Topic: NX is going to be a high performance platform in Nintendo's line

Can't support 2 consoles anymore effectively. Last thing they'll try to do is support 3.

Zero chance of this happening. Terrible idea.

The big problem with supporting two consoles simultaneously is that you split your install base, and reduce the chances of unexpected or broad audiences jumping on a game. Now, developers have to know exactly what type of audience they want before choosing a system, and if they are making a broad audience game game like Madden or Sonic, they either have to port between systems (in which case they are bottlenecked at the lower power), or lose half their audience.

@Geonjaha: First of all, guys, Satoru Iwata said when they first announced the NX: As a proof that Nintendo is supporting the "dedicated home console" market we are announcing today a brand new system with the code-name NX and then the announcement of a partnership with a mobile developer DeNA. Maybe not word by word as stated but with the same descriptive potential, nothing added nor removed. Why would he lie at that point and about that matter. You see Nintendo might have made false statements in the past, but that was only while being questioned and pressured by journalists. Every time they come freely and by their own will to make an announcement Nintendo will, like any other company, tell the public the truth.

Second, why in gods name would whey release a new handheld about a year after they revised the 3DS into the NEW 3DS? You guys just don't seem to respect major facts but rather go into analyzing past console markets by numbers sold e.t.c. and by, if it would make sense to release a Ps3/Xbox one clone at roughly midpoint of the generation lifetime. All of these are good arguments for or against a particular type of imaginary system but they obviously don't take into account all the stuff we know from announcements and other "reliable", so to say, sources witch we should be trusting.

I never said that its going to be a clone, Nintendo will most probably have some sort of new UI. BUT they will make it their priority to make a machine that is x86 compatible and high performance. Nintendo understands that small things can make a big difference and impact, like for example naming the console (witch they messed up with the WII U), so they will add some kind of uniqueness to the system witch will be functionally and aesthetically pleasing. And this could be a variety of think, there is no point in speculating in this direction since its an art-form and not really science.

There wont be an attempt to target casual gamer's or non gamer's directly, because they already have a system in place to do so namely the WII U "line", witch they will expand further as time goes on. So whats left is the gamer's and hardcore gamer's witch demands major 3rd party support (high perf.) for reasons that i think you guys understand.

So it seems logical doesn't it. 3 market segments (currently) out there and Nintendo will make 3 systems to get a pie out of each and ps4/xbox one don't even care about the casual gamer's segment so Nintendo is almost alone in that one.

So I wrote a hole bunch of stuff here taking up my precious time so i hope you guys get the point i was trying to make and one more thing there is nothing wrong about launching even a ps4 clone at midpoint as long as it gets good games on it, it will get a nice piece of the pie.

@adoion:
1. This is the direct and full officially translated version of the announcement

So no, he didn't say "dedicated home console". He said "dedicated game platform"

2. The New 3DS isn't a new platform, it is a minor spec upgrade. It has a grand total of 1 retail release and that includes games out now and games announced. This is LESS than the amount of exclusive content the DSi got. The DSi had 2 years as the flagship Nintendo portable before the 3DS was released, the New 3DS would have been out about the same length of time by the end of 2016.

3. When you talk about higher performance hardware you are describing what I'd call a PS4 clone. An x86, high performance third party box for "core gamers". That's competing against the PS4 on their terms at the peak of the PS4's cycle. Nintendo would be stupid to do this. If the NX is a home console then it's either going to have to position itself as a PS5 competitor OR offer something unique.

4. There is nothing logical about creating three product tiers. I don't need to explain how bad an idea it is.

Really? I must have missed that anyways the phrase dedicated system usually refers to home consoles and not to handhelds so its a matter of interpretation but i think that its more likely that he wanted to say dedicated home console and im staying with my conjecture

@adoion

My friend, you are right about a lot. It is not a handheld to replace the 3DS. This is very obvious by all the times it's brought up is only in relation to the Wii U. Only a couple people on this website try to fight that "Well, no, it's cuz the JOURNALIST made the connection, look at the exact wording here, blah blah". There are only a few people here that do that, and they know who they are. They are completely and utterly wrong, and I can't wait until it's officially announced to see if they hide or try to go back on their words.

If you really break down what you are saying, the only thing you are saying that is different from any other console launch in history is that you are saying they are going to continue to make game for the Wii U once the NX (it's successor) launches, and go into a 3 pillar type setup. It's just not doable, as Nintendo is already struggling supporting 2. It makes no sense to say that "When our better system launches, we're still going to support the lower quality one cuz it's cheaper for developers to develop for". They've never done this. They've SAID they were going to have 3 pillars, but they didn't. They've also supported consoles for a period of time after the new one launched, both because games were already in development, and they have a higher install base, but they don't maintain a 3 console ecosystem.

It just can't, and won't, be done. If companies wanted to maintain the old console because it was cheaper, they could've done that every single generation that ever happened.

When NX launches Holiday 2016, the Wii U will be 4 years old. It'll probably get the slow trickle of games over the next year that all old consoles get, and then it'll be gone, as has happened every generation before it.

Thanks for the massage, but let me ask you this. How much effort does Sony put into supporting the ps4? Minimal effort, since almost all the 3rd party devs are all over it. And their 1st party lineup is miserable. If Nintendo managed to hold up 2 systems primarily by "themselves" with minimal 3rd party support, how well would they do with a system that's supported well by 3rd parties? and off course with 3 system + mobile + pc they would have a major presents in peoples lives witch is marketing that cannot really be bought anywhere else.

@shaneoh:
They still would have continued to sell Wiis and Wii titles (and Wii titles would have been backwards compatible). They have continue to sell Wiis during the WiiU's life and have sold almost as many units of the former during the latter's life. WiiU has been steady as a dead console that is now 9 years old.

All of those Wii games would have still been released and worked on both Nintendo consoles.
Nintendo was absent of a response to Kinect and Move. Motion + fell flat and wasn't as advanced as Sony's new interface. The result is Nintendo lost on two fronts for the next three years (until PS4/X1 launched)-- they lost out graphically on Wii and they lost out in terms of innovation to more advanced motion controls. They then lost out on years of support from third parties.

If you do not release new hardware in 2016, then just like in the period of 2010 forward, you're just giving up the consumers because they are definitely not buying WiiU. The PS4 is only destined to dominate if it goes unchallenged. The PS4's central selling point is hardware and Nintendo can easily over-power Sony's soon to be 3-year-old box with 5-year-old chips.

Like it or not portables are dedicated gaming systems. At the very most it's kinda like how when people refer to "mobile". People assume they're talking about phones because phones are the headline act. However "mobile" also refers to tablets. The assumption that new gaming hardware is a home console isn't a new thing. The same thing happened when the rumours started to come out about the 3DS, people assumed it was going to be the "Wii HD"

Yeah, how dare people even consider alternatives to your theory. Looking at what has actually been said and being open to other possibilities "blah, blah". I'm not saying it's definitely a portable, I'm just sceptical of your certainty that it's not.

And if you think it's 100% known what the NX is just look at the articles on the front page of Nintendo Life. They regularly run with their theory that the NX is some kind of hybrid device. The fact that they can do that without anyone being able to call them out on it? Shows how little we actually know for sure. Because even that insane theory about what the NX is still can't be ruled out based on what has been said....

That wasn't my point. At that point in the cycle all of the platforms were at their peak. New hardware would result in somewhat of a reset on development. Yes, if the Wii U had come out a couple of years earlier they probably would have had some of the late Wii games on it. But there wouldn't have been MORE content than there was. Also they would have been competing against the PS3 and 360 at their peak. I would suspect the same is true of the current generation.

About the only thing you can bet NX on being is somewhat "unique or original". Time has shown us that that usually means a powerhouse is unlikely.

I'm still disappointed nobody subscribed to my theory of dancing humanoid stripper banana's. Maybe I sold it wrong.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/elfishone/4982401893

I wouldn't even bet on that. Think about it, what else are they going to say about it? That it's an unoriginal piece of hardware? "One thing you can be sure of, the NX is going to be the most unoriginal piece of gaming hardware we've ever released". Even if it was the case they're not going to say that

So really all we can be fairly confident of is that this thing will eventually get Mario and Mario Kart. Probably also Zelda and Smash. Maybe Metroid if we're lucky. Also some other games.

I can't really agree with you on this. While Kinect and move might have been better on a technical level, they were not a shining beacon of success. They didn't really have much supporting games and just as motion+, they are add-ons. Add-ons are notorious to fail. Simplicity is the game if you want to sell something to the big market. Otherwise we all would have ditched consoles long ago and have gaming PCs.

@Therad: Yeah, the Kinect did well mostly because it was insanely good value. And while it did do well I think the Wii had the last laugh. Just look at the sales of Just Dance, one of the only multi-platform motion gaming hits. Every version of that game was multiplatform and every one of them sold best on Wii. That's including the ones released in the last couple of years.

Very interesting discussion:

@Kevlar44: there you go, its a home console. but the patent doesn't make any sense. why would they need a separate box to do p2p computing and also this doesn't solve the input latency. why would this be any better the sony's gaykai service? you could have a supercomputer at the other side but still couldn't get around latency.

Sorry but I have to side with Skywake on this one. A PS4/xbone clone about the same power for like $350 with a "just OK' launch line up launching in 2016, which is likely going to be the PS4's peak year, has slim chance of success. The Wii U successor either has to compete with next gen consoles of be unique/go after a different market. A PS4 clone simply won't cut it.

@adoion:
I wouldn't read too much into patents for a couple of reasons. Firstly there's the fact that a lot of patents don't end up as products. If you don't believe me when I say that then google image search "Nintendo Patents".....

.... also even if they do end up in a product there's no telling when that product comes out. Whatever you think the NX is we can be fairly confident that Nintendo is working on a new portable AND home console. They're always working on new hardware as are all of the console manufacturers. You'd expect patents for both portable and not portable hardware to come out constantly. Probably not unsurprisingly one of the more recent Nintendo patents looked like it was for a portable. Does that prove it's a portable? No. And for the same reason that the other ones don't prove it's not.

Lmao so wrong. Sooo freaking wrong. Nintendo can even get ballsy and FREAKING copy Sony's strategy and do it better cuz they gave more money. 3rd party deals and a powerful system. Ding. Only Nintendo fanboys would care? Hahahahaha!!! Yeah! Zelda NX would only be desired by Nintendo fanboys! Smash NX is only wanted by Nintendo fanboys! Uncharted is only desired by Sony fanboys!!!

@Kevlar44: this is so full of s... and could never be pulled of by Nintendo even though theoretically possible i dont know of any instance where this kind of technology has been implemented. Its basically a multi user multi server p2p computing network distributed over the largest area possible, the world. I know that Sony did cloud computing with the ps3 for modeling molecules on one central computer but doing this on demand by hundreds of thousands of computers all over the world at the same time, would be a technology with to many variable, fist of, and wouldn't be reliable.
So somebody is playing a joke here 100% guys this is horse s...

Not to mention that it would have Intrinsic lag witch i think Nintendo would never be satisfied with.