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Topic: What should Nintendo do to make the NX succeed?

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iKhan

If you can, give a case for both the NX being a home console and the NX being a handheld.

My thoughts:
I think Nintendo needs 4 key things with their next system, if it's a home console.
1. Third Parties. Nintendo needs to do whatever they can to get a 3rd party presence on their systems. It's killing their brand. The most important thing here is that Nintendo needs to make their system accessible to 3rd party developers, and advertise 3rd party games. The belief that they should only highlight their own games in their own presentations is a mistake.

2. A steady rate of 1st party titles at launch. The Wii U had fewer 1st party games in the first 2 years of its life than the N64, GC, or Wii. No doubt that had an impact on sales. Nintendo needs to be ready to launch their system with a killer app, as every home console but the Wii U has had.

3. It needs to be unique. One of Nintendo's strong points is that they always shake things up. Their systems are interesting and do new things for the consumer. They need to continue doing this, having an original idea on their system. And like the Wii, this idea needs to be consistently used to give the system a unique experience. From a business perspective, this makes sense too. There will already be two "normal" systems on the market. If Nintendo's system is different, then people have reason to buy the system beyond "it plays Nintendo games".

4. It needs broader advertising. Nintendo needs to advertise their system to everyone. If you only advertise to families, you tell the consumer it's only for families. See this article: https://dromble.wordpress.com/2013/11/11/what-is-nintendos-ro...

If it's a handheld
1. Run a mobile operating system. Nintendo doesn't need to start making their handheld a phone or tablet (buttons have important utility to deeper games), but what they do need to at least try to match up the market. This will give people the feeling that they are using a more useful device, ESPECIALLY kids. Running a free mobile operating system like Android would allow them to cheaply do this.

2. Find a way to ensure that 3rd parties can continue to make games cheaply for the system. No doubt their handheld will probably have to go HD, which runs them into the problem the Vita had. It's too costly for companies to justify making handheld games, as the margin and the sales are lower. The mobile OS idea is one way around this.

3. Operate with the assumption that it's a niche market. Look, a substantial portion of the mobile games industry has gone to smartphones. That's not going to change, but the group who are still interested in buying a handheld console with buttons and richer experiences still exists. Nintendo just shouldn't expect to pass 50-60M units sold

Edited on by iKhan

Currently Playing: Steamworld Heist, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, Tales of Graces F

DefHalan

release Software at a regular pace, having 3rd party support would be nice but we did see how Wii U's 3rd Party support dropped off really fast after a bunch of talk about support the Wii U. So mainly just get Software into people's hands at a better pace than the Wii U and 3DS early months

People keep saying the Xbox One doesn't have Backwards Compatibility.
I don't think they know what Backwards Compatibility means...

3DS Friend Code: 2621-2786-9784 | Nintendo Network ID: DefHalan

kyuubikid213

Sorry for the blunt post, but...

Regardless of whether it's a handheld or home console, if Nintendo wants it to succeed, they'll need...

1. Good Advertising. I really liked the 3DS adverts with the four dudes playing together. I think they should make more advertisements with that approach and/or this one.

2. Great Games. Nintendo's already got this covered. Some of us want more full release schedules, but I'm fine with it as is because I have quite the backlog. I suppose faster releases isn't necessarily a bad thing, but no games that release as fast as the Five Nights at Freddie's series... I don't care that they're indie games.

3. Third Party Support. There's no magic switch that will bring third parties back, but I think my next point could help. Anyway, better third party support than the Wii U currently has would be good for the system. Maybe even help with my second point as well.

4 Powerful Hardware. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm not one to complain about graphics. I also don't have a problem watching videos in 480p. If the actual content is good, I don't care as much about how it's displayed. That being said, hardware is an issue for Nintendo with third parties and public image. I think they should make something that's on par with the PlayStation and Xbox. Of course, their controller can be different or whatever input method they go with, but I think if the base hardware is just as powerful, developers will be more likely to bring their games over to NX. This point is more for the Home Console argument. If it's a handheld, it definitely needs to be stronger than the 3DS...because that's how technology works.

5. Be Nintendo. Nintendo being Nintendo has gotten Nintendo where Nintendo is. I don't see any reason to stop what's been running since 1889. Of course, they'll have to continue to adapt to changing times to stay relevant, but keep the core Nintendo experience that so many have loved since 1985.

I own a PS1, GBA, GBA SP, Wii (GCN), 360, 3DS, PC (Laptop), Wii U, and PS4.
I used to own a GBC, PS2, and DS Lite

I'm on YouTube.

I promise to not derail threads. Request from theblackdragon

I pro...

3DS Friend Code: 4639-9073-1731 | Nintendo Network ID: kyuubikid213

BlueSkies

NX (console)
1. Superior Hardware-
a. By eliminating the optical drive and hdd, and utilizing a modern for the N64's zip drive Nintendo can lower the investment in running the game medium and increase their investment in RAM and the GPU. This should be the most powerful system on the market for up to four years after its release.
b. 1:1 3D motion tracking wands with dual analog (but it's more likely Nintendo would slap a touch screen on one of the remotes). The difference between Nintendo and the competition when it comes to controllers is Nintendo will build their whole lineup around the interface and make available in all skus.
c. Gaze and headtracking-- again implemented across Nintendo's lineup of software to insure it's a standard option on their platform, like flipping a switch.

2. Internet Infrastructure-
a. The console has to have an ethernet port and it needs a first party earpiece. Serious online gamers are not interested in microphones in the controller.
b. Nintendo has to commit to supporting their internet model with online play and chat options in every multiplayer game they publish.
c. A two-tier online system with a paid service that has unlimited play-time and free VC games each month, and then has a free service with 15 hours of online play each month and no free VC rentals.
d. Use Animal Crossing as the interface for the whole online model, replacing Miis and extending the online interface into a passive-MMO where you can build your own house and garden and live beside your friends.

3. New Western Dream Team-
a. Nintendo needs to expand Retro, creating a Retro Sports Studio with multiple teams. Retro Sports would work on Wave Race, a free roam driving title, Punch-Out, NCAA Football (with randomized player faces), Mario Golf, etc.
b. Nintendo needs to acquire 4-5 indy Western teams. I suggest Oddworld, RageQuit, Adhesive, and the 'Project Reality' team developing SQUAD (a squad based military shooter).

4. Marketing and Branding- Just name the console NES7 or something along those lines and actually advertise in the month leading up to launch.

Next Handheld
1. Single Screen Hardware and Pocket PC Functionality- Just give players one big haptic screen with multi-touch and make it a wifi based tablet device with lots of tools and apps.
2. One Analog Stick- The hardware has to look slick and the physical buttons (only shoulder keys) and stick have to blend in with the sleek casing. This device is about the touch screen and if you don't like it-- it's not for you. If you want dual analog and six buttons, get a New 3DS.
3. More focus on portable games for portable players instead of console games on a portable. Focus on Mario Kart, Wario Ware, Mario Golf, Dr. Mario, Animal Crossing, Mario Maker, etc. Still port Mario Sunshine, Eternal Darkness, and Metroid Prime because they're just sitting there-- finished games.
4. Call it Nintendo Gameboy^2.

BlueSkies

kyuubikid213

@BlueSkies
So...you want Nintendo to make their own version of the PSVita...? With one less analog stick? That seems like it'd be pretty backward.

I own a PS1, GBA, GBA SP, Wii (GCN), 360, 3DS, PC (Laptop), Wii U, and PS4.
I used to own a GBC, PS2, and DS Lite

I'm on YouTube.

I promise to not derail threads. Request from theblackdragon

I pro...

3DS Friend Code: 4639-9073-1731 | Nintendo Network ID: kyuubikid213

skywake

Only commenting on the things that are worth the time saying anything about......

BlueSkies wrote:

By eliminating the optical drive and hdd, and utilizing a modern for the N64's zip drive Nintendo can lower the investment in running the game medium and increase their investment in RAM and the GPU. This should be the most powerful system on the market for up to four years after its release.

The main appeal of magnetic media back in the 90s was the fact that they were a compromise. They were faster then optical media and you could write to them so you didn't need memory cards. They were also cheaper and larger than cartridges. None of these things really matter anymore. Optical media is fairly fast and all consoles have some built in storage for downloadable content. We've landed on what has become the standard for a reason.

The only interesting thing in terms of tech that might impact the next console generation is flash storage. I've seen 500GB SSDs for around a couple of hundred bucks. In a couple of years that'll be half the price easily. Cheap enough for them to basically give up on mechanical storage for downloadable games. Which is good for both game loading speeds and reduced noise in what is a device that sits under your media cabinet.

BlueSkies wrote:

The console has to have an ethernet port

It's a bit of a nonsense complaint really. I'm all for wired network connections, it frustrates me to no end when devices don't have it as an option. But both the Wii and Wii U have had it as an option via an accessory. So it's not a huge deal at all especially when most consumers are going to go wireless anyway.

BlueSkies wrote:

One Analog Stick- The hardware has to look slick and the physical buttons (only shoulder keys) and stick have to blend in with the sleek casing. This device is about the touch screen and if you don't like it-- it's not for you. If you want dual analog and six buttons, get a New 3DS.

just.... no.... all of the no...

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"

Professor_Clive

Honestly, I feel like all Nintendo really needs is great games and a good controller to play them with. No gimmicks. The Wii U has not delivered as of yet. I love Smash and I play the hell out of it, but that's the only Wii U game that I've grown fond of.
I know many people may disagree with what I said, but that's how I personally feel.

Professor_Clive

skywake

I think ultimately what they need to do is pretty simple to state but harder to execute. They need to focus on making great games and build a platform to serve that. It won't always be a market leading strategy but it's the one they've built themselves on and it has a decent hit rate. Of the 11 "modern" gaming platforms they've released in their history 7 have been market leaders. That success is heavily weighted towards both the 80s/90s and the handheld market but still, they are doing something right.

The thing about the gaming market is that other than Nintendo in the portable space nobody has maintained dominance. Sony had a run at it, Microsoft had a sniff, Nintendo had a good go at it last gen and against Sega back in the day. But nobody has held it for long. If Nintendo keeps making entertaining content? Doesn't screw us over? Builds quality hardware and software? I think it'll pay off again eventually. And if/when it does? Everything else will flow from that.

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"

MsJubilee

Another NX thread? Ugh even i'm tired of these.

The Harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. When the going gets tough, the tough gets going.

I'm currently playing Assassin's Creed: Revelations & Watch Dogs 2

Switch Friend Code: SW-5827-3728-4676 | 3DS Friend Code: 3738-0822-0742

DefHalan

foobarbaz wrote:

  • Don't make a system that will drive 3rd parties away. In other words, make a system that is at least as powerful and ships with a control scheme that is comparable to the competition. It can still have its own unique features, support motion, etc but 3rd parties shouldn't be forced to use any of that nor should they have to rely on customers buying extra peripherals in order to have an experience that matches the competition. Nintendo can't rely on 1st party games alone.

Is this not exactly what the Wii U was supposed to be?

People keep saying the Xbox One doesn't have Backwards Compatibility.
I don't think they know what Backwards Compatibility means...

3DS Friend Code: 2621-2786-9784 | Nintendo Network ID: DefHalan

BlueSkies

@skywake

Zip Drive- Optical drives are still horribly slow which is why so many games are doing mandatory installs on the HDD. There is no point in optical disks anymore. They could use flash carts again for the games but I think it will still be cheaper to put the games on magnetic disks like the N64DD was intending. You cut out the HDD and the optical drive completely and the system's new zip driver would essentially be an open hard disk driver (to spin the disk in the zip's case, read, and rewrite it). I think that large SSDs are a waste of money. You could do the zip drive design like I'm talking about and just build a limited amount of flash memory (16GB) into the console for your profile, OS, and updates, and you could use 8GB of it for game data that is repeatedly loaded (turning the zip drive into a hybrid drive).

Ethernet- A physical connection to the internet is paramount if you're serious about online games. The lack of a physical port shows that Nintendo's management is disconnected from the market and doesn't play online games. Since it's so cheap to have an ethernet port (literally costing a large company like Nintendo $1-2), why in the blue hell would you not build it into the console as standard.

Portable Design- They need to make the large touch screen the priority or they will again be stuck with a sluggish selling portable like 3DS. Better yet, they need to improve haptic screen technology and actually be ahead of the competition again (like when the DS first launched). I'm afraid they will try to build the stick and face buttons into the screen, and then the consumers they need to reach will be like, "Eh, there's a bunch a damn Skittles blocking the screen."

BlueSkies

NintendoFan64

TwilightAngel wrote:

Another NX thread? Ugh even i'm tired of these.

At least @BlueSkies isn't here-(sees @BlueSkies) I see I spoke too soon.

There is nothing here...except for the stuff I just typed...

3DS Friend Code: 5284-1716-7555 | Nintendo Network ID: michaelmcepic

iKhan

foobarbaz wrote:

Console:

  • Don't make a system that will drive 3rd parties away. In other words, make a system that is at least as powerful and ships with a control scheme that is comparable to the competition. It can still have its own unique features, support motion, etc but 3rd parties shouldn't be forced to use any of that nor should they have to rely on customers buying extra peripherals in order to have an experience that matches the competition. Nintendo can't rely on 1st party games alone.

When have 3rd parties ever said that unique control schemes drive them away? As long as there are enough buttons, then 3rd parties can make the game however they want. Xenoblade Chronicles, though not a 3rd Party game, doesn't use a lick of motion, but doesn't require the player to buy a peripheral either. That said, companies being encouraged to use the unique control features is what separates Nintendo's unique features from Sony's or Microsoft's. It doesn't get thrown by the wayside, and is often taken advantage of to offer a unique experience. Star Wars: TFU and Madden are their own experiences on Wii. This kind of stuff justifies including unique schemes far more.

Sony on the other hand has this completely off base belief that they should only include a unique feature if they build a game around it (like Tearaway). So you never see something like Move support in Uncharted, despite all the benefits it could bring to make aiming easier. My guess is that Microsoft has the same belief, but doesn't even have the creativity to make something like Tearaway.

Handheld:

  • Make the hardware at least comparable to what's available in smartphones. For example, use higher resolution displays. Current Nintendo handhelds and many of its games look ancient compared to modern smartphones and their games.

While I agree that moving forward Nintendo should push for greater parity with smartphones (but not becoming a Smartphone, as that would basically completely drop from the existing handheld market), I think the 3DS's lack of power is what helped it succeed. It was easier for 3rd party developers to put games on it, so the lower margins, and possibly lower sales were more justifiable. You even saw Monster Hunter jump ship due to this power differential.

TwilightAngel wrote:

Another NX thread? Ugh even i'm tired of these.

I know, what's an NX thread doing on the NX board? Oh wait...

Okumei wrote:

Honestly, I feel like all Nintendo really needs is great games and a good controller to play them with. No gimmicks. The Wii U has not delivered as of yet. I love Smash and I play the hell out of it, but that's the only Wii U game that I've grown fond of.
I know many people may disagree with what I said, but that's how I personally feel.

I believe Nintendo has lost the market of people who want to play games on a powerful system with a controller that has barely changed since 1998. Many people have moved on to Sony and Microsoft systems, and look for that type of system from them (particularly Microsoft). Nintendo NEEDS a unique feature to get the attention of the market. They need to offer something that gets people thinking "hey, that sounds sort of neat, I'll check it out"

Edited on by iKhan

Currently Playing: Steamworld Heist, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, Tales of Graces F

KingMike

BlueSkies wrote:

Ethernet- A physical connection to the internet is paramount if you're serious about online games. The lack of a physical port shows that Nintendo's management is disconnected from the market and doesn't play online games. Since it's so cheap to have an ethernet port (literally costing a large company like Nintendo $1-2), why in the blue hell would you not build it into the console as standard.

Are you asking for a wired Ethernet port? People still use those in 2015?

And a Zip drive? Are you sure you're writing this in 2015?! (as in the Iomega ZIP(tm) drive? Yeah, that was pretty cool in 1999 when we were all using floppies. But with only one company making the drives and the $10+ apiece disks, it's not a surprise people moved on to CD and USB/SD cards.)

Edited on by KingMike

KingMike

skywake

This 90s rant from BlueSkies is hilarious. Anyways, just for sport I'll get technical all up in here.

For an optical disk it's a couple of dollars or so to distribute upto 50GB of data. Outside of using the internet it's the cheapest way to distribute games, that's why it's being used. Modern optical drives run at around ~25MB/s vs ~80MB/s for a typical 2.5" HDD so they are indeed slower but in reality "slower" these days means that they're about as fast as cartridges were in the N64 era. I don't know how to compare that to a "modern" portable magnetic disk given that they went the way of the dinosaur with the advent of thumb drives. However a quick googling shows ones towards the end of its life (~2003) could hold 750MB and read at 7MB/s. More impressive than where they were with the N64 DD (0.5-1MB/s) but not at all impressive for the day and certainly not impressive for 2015. It wasn't even competitive with DVDs in terms of the specs that matter here. Which is why the PS2, XBox and Gamecube all went with DVD based tech for distribution. Tech moves on, nobody is going to revisit zip-disks.

Also your quick dismissal of SSDs instead of HDDs for internal storage is quite amusing. Especially given that your love of zip disks is based on a flawed belief that the read speed of those disks is fast compared to HDD and BD-ROM. Remember those numbers I posted in the previous paragraph? 7MB/s, 25MB/s, 80MB/s? Well pretty much all modern SSDs are saturating the SATA interface, they've outgrown the cable that you use to connect them to your machine. At 500MB/s. 500. With two zeros. It's at the point where to continue advancing they have to invent new interfaces. And at this point I feel that I should start talking in GB/s because some of those drives are doing 1400MB/s. You can live in the past and pretend that this is a "waste of money" but the next generation of consoles is going to be seriously considering this tech. Not just because of the insane speeds but because the $/GB of SSDs are rapidly gaining on HDDs. We're on the verge of a tipping point where every pre-built PC will have an SSD as standard, I suspect consoles will do the same.

On the issue of wired connectivity, as I said I'm with you 100% on the importance of including it. I was recently shopping for a cheap, media streaming box and was annoyed as hell at the lack of wired options on the market. Similarly with laptop shopping, it's kinda ridiculous that you have to even think of that when it should be a standard. I say this as someone who has a wired up house so obviously I want to use that faster link especially for devices that aren't mobile. So I agree that it should be the standard on all gaming consoles. But as I said, the Wii U does support the LAN adapter which literally performs identically to what a built in port would. Not to mention that far more of the consumer base can hook a console upto a wireless connection than those who can actually go wired. So stop crying about it.

And finally on this obsession you have with removing features from their portable to make them "more in line" with phones. I don't think you understand what a portable gaming device is at this point. A portable gaming console has to be a device for playing games you can't play on your phone. If you take away buttons and sticks and turn it into more of a "phone-like" device? You reduce its appeal. They need to stand apart from phones because if they don't then everyone will just stick with the phone they already have.

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"

MsJubilee

iKhan wrote:

TwilightAngel wrote:

Another NX thread? Ugh even i'm tired of these.

I know, what's an NX thread doing on the NX board? Oh wait...

Five threads including yours! On something that we know nothing about it's funny but with people like @skywake and @Blueskies writing paragraphs on this it's like a chore. But twilight you don't have to read or get near these threads! So why whine? Yes i know but for some reason i want to know the next stupid topic on this thing is,i'm weird like that. Next month will get someone else making a new thread talking about how much the NX will sell! Yeah! Ugh this is worst than the Nintendo is doomed threads.

Edited on by MsJubilee

The Harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. When the going gets tough, the tough gets going.

I'm currently playing Assassin's Creed: Revelations & Watch Dogs 2

Switch Friend Code: SW-5827-3728-4676 | 3DS Friend Code: 3738-0822-0742

skywake

TwilightAngel wrote:

Five threads including yours! On something that we know nothing about it's funny but with people like @skywake and @Blueskies writing paragraphs on this it's like a chore.

I'm allowed to have a bit of fun aren't I?
Untitled

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"

MsJubilee

skywake wrote:

TwilightAngel wrote:

Five threads including yours! On something that we know nothing about it's funny but with people like @skywake and @Blueskies writing paragraphs on this it's like a chore.

I'm allowed to have a bit of fun aren't I?
Untitled

Of course! But at least your comments make sense and are interesting to read i'll give you that.

The Harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. When the going gets tough, the tough gets going.

I'm currently playing Assassin's Creed: Revelations & Watch Dogs 2

Switch Friend Code: SW-5827-3728-4676 | 3DS Friend Code: 3738-0822-0742

skywake

TwilightAngel wrote:

Of course! But at least your comments make sense and are interesting to read i'll give you that.

Well I do apologise for this long rant in particular. A sometimes slightly irrational love of solid state storage is probably the biggest thing that Nintendo and I share. I got a 30GB boot SSD almost five years ago when such a drive was over $100. And as much as I'm not a fan of Apple I love the idea of their new Macbook with no moving parts, as stupid as it without any damn ports. I've wanted it to be a thing for ages, we're talking maybe as early as 2004 I was wanting to be rid of mechanical storage. Something that the more I got into computing I wanted even more.

Then there's Nintendo who held onto cartridges as long as they could and put flash instead of a HDD into both the Wii and Wii U. To much whining because it was probably a bad move for the time as much as I love them for it. I remember back in the early days of the PSP I was on the fence about whether to get it or a DS until I realised the PSP used disks. I thought that was a joke/misprint/bad rumour when I first read it. So naturally when the topic turns to speculation of storage for a new Nintendo console? I tend to get carried away.

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"

BlueSkies

@TwilightAngel
At first I thought you were joking. You just need to stay out of the NX board if you're going to lament NX topics.

@skywake
You're comparing how fast a magnetic disk could be read in the late 90s to how fast an optical disk can run today-- the accurate comparison would be how fast the optical disk ran in the 90s. And you're still ignoring the cost of optical drives and massive 500GB HDDs and fixating on the cost of games. Sony's paradigm works for Sony because they make Bluray. Nintendo needs to be the alternative and they can create a far more powerful console by sidestepping Sony's paradigm just as they did with N64 (whether they use a flash medium or a modernized zip drive). You're ignoring the part about modernizing the technology. It's been 15 years since then.

I wager that a magnetic disk (with none of the mechanics to run it built into the casing) will be cheaper than Nintendo going to flash memory. It is the equivalent of doing nothing more than creating an empty HDD driver-- and then you're only insterting a 50-ish GB disk (not a 500GB disk).

Portable- I think the next portable should just have the same graphics architecture as the New 3DS so if people want the many-button design, they can go out and buy the New 3DS. The next portable should be designed for tablet consumers-- they are a much larger market and the true-tablet design is what they want. The larger portable market doesn't want clam shell designs anymore and they don't want a bunch of buttons like a toy. These consumers are very image conscious. All of this focus on pocket phones and tablets is just a trend.

Adults need a desktop or laptop so they can do grownup work. Phones and tablets are toys in disguise.

BlueSkies

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