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Topic: Can the NX be a competitive media box?

Posts 1 to 13 of 13

TheMisterManGuy

Nintendo systems have always been gaming first at their core, but in recent years, they've added some streaming and media services in the mix. But what if the NX takes it a step further? I think it's clear Nintendo sees Apple, Google, and Amazon as their real competetition rather than Sony and Microsoft, which makes sense especially if the NX is more of a software based-platform, rather than stuck to one hardware configuration.

To do this, Nintendo would need to make TV shows, Music, and Movies downloadable on the eShop for the NX, beyond that, they would also need other media services on board rather than just the big name basics like Netflix, Hulu, etc.

The NX console device could become a big contender in the smart TV box market, and Nintendo's focus on gaming means it would also smoke any android powered gaming box on the market right now, especially if it (hopefuly) gets most of the AAA multiplatform games.

TheMisterManGuy

shaneoh

If Nintendo were interested in competing in the music and video market they would have allowed CD/DVD playback on the Wii/U.

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Tasuki

Oh look another blog post.

Honestly at this point the NX can be anything we don't know or have enough info yet.

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skywake

Do we really need another media box though? Ten years ago I could have understood the reasoning. TVs were just displays back then so having a console that could playback video files, stream over your network and run Netflix/Youtube etc was a big deal. These days if you have a TV that's less than a few years old you probably have all of that. By default. And if you don't then you can get a Chromecast or similar for $40 or so.

You're right to say that the ability to "buy" movies/music and play it back from the same box isn't as universal. Even if it's possible to get that working for most basic setups if you know what you're doing it's not that simple. The Apple TV and various Android boxes do a better job of that. And the other thing that's not "there by default" is Blu-Ray playback. But even in those cases.... it's cheap to do and it's already a pretty saturated market. If you want to do those things you probably have the gear to do it already. So again, why do we need another box?

Some playlists: Top All Time Songs, Top Last Year
"Don't stir the pot" is a nice way of saying "they're too dumb to reason with"

Windy

I think they are headed in the right direction seriously. If Nintendo intends to make the NX a tablet/TV type of console. I'm sure they are already working on all of the media apps needed and streaming apps. I haven't been following NX much myself so I'm actually pretty ignorant to what exactly is going on with NX. I'm kinda hoping for a stereoscopic 3D when using the gaming tablet. That might be a little to much to ask. I'm just hoping it's the best of the best in tablet gaming. As long as they don't go with free to play and commercial ads that would be a huge start.

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Harvan

I'm happy with my Wii U's level of media capabilities. Now that Netflix has rewritten its previously-horrible app, we use our Wii U more than any of our other consoles for video streaming. And most of our favorite games are on it as well - not as much about the XBone or PS4 right now.

My point being that, at least for me, I don't really need anything more out of a Nintendo console. I'd prefer the NX focus on doing games really well. Let their competitors dilute their systems if they want.

Edited on by Harvan

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crimsontadpoles

Nintendo is a video game company, and I'd prefer their main focus to be on the games. It's the games most people get Nintendo consoles for, so they need to create a console that's great for this.

Also, I'd still argue that Sony and Microsoft are still Nintendo's rivals. If they start selling or streaming music and TV shows themselves, I'll still use itunes and Spotify and Netflix because they've been doing it for much longer and will be better at it.

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erv

I like things that are focussed. Especially the dedicated gaming devices. I have games on my iphone, and some of them are really good games trust me - but it's just plain annoying to be disturbed by anything other than a phone call. Having to switch the mind to something else every other minute is the opposite of what I love about gaming - focussed, in depth gaming is awesome.

Multi purpose devices tend to disrupt that. I'm not saying it can't be done, but it's a risk that things like that will happen too much while at the same time, another media box is not something that could add value. It would add fragmentation at this point.

I take the console manufacturers very seriously when they talk about "dedicated gaming systems". I consider nintendo to be the most serious about that and I'm feeling it when gaming on their systems.

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skywake

Here's another way to look at it. I don't personally think of myself as having a particularly complex setup for my TV. It's about a three year old TV that has internet connectivity but was too old for the "smart TV" branding. It has a Blu-Ray/PVR Combo, Wii U and a Chromecast connected to it. 4 devices in total, pretty standard stuff. Even so here's a list of the things I tend to use and how many of those four devices I can do it on:

Web Browser of some kind: 4x (Wii U and Chromecast do it pretty well, other two are pretty useless)
Youtube: 3x (TV had it but dropped support)
Netflix: 3x (TV doesn't have it, Blu-Ray combo lacks profiles)
Catch-Up TV services: 3x (Wii U doesn't have it)
Network share file playback: 3x (Chromecast doesn't support it. Blu-Ray Combo has the best file support)
Local file playback: 2x (Chromecast has no USB ports, Wii U doesn't support it)
Skype: 2x (Blu-Ray Combo has it but I only have the camera for the TV)
Blu-Ray/DVD playback: 1x

I can't think of anything else that I'd want to display or do on my TV that I can't yet do. And ontop of that most of the things I do want to do I can do on at least three devices. I don't think my setup is particularly overkill, I think it's a pretty normal setup. So the question is, do I really need more devices that do all of the things? Because I don't think I do.

Edited on by skywake

Some playlists: Top All Time Songs, Top Last Year
"Don't stir the pot" is a nice way of saying "they're too dumb to reason with"

Megas75

Unlike Sony and Microsoft, both of which specialize in general electronics and media, Nintendo's primarily a gaming company, so in this sense they've always prioritized games above all others because that's where their field of expertise is. Personally I've always liked how Nintendo always made their consoles focused on games. I mean, sure it's nice having extra things like Netflix, Hulu and what not, but with how easy it is to come across MP3 players, DVD player, Blu-Rays, etc. I don't feel it's worth the hassle to include those extra features.

As someone said, it would've been a good idea when they launched with the Wii(and to a lesser extent Wii U), but with how common those things are, and with their consoles already having things like Netflix, Youtube, Hulu, I think this time around they can afford to ignore the extras

Edited on by Megas75

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TheMisterManGuy

@Megas75: While I agree that Nintendo's core focus should still be gaming, remember, Google was just a search engine before it became the media powerhouse it is now, same with Amazon. What I'm saying is, Nintendo's core focus should be games, but they should also branch out more.

TheMisterManGuy

skywake

@TheMisterManGuy:
The problem is that "media" is a crowded space and isn't a particularly good fit for a gaming company. It makes sense for companies selling phone and tablet OS' to branch out into media because those are devices for media consumption. They do more than just media but part of the reason you buy a tablet is to watch videos. Same with a smartphone, part of that purchase is about getting an mp3 player. I don't feel the same about a gaming console.... and given the responses to this thread I don't think I'm alone.

That said, Nintendo should branch out a bit and they kinda are if you look closely. They're wanting to leverage their IP in various ways like Nintendo themeparks. MiiVerse is becoming a full blown social media website for games. Something which I suspect will only get bigger when they start making mobile games. There's the QoL idea which has been rattling around for a while. There's a lot of ways Nintendo can expand other than trying to compete with Google and Apple and I think they're doing just that.

Some playlists: Top All Time Songs, Top Last Year
"Don't stir the pot" is a nice way of saying "they're too dumb to reason with"

Xenocity

I highly doubt it.
Amazon loses money most years and rarely makes big profits from it's doings.
Alphabet makes the bulk of its money from Google (search engine and ads).
All other Alphabet ventures such as Android hardware, multimedia streaming, and others are losing money.
Android users rarely buy apps.
YouTube alone has costs billions of dollars to operate while never generating a profit. This year alone Youtube will costs Alphabet $400M+ in losses.
Apple's iTunes revenue and sales have been in a multi year decline across all the media they sell.

Comcast, Microsoft, Sony, Netflix, make small amounts of money on streaming media, but not enough to go crazy over.

Everyone seemingly is going to be disappointed when it is just the unified OS and unified development architect that Nintendo has been talking about for the past two years.
Both console and handheld will run the OS and will be able ~90%+ of the code, assets and engines between them.
They should also share end up sharing ~90% of the overall libraries with a few exclusive games that take advantage of the hardware exclusive features.

This is what Apple does with OS X, iOS, Watch OS, and TV OS. You can essentially use ~85%+ of code, assets, engines etc... making it quite easy to develop across the board for each of their OSs.

The NPD Group defines a core gamer... See Nintendo isn't part of the "hardcore"/core gaming group according to NPD data.
http://venturebeat.com/2014/05/13/34m-hardcore-gamers-play-an-average-of-22-hours-a-week-but-nintendo-isnt-core-enough-to-count/

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