Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

Aiming lower certainly does sound like not winning

Given the PS4's lead, and how Nintendo handled the Wii U (I've long had the impression it was only ever meant to be a stop-gap console due to market uncertainty), I wouldn't be surprised if NX was another stop-gap, just to take them to the next generation proper and start on a more even keel with the competition.

The NX is trapped in a mid-generation launch window. That would be fine if Wii U had been a market leader, but... so Nintendo can't afford to throw everything at it cos Sony and MS can just leapfrog in a couple of years time.

I just can't see it working out for Nintendo unless they deliver on their hype that NX is something new. If NX is just a clone of PS4, and doesn't have BC with Wii U peripherals, the only way I could see myself buying is if it is significantly cheaper.

@gcunit If it's another stop-gap then what's the point in even releasing it. They could have let mobile give the profits.

@Grumblevolcano Well quite, which is why I don't think the 'PS4 Clone' idea really has legs - I can't see it doing much better than Wii U. Commercially, another stop-gap is going to hurt Nintendo's reputation very hard, having just come off a 4 year period of doubters calling for ditching the hardware business already.

I wouldn't say the console's colour was a gimmick as they came in dark and dull purple and black (which I wouldn't say is bright also), the N64 and other consoles offered bright special editions far more than the NGC did and it wasn't taken to the level of their portable consoles which dozens of different colours.

Having rambled all afternoon on this topic, the only option I'm prepared to put any faith in at the moment is that NX is a convergence of home and portable, and is basically a replacement for both the Wii U and the 3DS. 3DS has been focused on this year because that's where the numbers make sense for the focus. Nintendo is faking us with this 3DS focus this year - it would be commercial suicide for them to announce that NX would replace 3DS - they need something to bring in some income this year, but 3DS has had it's day. All the E3 focus is on Zelda U because it will carry over benefit to NX, whereas I suspect there's not too much in the pipeline for 3DS beyond the stuff coming in this financial year. NX is getting revealed as late as possible to avoid a collapse in 3DS sales.

Notice that nothing out of Nintendo since NX was first announced has given reasonable hope of a 3DS replacement; of the paltry stuff we've had it's been about it being a home console. That's because the Wii U was obviously getting replaced, so they're using the woe of the Wii U to mask that the 3DS is also getting replaced at the same time.

@gcunit I don't think it is smart of Nintendo to bet on one horse. If the NX replaces both wii U and 3DS and it fails to perform, then Nintendo is going to be in worst shape than they are with the Wii U. I am not sure who a system like that would target, people own a home console for a reason and people own a portable console for a reason, I don't know why it makes sense to mix the two except for the people that would own both systems if they were separate. But that is just my opinion, good luck with your guess.

These aren't gimmicks this is just a list of things that the Gamecube had. Quite a few of which other consoles before and after it had like the different colour variations. The disk capacity wasn't a gimmick it was just the capacity they went with. The Dreamcast used 1GB disks, was that a gimmick? And lacking features that the other consoles had it definitely not a gimmick.

Also by this logic all the NX needs to do is be red, have a handle and not play BluRays. Bam, it's not a "PS4 clone" anymore. I guess the XBOne isn't a PS4 clone because it doesn't support VR. That's where we're at at this point. I can't help but think you just want to make a point of disagreeing with people. Frankly, it's pretty damn hard not to misread what you're apparently thinking when what you're typing changes from post to post.

The analogue stick on the N64 pad can be considered a gimmick! It differentiated itself from the other consoles.

@gcunit I have to agree with Defhalan. They're better off with two systems. However, I don't think that a ''PS4 clone'' is a bad idea. Will it sell more than the PS4? No, of course not, but they're coming from a console that sold 13 million units. Any improvent over that is good improvement. 20-40 million would be neat, and anything more than 40 million is just even better. Can they do that? In theory, yes.

It's clear that a Nintendo-only console doesn't sell. There's good reason for that, because even Nintendo themselves can't prevent massive droughts. I'd argue that in order to get the third parties on board, they need to have a home console that is at least capable of playing the same games as XOne and PS4. Since those consoles are already three years old as well, it wouldn't hurt if Nintendo aimed for a little more than that; something closer to PS4 NEO. Add in a x86 CPU, and that should convince third parties to release games on their system, even if the console doesn't sell as well as originally predicted.

Do they need a selling point? Of course. However, I don't think that should necessarily mean hardware gimmicks. An amazing first party library, great third party exclusives and all the multiplat games, that's a pretty attractive system. Still, if they want to ''innovate'', why not include those rotary shoulder wheel buttons? Regular games can still be played if they implement such a thing (something that wasn't possible on the Wii Remote) and it's not too expensive (unlike the GamePad). Anyway, I still think that software should innovate and not the hardware. I don't think the Wii and the Wii U were innovations. Nobody cares about the Wiimote anymore and in 10 years time we're going to wonder why a $100 controller with a screen was a good idea, despite some of the neat functions it offered.

@gcunit That's fair analysis as most of the 3DS games after Kirby Planet Robobot are western localizations of already existing games in Japan. Pokemon Sun/Moon is the only exception I think?

@DefHalan @Octane

NX doesn't have to be one device. NX can be two (or more) devices. The console and the portable can still operate independently of each other. I think Nintendo is producing a device for in the home and another device for on the move, and both of these are NX.

@gcunit That whole family of consoles idea thing? I don't see how that idea is different than how they currently operate. They have two systems with some connectivity, which could become more prominent, but still two separate systems. I don't think the NX code name is covering two devices, that just seems like it would be too confusing.

@Project_Dolphin Currently, but Nintendo is going to try to widen their audience and having more software that audience already pays attention to will help.

How do you know? For example, I have many friends who bought a PS4 or XOne for just FIFA and COD, yet grew up with an SNES, or N64. If they could get a system instead that offered some of the games they loved when they were younger, but can also play the games they want to play anyway, why not buy Nintendo's system. If Nintendo introduces new IPs that appeal to a wider audience within the gaming world?

And again, in order for that to happen, a lot of things need to change, Nintendo themselves need to change, but it's not impossible. Whatever they're doing right now isn't working; and last gen was just a fad. If they have a system that is a Nintendo box, but is also home to other games, I don't see how that could be any worse than their current situation.

@Project_Dolphin

If Nintendo games were popular enough to be able to successfully sell a console on their own, then the Wii U would be doing a lot better. As we have seen, Wii U isn't doing well and Nintendo can't save it. Nintendo needs to find a way to broaden their audience, but continuing to make a system that only gets Nintendo and Indie games isn't going to do that. Their options are: attract 3rd parties in hopes of getting more attention from the audience they want, go for another Wii blue ocean concept (is that the right term) or go 3rd parties themselves to sell more software, which worked out well for Sega...

Attracting 3rd Parties is more than just hoping people will buy their system for those 3rd Party games, it is to have something else to offer along with their first party.

@Project_Dolphin That's because if you wanted to buy a console mainly for third parties, Nintendo was never your first choice. As a result, mostly Nintendo fans bought their systems and Nintendo games ended up being the best selling games.

@Project_Dolphin

That is what we have been saying, Nintendo is going to have to change things up from what they have been doing

It sure was. Until the PS1 did the same at least. The GameCube however didn't really have anything outside of the software itself. Neither did the 360 when compared to the PS3.

@Project_Dolphin
When you say I don't comprehend your post? I think that's fair. Because in that last response you argued two entirely different points. Then also made a point about how you just assumed we meant literally a PS4 clone when we said it could match the PS4. Apparently having and not having BluRay playback is a "gimmick". And you claim I'm the one being obtuse!

In the post a few pages back when you had a go at us? When you said we were saying the NX was a "PS4 clone" and that it would therefore be DOA. With all of the doom and gloom you could muster. We were only talking about the GPU's amount of horsepower. You then said that the NX needed to have some kind of gimmick... like the Gamecube had... which was confusing. Firstly because nobody was saying it wouldn't have some kind of hook. Then because that word "gimmick"....

A gimmick is a "trick" a console does that the others don't. So these things are gimmicks:
The WiiMote, the GamePad, the Kinect, the N64 having rumble and the analogue stick. Optical media was a gimmick on the original Playstation because it opened the console up to new games not possible on the other systems. DVD playback on the PS2 and BluRay playback on the PS3 were gimmicks because their competitors couldn't do those things. Even the four controller ports on the N64 I'd call a gimmick given that "party games" were something only it could really do. And on the original XBox the HDD was what I'd call a "gimmick" at the time it launched.

These things may be selling points but they are NOT gimmicks:
A lower price point, exclusive games, a different amount of horsepower. Having different capacity disks or a different shaped/sized console itself. The decision to include or not include a LAN port. In this day-and-age the decision to include or not-include BluRay playback. Really anything that has become an industry standard is not a gimmick. It can't be a unique trick if it's not a novelty anymore.