thier feet half in the water while Nintendo might dive right in.

Re: Nintendo teases next hardware: the NX
 

I think Sony's treating it appropriately as an add on; treating VR as the future of gaming would be a big mistake in my opinion, akin to motion controls or 3D fads coming and going. I hope Nintendo doesn't go all in, I feel like it would be putting all their eggs in a flimsy basket that may or not pay off. I could be wrong, but I know I for one realized after the Wii, Kinect, and 3D glasses that I don't really want any of that and just like sitting on the couch with a normal controller.

Being more powerful then current gen? Well it better damn be.

Re: Nintendo teases next hardware: the NX
 

Re: Nintendo teases next hardware: the NX
 

That's why I said a 'form of VR'. I think it'll combine AR with VR. Reggie even said VR doesn't interest them cause at the moment it's not a very social device. Using VR and AR to make it so multiple people can play together.

It's something I can see appealing to both core and casual audiences. There's a YouTube video of an Occulus user showing his Grandma the tech. She loved it.

Re: Nintendo teases next hardware: the NX
 

So has everyone accepted the fact that the next Zelda won't be on Wii U? Or if it is, it'll be like TP which got like a handful of Wii copies released.

Re: Nintendo teases next hardware: the NX
 

They specifically said it was on Wii U in the last Nintendo Direct. Has that changed?

Re: Nintendo teases next hardware: the NX
 

Right...just like TP was on Wii; "technically". Do you honestly think they're going to release a new console but release their awesome new Zelda game on the old/dying console only?

Pure assumption on my part but I can't see that happening. They're going to want to push as many as the new consoles as possible.

Re: Nintendo teases next hardware: the NX
 

If you were only going to buy a Wii U for Zelda then yes, it will likely be on the NX as well. If you have no intention on buying the next Nintendo console, but have a Wii U, then you are also set.

Re: Nintendo teases next hardware: the NX
 

Maybe the NX is backwards compatible. It would be stupid not for it to be, otherwise they're just setting the Wii U on fire.

I'm hoping the NX is a clean break. I'm not opposed to backwards compatibility so long as it doesn't compromise the console, but I'm not sure Nintendo can pull that off. Because of the need to support Wiimotes and the gamepad, trying to incorporate BC might just muddy the waters as to what the NX is, exactly.

Re: Nintendo teases next hardware: the NX
 

You technically didn't say 'form of VR' at all :) What do you mean by AR? Augmented Reality like what Microsoft demoed with Hololens? I don't think anything like that is remotely close to ready for mass consumers. Or are you abbreviating 'actual reality' or something? The Wii impressed parents too but didn't last, I think if people struggled enough with 3D glasses and requiring additional equipment on their head, not to mention eyes even being able to adjust, it will have trouble.

Re: Nintendo teases next hardware: the NX
 

Game droughts are a result of three things they need to address first:
1. Hardware parity - people don't want to buy $60 third party games that look worse than the competition

2. Online parity - If I can't game with my friends in an easy to use way, then you're console is in third place before it even launches.

3. Standard controller packed in - enough with the gimmicky bullshit, unless the system comes with what we consider a standard controller, it is doomed to fail, yet again.

Fix these 3 things and Nintendo might have a fighting chance as third parties would be back in. Drop the ball on any of them and the NX is yet another "secondary system" for the majority of gamers.

I have little faith that the NX will be gimmick free. It's the only way Nintendo feels it has a way to compete. Whether it be AR, VR, or toys to life, it'll have something out of the ordinary. I doubt it will be more powerful either. Nintendo doesn't have the cajones to compete anymore.

Gamecube.

That's a great idea. I think they need a clean break. No sense trying to force BackCompat with the funky gamepad and wiimotes. It's time to move on.

Re: Nintendo teases next hardware: the NX
 

I don't know.

That's not an "I disagree!" but a genuine "I don't know".

The downside with Nintendo orienting themselves strictly around power is that the NX will be a mid-gen console. If they're all "look at our beefy new hardware!", and the PS5 and Xbox Next release three years later and are more powerful still, they're condemning themselves to a short shelf life.

You already have Sony and Microsoft essentially running the exact same race, and I'm not sure what Nintendo has to gain by doing basically the same thing in the same way: something that doesn't play to their strengths/expertise and courting a market that's already really well-served. I get that a Nintendo console would also play Nintendo games, and that's obviously a differentiator, but...I dunno, I guess I see those two audiences as being somewhat separate. Not to say that there isn't overlap -- I mean, I'm raising my hand over here -- but I'm not sure enough of the "grrr...teraflops!" crowd is into Mario games and vice versa to pivot everything around that audience.

Honestly, I'm not convinced it's a bad thing for Nintendo to be seen as an alternative / secondary console. If they're producing games that are well-liked and if they're making a healthy profit, does being able to say "...and we're #1!" really matter that much? I mean, I'm sure they'd love to say all three, but if they had to pick two from that list, I think they'd settle for being beloved and rich even with a smaller market share. (Nintendo does desperately want to be Apple, after all.)

My hope, based on comments from Nintendo and a whole lotta rumors, is that the "gimmick" is having multiple form factors -- say, that you can start a game on the console, pick up where you left off on a handheld, and then pick up again back on the console. A mostly (entirely?) shared library, similar to what we've seen with iPads and iPhones.

That alone would kill game droughts dead.

Re: Nintendo teases next hardware: the NX
 

I would want that so much.

Re: Nintendo teases next hardware: the NX
 

If Nintendo can't even get the simple stuff right (friends list, party chat, online modes, etc.) do you think they could even accomplish something like that? Or even get it close to something you would want to deal with?

Hell, people here who have had their consoles break or sell them can't even get their digital purchases back without going through Nintendo. I don't have much faith in them when it comes to actual innovation that will change the way we play games. They seem to do better with gimmicks that work out once in a while.

I still fully expect their next system to center around the toys to life concept. They are too high on the Amiibo life right now to let it pass them by without trying to take advantage of it.

Re: Nintendo teases next hardware: the NX
 

The Amiibo platform since its inception has grossed significantly less than just Mario Kart 8 has on its own.

I mean, Amiibo is neat, and I know Nintendo appreciates the mindshare and money, but I don't think they could orient the entire console around the concept. I do hope they get around to making the figures do something with the NX, though. (Maybe Nintendo's versions of Skylanders would be a neat pack-in game.)

Re: Nintendo teases next hardware: the NX
 

Sounds like contradictory arguments. They have everything to gain from moving up from being a secondary console for everyone.

Not at all.

I'm saying that it could be a riskier proposition to try to do the exact same thing in the exact same way that better funded, more established players in the core gamer market are doing.

Re: Nintendo teases next hardware: the NX
 

Something tells me this will be true given all the rumors already about it; i'd be surprised if Nintendo truly surprises everything with something else. That said, this worries me mostly from a control standpoint between console and portable. I hope there aren't sacrifices made on one side or the other to make this work properly.

I think i'd be fine with Nintendo being the cheaper second console while still making profit. They don't have to win a generation competing with Sony and Microsoft to be successful in their own right, but I think they need to be cheaper out of the gate for that to be successful.

Re: Nintendo teases next hardware: the NX
 

Nintendo invents a gamepad dominated by its touchscreen.

Nintendo has said precious little about its plans for the NX (other than that it won't be like a Wii U), but it might have hinted at what's coming through some recent paperwork. The console maker has filed for a patent on a gamepad design where a touchscreen would cover the entire front panel. You'd still have familiar elements like analog sticks (poking through the display) and shoulder buttons, but the usual front-facing buttons would be replaced by context-aware touch.

The move would give you the adaptability of a smartphone interface with the primary controls you're used to in a TV system -- you could even use the controller on its side, or get visual effects when you press buttons. It wouldn't require a gigantic body like the Wii U's gamepad, either, and a card slot could take game data directly.

This is just an application, and there's no certainty that Nintendo will use this design any time soon, if at all. However, as The Verge notes, the would-be patent does line up with rumors that Nintendo will use Sharp's free-form displays in a future product. Theoretically, this could be the technology behind the NX's standard-issue gamepad. Moreover, the Wall Street Journal has heard that the NX would include a "mobile unit" that could be used separately from the main console.

Given the presence of that card slot, it's possible that you could play titles solely on the gamepad and take it with you -- who needs separate TV and handheld consoles when your NX is both at the same time? The finished machine could be far less exciting, but it's evident that Nintendo has at least been thinking about non-traditional hardware.

http://www.engadget.com/2015/12/13/n...amepad-patent/