Topic: "The NX is new hardware, and will start from 0" - Iwata

Per the 75th annual shareholders meeting for Nintendo, we got this piece of information about the NX:

"– Q7: As a game fan, I’m worried about the split between the NX and Wii U.

Iwata: We can’t talk about the NX. If we do, competitors may take our ideas and customers won’t be surprised. This would not be beneficial for the company or its shareholders. The NX is new hardware, and will start from 0. However, the 3DS and Wii U have install bases. Immediately cutting off SW for previous HW upon the release of a new machine is inefficient. We will continue making 3DS/Wii SW while preparing for the NX. We are prioritizing satisfying customers who purchased the Wii U."

I'm most interested in the line about the NX "starting from zero". Does this mean that the NX will be internally restructured from the ground up? That they are not interested in backwards compatibility and would rather have the NX stand on its own? This quote could tell us a bit about the NX or I could just be looking for answers that aren't there. Any thoughts?

This makes me more confident. I knew that Nintendo wouldn't cut WiiU users at the legs, but it is good to hear it. I still personally don't want to see the NX (whatever it is) until 2017 but Nintendo will figure out a release schedule that works for them. I guess if I'm going to get a 4 and one I'd better get on it next year.

Probably no more wii, gc and such backwards compatibility? Also, it's hardware, so not necessarily isolated to a software platform - even though that too might be part of the new nintendo the coming years.

Don't confuse that to mean console / handheld though. It's in development, it's new, it resets their own playbook. That's what we know

NX 0 = Nintendo Phone
NX 1 = Nintendo Tablet
NX 2 = Successor to the Wii U

Maybe

new hardware = quantuum computer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WOOOOO FUTUUUUUUUREEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!

lol jk, it'll probably be something like the Wii and DS were at launch, a not widely used idea that's been around for a while but mostly(if not completely) untouched in gaming

ps. start from 0 = all series will be reboot with a game explaining the origins of the story

I think either Iwata or Miyamoto once said in an interview that one of their biggest mistakes with the Wii U was focusing on backwards compatibility because it meant that they had to keep the x86 or something chip architecture which is one of the reasons that 3rd parties are having a hard time porting games to the Wii U (or something like that)

So maybe the NX wont be backwards compatible. Also, they might catch up with all the standards that other companies have established years ago, such as analog triggers, voice chat, etc, in order to make it easier for 3rd parties to develop

if that was the case they wouldn't have to worry about the idea being stolen, though it almost certainly will also be like this

I'd love to see them do this, even if it cost's them backwards compatibility. I think the starting from 0 quote might have something to do with a brand new gimmick that they've thought of. Gimmicks can be good if it enhances gameplay, but gimmicks can also end up going horribly wrong.

He's talking about the install base. He's saying there's 9 million Wii U owners and 50 million 3DS users, but until the NX launches there will be 0 users. It's his way of saying they won't be ending Wii U and 3DS support, but as we've seen before, they say this every time. He's not going to come out and say yeah, we're done with those machines, when the replacement is 18 months away, is he? It's a totally hollow statement.

Also seems to back up the theory that the NX will replace both home console and handheld.

I'm pretty sure "starting from 0" means it'll have it's own library - ie no Wii U ports like Zelda U or Smash 4 Definitive Edition. You guys are overthinking this.

Pretty sure this is how the silly hybrid/fusion rumours started too. People cherrypick a single sentence out of an entire quote, ignore the paragraph around the sentence that provides context.

He's clearly talking about install base.

Don't overthink it. Two thoughts side-by-side here:
1. The NX is new hardware, and will start from 0
2. The 3DS and Wii U have install bases (i.e. not at '0')

We seem to have been getting a lot of contradictory information on this. Is it a replacement for the Wii U, 3DS, both or neither?

Well this is understandable. I certainly wouldn't want my ideas stolen if I was releasing my console WAY earlier than everyone else.

He's saying that due the install base of Wii U and 3DS, they would be supported for a time after NX launch. For example, 20 months after launch, PS3 software in Japan is still outselling PS4 software, so of course publishers are still supporting PS3.

But historically, this hasn't really been the case. As soon as Nintendo releases a new product, they stop support for the old one almost immediately. Sometimes even months before. The last 1st party Wii game was Mario Party 9 and it was released in Japan seven months before the release of the Wii U. Support had already slowed to a trickle by that point.

I agree that sounds like what they're now saying. But it seems to contradict that earlier graphic that seemed to suggest the 3DS and Wii U would be incorporated into whatever the NX is, in addition to the new hardware.
Do we think that was just a lie to keep a positive attitude towards these existing platforms until they kill them then?

I feel like a lot of nothing was said. I do like the line about satisfying Wii U owners.

Lol E3 didn't satisfy the Wii U owners. Just them saying it doesn't mean much!

E3 was very satisfying for me as a Wii U owner.

I think you're on to something here. A platform that scales like an iPad would allow them a predictable hardware release cycle and non-disruptive upgrades, plus potentially address the threat of mobile devices by saying "hey you can run Android apps via emulation," so if the price is right it's just another tablet. Link existing NNID and run eShop content via emulation and when the hardware is capable of it, add Wii U software to the mix. You could use existing Bluetooth controllers as well as have older, wired controllers supported via some kind of steaming peripheral that allows running on TV.

This is something I could see supporting; especially if my daughter could run her existing downloaded 3DS software library on it.