Topic: Why Nintendo Should Launch in 2016

The difference was that they said this when we knew the DS was a portable. They knew that if it did well it was replacing the GBA. I remember seeing a DS back when it launched knowing nothing about it, I instantly assumed it was replacing the GBA. I wasn't that interested in it at that point but it was clear what it was. For the time the visuals were above what I was used to seeing on a portable console. I mean damn, the thing was running fully 3D games. Super Mario 64. It had WiFi and a touch screen. It was miles ahead of what the GBA was, no way the GBA was going to stay on the shelves.

With the NX we know nothing. They haven't actually said it won't replace the Wii U, they haven't said it won't replace the 3DS either. They haven't said it's a third pillar. They've said it's a piece of hardware called the NX. That's it. People reading into it any further should be aware that they're no better informed than the people who assumed Retro was working on another Metroid before DKC:TF and DKCR were announced. People were convinced what was happening but they knew nothing. And they were wrong.

To be fair, that could be a complete lie just to sustain as much interest in the Wii U as possible. Maybe just after Zelda releases, they'll admit it really is a replacement.

Just out of curiosity, where did Nintendo say that the NX "won't replace the Wii U"? Not because I'm trying to argue that it will but purely because I'm curious now. I'm getting kinda used to people reading into all sorts of little bits of information about what the NX is or isn't though. My understanding was that this slide contained all we know about NX....

If Nintendo releases a new home console in 2016 (whatever the NX is), the only one they are hurting is themselves. I posted this in another thread

Nintendo's big titles are selling just fine. Mario Kart and Smash definitely brought in the dough. I agree smaller titles present a problem, but just trashing the Wii U and starting over is an even bigger problem. Nintendo invested a crapton of money into the Wii U. By abandoning the Wii U, not only do they waste all of that money, they do it for a new console that is really unproven.

And last, but not least, Nintendo already has the problem that much of the industry doesn't take them seriously. Can you imagine what bailing on their console would do to exacerbate it. The narrative would become about how Nintendo gave up on the Wii U.

The investors briefing I believe. Either that or the Q&A session. Iwata said that NX isn't intended to be a simple replacement for the Wii U or 3DS.

We all know the Wii U isn't doing well, but Nintendo is now making profit.

Not many developers have said they are waiting for the NX... Actually almost every developer had no idea the NX was a thing until a short time ago. Also new hardware won't magically bring 3rd Parties on board, they will need sales and proof that Nintendo is working towards a system that 3rd Parties expect.

That is just wrong. The reason why PS4 is selling the most isn't because of the system's potential, it is because the PS3 became a wonderful system in the second half of its lifespan. The PS3 had some of the best games during the second half of last generation and that popularity carried over to the PS4. Sony's image had increased a lot from the PS3's launch to the PS3's end.

Nintendo could also sell 2 million NX consoles in the first 3 years. We know nothing of the system and have nothing to speculate sales on except what is currently on the market. The Wii U's current position shows how badly a new Nintendo Console could do sales wise. The next Console isn't guaranteed to do better than the Wii U, in fact there is a real possibility it could do worse. Spending all that money on R&D for a new console and manufacturing isn't cheap.

I will agree with this but that doesn't mean they have to rush out the next console so soon.

The software is more important for their image than their hardware currently. The "Spiritual Successor to Mario 64" could release on the Wii U or 3DS or whatever replaces the 3DS. Releasing hardware on an anniversary will be mainly pointless especially if the current hardware could run the software released.

Nintendo can wait actually. Plenty of people wait for all the cards to be played before purchasing a new system. A lot of people waited to buy a system until the PS4/Xb1 came out, which hurt Nintendo a lot. I doubt Xbox is going to replace their system, a redesign is much more likely. Nintendo should actually wait for Xbox to announce a redesign and Sony to release their stuff, then steal the thunder rather than creating it, it could be the smarter move. Again, the PS4 stole thunder rather than making it.

Zelda U is the perfect game to improve Nintendo's image, prove to the industry investing with Nintendo is a smart move and Nintendo is where you get great games. Releasing Zelda U around the next Console Announcement and with that console supporting back-wards compatibility might actually be smarter. Release the game and make sure everyone understand the new Hardware in 2017 will be able to run this game. I think that is the smarter plan. You both satisfy Wii U owners and get people excited for the new system.

They just recovered from three years of losses. They lost big on the WiiU.

It's the other way around. Everyone in the industry outside of WiiU owners is speculating on the potential of the NX console while some WiiU owners are in a state of denial that Nintendo is moving on to greener pastures and that the color is actually green. Every console is followed by new hardware at some point.

@Octane The WiiU is seen by Nintendo as an extention of the Wii brand-- that is why the NX is defined as something new. It's something new the way the N64 was something new and the Wii was something new 10 years later.

@DefHalan

1. I don't disagree that the NX has to actually walk the walk before third parties will return. Nintendo has a lot of things to change in order to make it happen. They have to present a product is the most superior (graphical) product on the market, it has to be X86, it has to have a definitive memory advantage (12-16GB?), and it has to have proper online support (ear piece with every console, ethernet port, chat options across all games, commitment from Nintendo that all of their multiplayer games will be online, and commitment from Nintendo to have online games on launch day).

2. The majority of PS4 buyers are 360 owners abandoning MS after a bad experience with 360 (and the fact it's the older platform with the most users that are ready to move on). Much of the ground Sony regained with PS3 was done in the second half of the console's life (after changes to hardware and an increase in first party software while MS' first party offering sputtered out and turned into nothing but Halo sequels). Gamers are buying the PS4 partly because they see the potential for variety in first party software (evidenced by PS3's games) and they are buying it because MS presented a horrible experience with X1 (DMR, DVR, television, Kinect, hungry-hungry OS, television, $60 Xbox Live, television, television, television). The potential hardware and online experience of PS4 stomped X1 (and WiiU). I guess you could argue that it's more about WiiU and X1 having negative potential rather than Sony hitting a legit home run. Sony just didn't throw up on themselves this time.

3. Gamers, journalists, and developers have to put the pressure on Nintendo to deliver the right product with NX.

4. Miyamoto has confirmed that the next Mario will be built around the NX's interface and demonstrate it the way Mario 64 did (this was before the code name NX was given to us).

5. I believe that if Nintendo would get aggressive with NX and show a graphics demo at this E3, it would cause many people to wait another year on purchasing a new console. That applies to the WiiU as well as the PS4 and X1, but the WiiU isn't going to turn around and sell 15 million units between now and fall 2016 regardless. It's true that 80% of the market still hasn't made the transition and Nintendo has to be eyeballing those consumers with NX.

6. It's difficult to say what MS will try next. They may ultimately pull the plug on Xbox and focus on Hololens in a couple of years. Or they could release an all digital version of X1 instead of a whole new platform. They could try to pull a Wii, repackaging the X1 hardware the way Nintendo did GameCube as a whole new console built around a new gimmick (Hololens).

7. I don't think the NX will be capable of backwards compatibility, which is why they are delaying Zelda until launch (and having to port it). If the NX continues with the PPC architecture then we can all write it off as dead on arrival.

They made bigger on the Wii.

I'm not in denial that they are working on a new console, I'm not stupid, they would have started brainstorming ideas for a new console well before the Wii U was released. You obviously have no idea how a business is run, about maintaining credibility with the customer, or about backing up your product.

Well, we know the NX will replace something. A handheld or a console, or maybe both. Let's not pretend Nintendo has the resources to actively support 3 gaming devices, especially since they have enough problems supporting 2.

NX is probably an iPad. lol

So, I think you are saying that the NX is a competitor to the Smart Watch. It connects to your 3DS or Wii U and just lets you know when you get notifications, or streetpasses

They didn't.

See, that's the thing about Nintendo. They're a very conservative company and even when they lose money, it's not that much. They're masters at cost-cutting. The kind of losses that Nintendo took from 2011-2013 were small and manageable, barely denting their cash and assets reserves. Hypothetically, they could afford to take losses like that for the next 30 years.

We should make a Nintendo NX "Jump to Conclusions Mat" because so many people are jumping to conclusions without researching anything

Nobody is in denial that these companies plan to replace every console at some point. The Wii U will be replaced, the 3DS will be replaced, the Vita may be replaced, the PS4, the XBOne. It's doing nothing for your argument to say that we are in "denial" of this obvious fact. We're just stating the obvious fact that nobody knows what the NX is. It may not be a home console and given that it likely won't be at E3 this year the window for a 2016 release is small.

As for what the "industry" is speculating. Well the keyword there is speculating and lets be honest here, the gaming media is what we'll all see. The NX being some sort of crazy hybrid or something to replace the Wii U makes a better story. Partly because the Wii U is a more interesting topic to write about in general but because home console releases are bigger news. But you can pretty much guarantee that outside of a few of their major partners nobody else knows what this actually is. Giving a dev-kit to everyone and their dog pretty much guarantees a leak and there hasn't been a leak. This is why all of the big three announce what their hardware actually is a good while before it's released.

So here's a task for you. Without talking about the Wii U at all why is the NX not a 3DS successor? Do you have any reason that it isn't a portable system other than maybe some misguided belief that the New 3DS is the 3DS' successor? Or are you so stuck in the conclusions you've already jumped to that you can't imagine any scenario other than your own?

We all know the NX will be a pen-sized 3D hologram projector.

You put the pen in your ear and it projects everything in front of you. Including the controller.

Could be worse, there are other... orifices

@BlueSkies How do you know that (assuming the NX will be a home console for the sake of it), it won't be called the Wii 3 or something like that? It's not defined as something new, because it's not defined as anything at all. All we know is that Nintendo is working on a new console and that the project name is NX. We have no idea if it'll be a handheld or a home console, we don't know what it'll be called, and we have absolutely no clue on what specs the device is going to have.

You do not really get it OP. Nintendo has always pulled this stunt since the SNES was around and everything turned out okay. The PS4 can not be outdone as long as it supports no region lock and for mature adult experience we have tons of other PC choices.

Nintendo is not the only choice OP. I hope you understand that one day.

I'm still trying to find where Nintendo or any of it's employees said the "NX" will be a console or a replacement for the Wii U.

Iwata has already stated that the NX will not be a replacement for either the Wii U or the 3DS. It's a new modular thing that will adapt to different kind of markets around the world. Iwata specifically mentioned the Japanese market compared to the western markets. (And since the Japanese market has abandoned home consoles as a concept and pretty much gone all-mobile, the NX is something else.)