A portable console which can hook up to the TV. Possible, for sure. But this would also be a new portable console that's the successor to the 3DS. I mean you can call this idea a "hybrid" if you want but what you're talking about is a portable system.
And again for the people who love the hybrid idea. If it's a portable first then how is it going to hold its own in the home console space? It won't hold its own into the late 2010s as a portable system competing against the PS4/XBOne/PS5/XB2.
I don't think the NX is the codename for that entire generation of products. I think the NX is the first and the other ones will come later. And going further I think that the first device will be a portable system. Purely because I think it'll be far easier to impress us with new portable hardware.
I don't think it's going to be a "hybrid console" because I know Nintendo isn't interested in making expensive hardware. A hybrid console would have to be a portable first. That's literally the point of the idea isn't it? Well then it's not going to be something people will think replaces the Wii U unless it's more capable. And I don't see them making a portable that's that powerful. Not a chance.
@BiasedSonyFan This is what I have thought and think said before, Nintendo needs the NX to sell out the gate - and they can't price the system in the same ball park as either Sony or Microsoft otherwise it won't be appealing to the consumer, especially as it ill be nowhere near the same power.
However, I am looking at Amazon and the Xbox One (500gb) is selling for £214 or £235 for the 1TB. That's insanely low and well near that £200 price the NX could launch at, and if that is lowered even more this holiday in anticipation of the Xbox One S, then Nintendo will be competing at a very similar price range. And just to be clear this doesn't look to be a Amazon sale or anything.
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@BiasedSonyFan I'm not sure how significant it will be but if the nx takes carts instead of optical media it will bring the price of the system down. Less moving parts = cheaper system.
Just having a wee think about these detachable controllers and if true how they will work.Those tiny little pads in the mock ups that appeared looked a nightmare to use but what about if they are similar to that but folded in half so that when detached you can snap them open to give you a controller more the size of a Wii mote.The buttons will be designed so that they work both ways,front facing 1/2 buttons like the Wiimote when open and detached and L/R and ZL/ZR when folded over and attached to the console giving it standard controls.When the pads are folded over they'll be thicker than the console itself giving you a good grip.Sounds feasible to me.
@Therad It's about Nvidia in general, not just Tegra. Sony/MS soured on negotiations with Nvidia, and sided with AMD. Had they partnered with Nvidia, they certainly wouldn't have used Tegra. After that, Nvidia was desperate for a deal at all, and then offered Nintendo said deal.
This doesn't make sense, Nvidia hasn't been in consoles for ages. Why would they suddenly panic over not be in the console market? Especially since their financial situation is much better than AMD?
@Therad Actually, it did. But because the article lived behind a subscription wall, we have to rely on a summary of this article. But the summary is pretty clear:
Nvidia team was told to get a console win or "go home."
It's not about the overall company's health. An otherwise healthy company would still kill a part of the business that is floundering. Considering Nvidia has missed out on all recent consoles (Wii U, PS4, XB1), and that the X1 is not in any wide-selling device on the market, the Tegra people would probably be shown the door if they did not get a win — any win — soon. Hence the "win or go home" ultimatum.
That quote really doesn't make sense. Tegra was never part of an eventual deal with MS/Sony, it simply doesn't fit their current strategy. If anything, it would be better for Nvidia to get a tablet win than a console win, because their real competitor in this space is Qualcomm.
@Therad
I think it's more a case of Nvidia being the only company who had the right product. Intel has similar products but they're a little bit more power hungry, are more expensive and optimised for CPU performance. They're also x86 based. Then there are ones made by Qualcomm which are power efficient but are again expensive and lean on CPU performance more. And AMD is nowhere to be seen in that space, Apple is in their own world
NVidia's chips? They're cheap, lean heavily towards GPU performance and are power efficient. So I think you're right to say that NVidia probably wasn't the one pushing this. I think it's more a case of Nintendo wanting a specific thing and NVidia having the right chip for the job.
@skywake Was sort of my point, Nvidia really don't have any reason to be desperate. And if Nintendo had been going traditional handheld, it had probably been another chipset.
@erv
Always interesting to go back and see how close to the mark or not we were. I'm pretty sure I said some stuff in Wii U prediction threads also. Actually, let me see what I can dig up.
The screen idea in itself is expensive but.... what you're talking about here is an ENTIRE portable console as the controller. I've said before that the Cafe idea is kinda like using an "NGP as a controller" (NGP = Vita) but I highly doubt that the controller would work by itself. As I said, it would be expensive AND would become a competitor to the 3DS! Seems ridiculous to me but I guess we'll find out soon enough
Pretty weird to read that given the new rumours about the NX. If I could be bothered I'm sure I'd find more. I specifically remember talking up the possibility of bringing cartridges back. Though not for "Project Cafe", maybe for the console after it.
One thing about Sony and MS that people seem to forget is the hidden cost of online. On a 5-year period people will spend another $300. Buying consoles isn't cheap today.
I also don't think it is fair ot compare a handheld to a home console. You will always have to pay more for an handheld.
Found an interesting article about the 3DS. Again from eurogamer, back in 2010. Don't know if this was a commonly known thing or not. But I didn't know about it or... at the very least had forgotten... http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-3ds-techspec...
The newly discovered FCC filing, dated to December 2009, clearly shows an older version of the Target Board, dubbed CTR-TEG2: firm evidence that Nintendo was indeed closely involved with NVIDIA and that Tegra IP was still being used until relatively recently.
It's clearly still a 3DS - there's the exact same arrangement of widescreen and 4:3 screens, though there are a number of changes, not least of which is just a single external camera, suggesting that the full stereoscopic 3D capabilities of the unit were still being worked on, or remained a closely guarded secret within Nintendo itself at that point in time.
Quite why Nintendo decided to switch suppliers and go with DMP remains something of a mystery, especially bearing in mind just how much more modern and capable the Tegra IP is compared to the much older PICA-200. Perhaps it was a cost issue, perhaps it was a power consumption issue: Nintendo likes cheap parts and lots of battery life. Maybe, similar to the Dreamcast, there were two competing designs using graphical IP from different suppliers
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I've made a list of things that I think are important for Nintendo's message when they announce this thing
1. Focus on the portable aspect, not the home aspect
Just assuming for a second that the NX does not have any fancy capabilities that makes the home console 'version' significantly more powerful, then Nintendo should market this as a portable first, and a home console second. That means emphasizing the aspect that you can play your favourite games "wherever, whenever" The more times that the Nintendo ram the word "portable" down people's throats, the more they can distance themselves from Xbox/PS4 comparisons and to more favourable comparisons (e.g. Wii U/3DS/Vita).
2. Price point
Following on from point 1- Nintendo need to price this aggressively and in line with its message- a portable first, that can hook up to the TV and be a traditional home console. Anything that prices this console in line with traditional home consoles (e.g. $299 or more) will see this dead on arrival. The 3DS suffered from having a price point at $249 (being reduced to $169; XL launched at $199). The vita also retailed originally at $249, before being slashed to $199 (after 1 year).
$199 or even less would seem like an ideal price point for Nintendo to hit. That isn't to say that the NX couldn't be successful at $249 given that it will offer both home and portable gameplay, but I think Nintendo need to focus on having at least one model that has a sub $200 price. This could be either a basic ($199) and premium ($249) versions of the console that offer different storage capacity's like the Wii U, or go the 3DS route and offer a standard and XL version. Either way, it is significantly easier to convince somebody to spend the extra $50, once they're happy to spend $199, than giving them an all-or-nothing option.
3. A simple and familiar controller interface, and the end of multiple types of controllers
The detachable controller will naturally concern people. They'll have never heard it before and if it looks completely different to traditional controllers (e.g. Wii U Pro), questions will be raised as to whether the control scheme is 'as good' as traditional controls, how exactly the controller works. A concept like this needs a clear prior controller for it to anchor into. A pro controller that can attach together or around a tablet screen is far easier for people to understand and get on board with than a controller that looks completely different to anything they've seen before. With a pro controller people know the interface and the feel. It's something they're comfortable with.
And on a similar note, the NX needs to drop all other controllers. No backwards compatibility with Wiimotes or Wii U gamepad. Nothing will confuse a consumer more than not understanding what types of controllers they need to play these games. In the same vein, nothing will put off a consumer more than thinking there are endless accessories needed to purchase to get the full benefit of the machine.
One standard controller bundled with the console. The same-looking controller (can be non-detachable I suppose) can be available separately for local multiplayer.
4. A great launch line-up
Mostly everybody is aware now that Nintendo doesn't have access to the top 3rd party games. So Nintendo need to make sure that their first-party line up is top notch. Zelda will go a long way to achieving this but I think they need to have 3/4 big titles available at launch and a promise of 2 additional big titles for the holiday season. People will be more likely to take the plunge knowing that they can play Zelda, Mario, Super Smash and Splatoon (assuming they make ports) straight away with a promise of a new Mario Kart and Animal Crossing in the fall for example.
5. Incentives and rewards for gamers
Nintendo may need to go the extra mile to convince people that they need this as a primary or secondary console. Great games will do it but Nintendo could earn a lot of interest by offering ways for gamers to purchase games/DLC for (theoretically) free. Unlocking achievements, referral sign up codes, perhaps even winning (or doing well) in online tournaments should allow people to earn coins that can be spent on Nintendo merchandise, games, DLC or (if to be believed that their mobile games will be available) in-app purchases. Nintendo's message here would be simple: "the more you play, the less you pay".
About XB1 pricing, the key thing to remember is the XB1S comes out on Tuesday. That is the model to look at on the price front when debating about NX prices.
Now between 2013 and 2015? NVidia's mobile chip went from 40% of the Wii U's spec to almost 50% more than the Wii U's spec. With from what I can tell a fairly consistent price of ~$200US. Now if they'd picked any other mobile chip I'd be worried about the cost. Especially with the sort of performance they're talking about. But NVidia? Well, this could deliver a lot more for the price than people are expecting. Especially if it's using the X2.
Basically if the X2 does what it could do? We're looking at a $200-250US portable that's somewhere between 2x and 3x as powerful as the Wii U. Plug that into that list above. It's not a bad value at all.
What numbers are you using for Wii U, because that doesn't look right. The Shield TV console with X1 is quite a lot more powerful than Wii U, more than 1.46x
If x1 is a lot more powerful than wii U, I'm happy. That makes it acceptable as a "mount on tv" option too.
I still can't find anything about 3d or what it would mean for them to include it. I hope they do, it would be a shame if the next portable lacked 3d...
Tegra X1 ~512 GFlops (FP32) in Shield TV console (powered from the wall)
X1 in a tablet (Google Pixel C) lower clocked GPU, somewhere around ~400 GFlops (?)
It's not an apples to apples comparison. AMD and Nvidia count FLOPs differently, but by all measures Tegra X1
is significantly more powerful than last-gen consoles (Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii U).
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