Nintendo NX Will Avoid The Launch Issues Which Plagued 3DS And Wii U, Claims Iwata

At this point I'll believe it when I see it.

Lol... right. Where are VC improvements? Non game droughts? Second gamepad?

In other words, chill out. They aren't launching this thing next year. On a side note I Usagi-Iwata is too cute. I have got to make a gif of them dancing to the star music.

That means a good selection of launch titles right off the bat. I like it.

If Nintendo doesn't get complete parity with Sony and MS in regards to Western 3rd parties, NX will never succeed.

That is the one thing that must happen. Nothing else will matter if that does not come to fruition.

The big lesson that Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft need to learn is not to rush the system out before there is any major games available. If the first must-have title doesn't come out for over a year after the system releases, why should people be expected to buy it on the day it comes out and let it sit there for months gathering dust.

Android NX

At this point we don't care about being surprised and just want to know what it is. Just tell us what are your goals from a hardware stand point, if you reveal the specs maybe that can attract 3rd parties who haven't already seen it at E3

We'll just see about that...they said that the Wii U wouldn't have the same problem at launch, and look at what happened. With that said, I'm going to remain optimistic. Also, did anyone else read that in Iwata's voice?

Ha! Okay Iwata if you say so.

So they'll keep on supporting WiiU and 3DS. This will be even more confusing to consumers. And also: Iwata always talks as if there is no overlap. One group of people own a Wii, another 3DS and a third one is going to buy NX. I think Nintendo still doesn't realise how much trust they expect from their community to buy all these consoles and console upgrades every couple of years. If the NX concept is nothing worldchanging (Spoiler: It won't be.) the release will be an even bigger flop than WiiU. I wrestled with buying a WiiU day 1 and I'm a hardcore fan...I sure won't buy this thing day 1 if it isn't a powerhouse and runs on gimmicks. EVEN IF THERE'S METROID!

Iwata:
You do realize half the reason the 3DS took off is that you DROPPED THE DAMN PRICE. That is what you DIDN'T do with the Wii U therefore it did not sell. When you saw stagnant sales you should have dropped the price and offered 2-3 free games for early buyers who bought at the full price. I bet Wii U would have gained a lot of momentum then. Sometimes I think Iwata is market blind...

Yeah, 2nd gamepad was something that was touted but never saw the light of day and I doubt ever will.

The real problem here that Nintendo refuse to acknowledge is that they did NOT support the WiiU fully as they should have. Instead they focused on getting the 3DS as the companies flagship console for this generation. Ok, yeah, this was a success (mostly) but despite some excellent titles available for WiiU (1st/2nd Party mainly), they alienated themselves from 3rd Parties and therefore the console is for all intents and purposes, dead. RIP WiiU. You had so much potential

Reading a little between the lines here, it seems Nintendo is paying for third party games for the NX. Whether it's just paying to guarantee releases or of they intend to hire third parties to make new games

I hope this thing has beastly specs if they really are aiming to bring the 3rd party publishers back. I also hope for Wii U backwards compatibility and the ability to play NX games on the go via an incredibly improved, but optional, Gamepad 2.0 or something that can function 100% as its own thing, like a handheld console would. Pack in a traditional controller for home play, and have a killer launch line up like the upcoming Zelda and some type of 3D Mario, and boom, we'll have another top seller like the Wii, hopefully...

Hmm looking at those last comments it appears nx will be a replacement for both 3ds and wiiu so a hybrid home/portable could be on the cards. Or maybe not who knows at this stage apart from nintendo themselves and a few select developers

Is it bad that I read this entire interview in Mr. Iwata-san's voice?

I'm happy that they are supporting the Wii U and 3DS for the time being. Take your time Nintendo because even with the poor Wii U sales, you're not losing much.

@BinaryFragger Nintendo's Wii U launch line up was not that bad except it was missing a legit Mario. What they didn't learn from 3DS is that somehow dropping the price sells stagnant systems. Geez Nintendo you would think I am a marketing genius to notice this but I'm pretty sure this is common knowledge that Nintendo somehow missed the boat on.

Keep tossing words out. Maybe something will stick.

BS again, NX will be a mess at launch like all their recent endeavors. Most likely they'll have some kind of new Wii Sports that'll appeal to casuals, but they'll dry on every other front.
Also, Nintendo ain't Sony. 3DS might get lucky and get support after 2017, but I expect Wii U's last notable game to release in 2017. Nintendo can't be expected to fully support 3 consoles at the same time, as well as work on mobile, so the two 8th gens need to make way for the 9th gen. Also, Nintendo has much less support from both Western and Japanese third parties than Sony so there's almost no one else who can help effectively carry their systems. Considering the 3DS just isn't that much higher than PSP when it comes power (3DS is higher, but both can be considered to be on the level of 6th gen home consoles), Japanese devs will eventually want to move on from that level. The support 3DS has been getting has already started to wane over there, while Vita's support has only been raising. It's the same situation as DS and PSP.

@gatorboi352 This. And those 3rd parties WILL NOT come if Nintendo is trading power for innovation again... that's a fact.

@Ryu_Niiyama this is coming before end of 2016, I guarantee it.
November 2016 is my call, Nintendo's favourite month, they should start calling it Ninvember.

@Azikira "Mr. Iwata-san" = "Mister Mr. Iwata"...

@EverythingAmiibo my call is it will be inline with an 8GB RAM, 4gb GPU and 3.0GHz processor set up.

@JesWood13
What you're asking for is basically what the PS4 and Vita combo offers, though streaming isn't as nice since the Vita doesn't have dedicated streaming hardware like the Wii U has.
Considering Nintendo wants to repeatedly blab about how NX is an entirely new concept, the two for one thing probably isn't on the cards.

@gatorboi352 That's precisely what they need. The visuals and performance must be competitive enough, otherwise this parity will fade. If only they could deliver on this, the next home console will take care of itself.

I'm afraid that Nintendo may be doing like SEGA did while it's in competition: releasing a new game console early while focusing half of their HR on existing ones. It's my opinion, nothing else

My only wish is that they should release the NX on 2018/2019 so that the customers would really be satisfied with the Wii U and 3DS.

The NX simply HAS to be perfect. Its needs to be powerful, it needs strong first and third support from launch and then SUSTAIN it. The controller needs to be innovative but without unnecessary gimmicks, most importantly it needs to be comfortable. It needs good features like Blu Ray, music player, good apps from launch (as much as many will disagree, a lot of these features do draw a lot of people in).

It needs to be outstanding and to primarily appeal to the gamers at launch. Then release the likes on Nintendogs later on to draw in larger audiences (as well as continuing making top quality titles).

We'll see what happens, I'll be ready for next year and the year after.

So Metroid, Zelda, FZero, and Kid Icarus for NX launch plus 3rd party support that's not just ports from last gen? I am optimistic about them, but like others said, I'll have to see it to believe it, because Nintendo has their work cut out for them on this launch.

@Azooooz You think the worst selling Nintendo console of all time is going to have a longer cycle than the Wii? Hahaha!

@gatorboi352 You're wrong. They don't need complete parity - they need superiority. Their version of multiplats must be surperior, or people won't care. Only having parity isn't enough.

@BinaryFragger They had learned from the 3DS's launch. The 3DS was what caused the Wii U's poor launch. That royal screw up of the 3DS launch had a double whammy effect and caused the Wii U's launch because Nintendo was trying to turn around their handheld, meaning they were ignoring their console.

It was either let the 3DS die, or save the 3DS and sabotage the Wii U in the process.

@MrGuinea Well, all ports would have to be from last gen, otherwise they'd be NX and PC only.

They said the 3DS and Wii U would avoid these issues as well.

Iwata said the 3DS would have a successful launch that would avoid drought problems of the past. It didn't. It was one of the worst launches ever for a big console manufacturer. Iwata said that Nintendo learned a bitter lesson from the launch of the 3DS and the Wii U would have a much better startup. Well, the Wii U had a better game selection at launch, but failed tremendously after Holiday 2012.
Now Iwata says the NX will avoid the problems the 3DS and Wii U had during their launch period.
Are you all sensing a pattern here? This man overpromises and lies like crazy. Most of his words mean nothing to me at this point. He might as well be speaking Ancient Sumatran.

His insistence that 3rd party support will be there just strengthens all the android rumours for me. There's no way he can guarantee support from big console publishers, but if the thing could play all the android stuff on the amazon market place then it would count as instant 3rd party support.

The install base drives third parties, not specs. They want something to which they can easily port their games and with an install base large enough to make it worthwhile. Decent specs, good price, and most importantly a solid stable of games drives the install base. The hard part is getting it off the ground, as he says in the interview, because you are starting from zero. That's why a strong launch lineup is critical. Personally, I still think the Wii sold well because the novelty of the concept met with a remarkably affordable price and came with a pack in game. The Wii U was, I think, just too expensive for the family market, and not "beefy" enough for the man-children who hate getting picked on in Internet threads and want power over everything else (i.e., the "hardcore gamers").

Frankly, I think that is why we are getting so many 3DS spinoff games in the near future. They're saving some bigger releases for the NX launch.

How about instead of some "Nintendo-like solution" you just have a great line up of up launch titles that make the system worth buying?

Welp I am disappointed in the wiiUs short lifetime. I bought a wiiu for the new Zelda game, which has been teased since before launch but won't be seen until late 2016. Frankly quite disappointed and don't like the sound of this "moving on" business.

@AVahne I mean, I'm not expecting it or anything, but it would be kinda cool. 😜 especially if they could get the on-the-go thing I mentioned to work natively instead of streaming like the PS4/Vita combo.

Ghee. So much of negative posts here....not even one thing positive.

So what if he said the same like DS, GBA, Gamecube and Wii? All that matters is that they will support it till consumers are satisfied and that's that.

Even then, so much of negativity here and I thought I was the only one here being negative!

Well I have to give the people who do know about the NX credit for keeping quiet about it. In this age of technology it's hard to keep anything a secret. Tell one person out of the circle of truth a secret, 2 hours later half the world knows.

Looking back, Nintendo sells their systems best at launch when there is a blockbuster first party title (with a "new" experience) to go with it. Wii U had a lot of launch titles compared to its predecessor, but NSMB U and Nintendoland didn't have that same pulling power as something like Super Mario 64 or Luigi's Mansion and SSB: Melee (I know it release a month after).

In any case I like surprises so I can wait a year.

It's going to be tough buying the NX at launch. It has to be under $300 and no gimmicks and I'm not buying an external hard drive again to raise the cost of the system. But I do hope it's backward compatible with Wii U and is launched with a full virtual console from NES to Wii including handhelds. Power wise it doesn't matter to much to me it can be closer to xbone to keep cost down.

Great Cthulhu's beard, I'm sick of Iwata's weasel words. The man spills out so many words and never says a damn thing. What the hell is a "Nintendo-like solution?" That doesn't tell me anything. Hell, after seeing so many other "Nintendo-like solutions" like Amiibo and "maybe we can inspire 3rd parties to come back by not trying very hard," I can't say this really imbues me with glowing confidence.

"Joint initiatives" happening "below the surface" does not mean anything, either. Okay, with whom? In what capacity? Does something lazy like "unlock Mario costume in game with Mario Amiibo" count as one of these "joint initiatives" or is it something more involved, like having, say, Capcom handle development of one of Nintendo's properties?

They might as well have just had a beauty pageant contestant give a rambling "well, see, I think that, you know, answers are important, when, like, questions are asked and that companies--and we're a company, like--have solutions and considerations for those, um, questions and for like, everyone to have peace on the earth instead of all the wars." Iwata's responses to these questions are that useful.

"Satoru Iwata spends a lot of time talking about Nintendo NX, the company's next gaming system."

OMG - how often can a company talk about a product they arne't talking about? Had they emphasized it in their E3 ND it wouldn't be talked about this much.

I guess their marketing dept finally did something right, if you really want to talk about something, then tell people you aren't going to talk about it. meh

@HenriDeNiro And do you think that NX will avoid Wii U's mistakes? Certainly Wii U is not the worst console ever when it has superb titles to play with. That's why I wish that NX won't be rushed out quickly. They need to do some market research before releasing a console because they need it the most.

@Azooooz We are talking about bussiness here.The Wii U barely can support itself for next year.It has great games but its installer base is a complete disaster.

It really does sound from it like this could end up being the much rumored combined console by the way he includes both 3DS and Wii U in the systems they'll keep supporting after it releases. I'll be more surprised if it's not, at least to a smaller extent, at this point.

@HenriDeNiro Let's face it, Nintendo's home console market is in decline after the release of SNES. People have moved on to platforms other than Nintendo like smart devices, PlayStation, XBOX, and even PC. Nintendo won't be able to retain the same audience that backed them up two decades ago. Even NX might not revive the once successful Nintendo. I'm afraid that NX may be Nintendo's last home console,

@Peach64 do you think android support/emulation is a big enough selling point to the public to make the nx a bigger seller than the wii u?.

@NintyMan

They will not be supporting Wii U after NX launches. This is the same corporate speak they delivered concerning the DS when they said they were going to continue supporting the GBA--a system quietly phased out over the next year. If NX is successful, Wii U will be dumped quickly and quietly.

@Azooooz We are talking about Nintendo here so we never know what shape NX is going to take.Even if the NX wont prove to be that successful, it wont be their last console.Their net worth is higher than that of Sony and investing into mobile gaming and creating a park with Universal is going to make them stronger.

Translation: less focus on current consoles, and more on NX. There's no other interpretation, especially considering that - apparently - releasing VC games "may impact development".
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2015/07/we_cant_release_virtual_console_games_any_faster_as_it_would_impact_new_development_says_iwata
Then again, it's a lose-lose scenario - more focus on WiiU and 3DS, near-empty launch lineup for NX; likewise, stellar launch lineup for NX, desert for WiiU and 3DS. There's no sugar-coating this.

@Quorthon
Wait, Cthulhu has facial hair? How on Earth do you know?

On whether or not the NX is replacing the Wii U, it obviously is, but Nintendo at least recognizes that they don't want to screw over Wii U owners the way Sega did with Saturn owners back in the day. People who bought the Saturn were left feeling like they were stabbed in the back and had little to show for their purchase; an incredibly weak library. I guess Nintendo's thought is that even if the Wii U's lifespan is cut incredibly short, if the library is ultimately strong enough, then adapters won't be bitter enough to not purchase an NX.

It's a huge gamble. I still expect the NX to be out next fall and for Zelda to be on it.

So what I'm gathering is that Nintendo might transition from the Wii U/3DS to the NX slower than previous gens.

Unless a 3D Mario, Zelda, or Metroid launch on the NX I don't see it being too different from the Wii U.

They plan to fix launch issues with "... a Nintendo-like solution." That sure worked well for the Wii U.

Umm, Iwata san. The Wii U isn't dead yet. It can hopefully last another couple years!

Sigh. I'm just gonna repeat what I said last NX article: "As much as they say they don't want to talk about NX, they sure talk about NX a lot! "

@whodatninja I had the same thought. I've been reading article after article about the NX...they should just get it over with. This will end up in another incredibly disappointing reveal.

Hahaha, they also said this after the botched 3DS launch, and promised the Wii U would not suffer the same outcome. Yet here we are with a failing system because of yet another botched launch.

Yeah, I'll believe this when I see it.

I'm a nintendo fanboy. They cannot do anything wrong as long as I get great games of the non-too-casual variety.

So, yay! And by the way, the man makes sense.

I'm a huge Nintendo fan. I own every Nintendo console, and have purchased the last few at launch. But after being burned with the wii, the wii u, and I even upgraded to the new 3ds (those exclusive games?) I'm starting to feel pretty bummed. I've loved the first party games, and the 3ds has tons of good stuff. I just can't justify buying another Nintendo system until it's been on the market for a couple years. Especially if the NX comes out in 2016. Way too soon. Idk. I know that This rant doesn't matter since I ultimately chose to buy these systems... But I'd love to feel that my gamble on a new system has paid off. So far with these past few, it hasn't happened yet. Not fully anyway.

@BinaryFragger - I'm glad you laughed at Reggie, I screamed out "No!" while the sound of 10mil Wii U owning souls exploded in the background.

Ok, maybe I'm embellishing the exploding souls part, but I did literally scream out No! Followed by something along the lines of - What the #@%/^/ are you doing!!

And the really sad part is, it only got worse after that.

Well, knowing Nintendo and how they launched thw Wii and the Wii U, they'll reveal what exactly the NX is in 2016 for a 2017 launch. I don't have any hope for the third party situation, so I'll wait for the games announced before getting one. I only hope we get some more games for Wii U before 2017.

@MoonKnight7 - What always bothered me about those comments after 3DS was that the console only sold well after a 33% price cut from $249 to $169. And then after a year of miserable Wii U sales they dropped the price about 15% $349 to $299 but they really didn't "drop" the price as they already had a $299 model they just added a game to. And here we are another year later and it's still $299.

So really, what did they learn?

@gatorboi352
Wii hardly had strong 3rd party support. There were cross platform games like LEGO related stuff, few C.O.D games but nothing much else and look how many units it sold

If cross platform games hit NX half a year later than XO/PS4 and cost twice as much (just like Wii U ones did), then it'll do no good at all. 3rd party games have to come out just in time for all platforms or there will be another doom and gloom waiting NX to happen

Will it have a strong launch lineup? In particular, will it launch with that one must-have first-party title that sells systems? Because, believe it or not, Nintendo hasn't made it a point to launch a system with that kind of game since rhe Nintendo 64.

@rjejr

I'm trying to remember if the 3DS price cut brought the system below a break even point at $169. I honestly don't remember.

The Wii U price was barely making a profit at $350, so I assume that's why it took so long to get a price cut. In terms of what you said though, yeah I agree, the sales were simply that bad, that they should have cut the price more and sooner, and just eat the cost. I love the Wii U and all, but that damn gamepad screwed up pretty much everything.

You can offer as many great offerings at launch as you want, ps4 and x1 will have been out for awhile and have a huge back catalogue, and customer faith in Nintendo is just not there anymore.

@Yorumi Uh, why did you include the Wii? Last I remember, the Wii had a very successful launch

Well, they either going all out for NX, or have a half-hearted launch. Whatever Nintendo choose to do, they are in difficult position. In fact, while Iwata reasoning to reveal NX is to convince people that they kept their dedicated hardware business, I think they definitely should keep quite for the whole 2015, it's too early to talk about.

@EverythingAmiibo My bad, I misunderstood it as just a term of respect.

whayever NX turns out to be, it will be interesting to re-visit threads like this one.

As a WiiU owner they can satisfy me by releasing new MK8 dlc, making sure SMM online features are top notch and maybe sorting us out with an HD F-Zero, Waverace and/or PilotWings...

We hear this every generation and yet they don't learn. I'll believe it when I see it.

"Thank you for understanding"
No, Mr. Iwata. We don't understand. -_-

This is very old news.

What does 'joint initiatives' mean?

The Wii U is Nintendo's latest product on the market. Think about that. Now ask yourself if the company might be eager to release a product that can grow sales before long.

I've actually had some ideas on this kind of thing too.

Right, just like the Wii U avoided the issues of the 3DS launch.
I will never believe anything this man says 'til I see it for myself.

@AlexSora89

It's just more tentacles.

@LztheQuack

The Wii itself had a successful launch, but it was still plagued by droughts and a lackluster launch line-up. Just because the console sold well doesn't mean it didn't have issues.

No doubt, any Nintendo fanboy would be super quick to make similar charges to the PS4 which had a monumental start out the gate, but has featured the typical first-year drought and line-up of ports.

@TruenoGT

The GameCube launched with Star Wars: Rogue Squadron II. That was one of the biggest launch games ever, in terms of heft and impact. The problem was that the GameCube was launching after the N64 had already left a sour taste in the mouths of gamers, at a time when the PS2 was seeing it's first major hits, and when the Xbox slammed into the industry amid a torrent of media promotion.

Nintendo slowly sauntered to the marketplace last to the party, and with little fanfare. Even Rogue Leader couldn't turn the tide, but it was a bonafide hit.

The only issue with the Wii U launch was that they were launching a crappy product which didn't have any great software to speak of until several months after launch. It still only has a handful of great games, but that's a Nintendo home console for you. They support it for 3-5 years, and third parties support it for 0 years.

I like what I read, keep it going Nintendo

@Yorumi

I noted that--just not with the specific "a year behind" note. Perhaps not very clear, but my note on the "PS2 seeing it's first major hits" has to do with it heading into it's strong second year while the GC was going to have to attempt to compete with typical first-year console woes.

Most major titles start coming out around the 1-year anniversary of a console--for instance, Gears of War and Kid Icarus: Uprising both landed around the 1-year anniversary of their machines.

Well, Nintendo basically let Ubisoft handle the 3DS and Wii U launch.

Come out strong with 5 games and none of them on the level of Steel Diver or Nintendoland while both are good they are not launch worthy for new hardware.

Thanks so much Mr. Iwata! At last, all those stubborn posters here can see that they were wrong.

"next news on NX will not be announced during 2015 but will be announced in 2016"

So that means the NX will be announced in 2016 or maybe even later (he just said news, not official announcement) and the NX can't be released before 2017 (maybe even later).

"it would be highly inefficient to stop releasing titles for Nintendo 3DS or Wii U right after the launch of NX. Therefore [...] we are discussing within our internal development teams as well as with the second-party developers we co-develop software with and also with third-party software publishers about how to continue creating software for Wii U and Nintendo 3DS"

Also, for all the pigheaded fellows: the Wii U isn't dead and won't be dead in the next few years, not even when the NX is released.

"The reason I mentioned this was, at that time, there were more than a certain number of people that thought that Nintendo would give up on the dedicated game system business and concentrate on smart device application development, or that Nintendo should take that path. In addition, such tone could be seen frequently through the media."

I mean, I always said they didn't even want to mention NX so early in the first place, they only did it to assure that people don't think mobile gaming would become Nintendo's new main field of activity. So if the DeNA deal wouldn't have happened, we probably never would've heard from NX until 2016.

They've made a lot of mistakes with the Wii U, but Iwata is aware of them. This 'Nintendo solution' he mentioned could easily be something really awesome. There's no reason to suspect that the NX will have the same fate as the Wii U

At first I was thinking that NX would be a homeconsole/handheld hybrid. But if that would be the case, Nintendo could only cash once (only NX, otherwise 1 handheld and 1 homeconsole). Unless Nintendo pulls a Apple and releases a new version of NX every 6 months!

With Wii U's touchscreen I hoped we get more DS sequels in HD graphics, a new Prof. Layton, Phoenix Wright, Another Code, Nintendogs, Advance Wars, Kid Icarus, Luigi's Mansion, a normal Animal Crossing. I also hoped for Wii sequels Excite Truck, Endless Ocean 3, The Last Story 2, Paper Mario, and many more.
F-Zero is long overdue as well. 32 player online death race x cup pls.
This
or
MOTHER4.

There is still time for Wii U to get the games it needs, but first we're lucky enough to get the fantastic new Starfox, Xenoblade, Zelda, Fire Emblem x Shin Megami Tensei, and Project Zero / Fatal Frame games. Plus Super Mario Maker and Devil's Third.

I've always believed Nintendo could sell their systems on the strength of 1st party alone, they just needed to ramp up production to be able to provide steady content for eager gamers. Hopefully Nintendo means it when they say they're gearing up for the new launch now both with 2nd/3rd parties and internally.

@Artwark The Gamecube had a terrible launch and really suffered for it's entire life because of it. It'd also didn't help that Nintendo REFUSED to confirm the specs for certain aspects of the Gamecube's hardware meaning people assumed it was less powerful than the Playstation 2... when in fact it could OUTPERFORM the PS2 in many ways due to more intelligent design.

Nintendo has botched launch after launch... Nintendo were genuinely lucky the Wii turned out to be so amazing at the time because they did EVERYTHING they could to scupper it at launch from poor publicit, ;lack of good launch titles and lack of hardware availability.

EDIT: Quote from the Wiki which specifically tackles the launch line-up... Joystiq compared the GameCube's launch window to its successor, the Wii, noting that the GameCube's "lack of games" resulted in a subpar launch, and the console's limited selection of online titles hurt its market share in the long run.[57] Time International concluded that the system had low sales figures, because it lacked "technical innovations"

@rjejr
I'm glad you laughed at Reggie, I screamed out "No!" while the sound of 10mil Wii U owning souls exploded in the background.
Bah ha ha - so true, I was one of those souls. Fortunately I have moved on to PS4 already. So much good stuff out & coming soon. It will keep me occupied on the home console front while Nintendo work out what the hell they are doing and who their market is. As someone else mentioned, I will probably wait a year or two before jumping into the next Nintendo home console after its released, if ever again. I've owned every home console since SNES. A very sad state of affairs.

@Apple5 - I might have gotten a PS4 for Christmas had Uncharted 4 released this holiday. Now I'll just wait for the slim bundle w/ the 1TB HDD next year.

Wii U has no future, but Yoshi, XCX, Skylanders and Lego Dimensions will keep me busy this holiday. And I still want to play Zelda U someday. Even if it also comes to NX that won't help me if I never buy an NX.

@electrolite77: Well if words are meaningless then I guess your post is meaningless, too? You get what I'm getting at?

They aren't meaningless because actions will follow (and those prove them wrong). When was the last time Nintendo stated something like that and didn't keep the promise? Never.

And I don't mean things they can't control, like (just made it up) "the Wii U will sell as well as the Wii did", but similar statements regarding releases and announcements. And after all, why would he say that if it wasn't what's going to happen?

The amount of negativity in the comments is saddening.

All the hate for Iwata here is a little annoying. At least he did the sensible thing and acknowledged that their E3 Digital Event was total crap and issued an apology (I don't care what Reggie says, it was an apology). Reggie is the one that went into full damage control mode and actually tried to DEFEND the Digital Event and all of his PR statements during E3 were either complete bullcrap or blatant lies.

Iwata has at least admitted Nintendo's mistakes. Despite what everyone says, Nintendo DID learn from the 3DS's launch issues, as all of those issues were fixed with the Wii U's launch. The only issue is that in the process of doing that, they created even more problems (a gimped social network, a slow OS, no late launch window game releases, etc.). Hopefully with NX, they'll tackle the woes of both the Wii U and 3DS's launches at the same time.

Iwata answered all of these questions sensibly and thoroughly and, in my personal opinion, truthfully. Had they asked these same questions to Reggie, I bet he would've lied or came up with some wild answers that didn't make any sense. Stop hating on Iwata, he's doing the best he can at the moment.

how can you not have a bit of hate when he really is saying BS? or the same thing he said last time and before that? but in other words E3 was spent doing bussiness with developers that were there not so much about the direct we got they needed to insure the NX was going to be "good" and had planned projects for it so that they could show us in 2016 what they working on even if it ends up failing...

His(or nintendos) idea of surprising us is how they fail like many mention abpve they should slowly release some specs or what the console will be able to do soon to get companies attention then surprise us with the games but doesnt seem they have that thought of mind at all or it wont even happen tbh?

I really hope nx is everything it's wanted for. A powerhouse on par or exceeding ps4 and xbone, home and handheld solutions in one, third party support, extensive back catalog spanning nes to wii, remastered wii u games, and crossbuy for home and portable for factors. Unfortunately I believe most people who have a wii u also have a next Gen console or gaming pc, such as me. If it's good enough Iight bite on nx. But as it stands I have wii u for Nintendo games Xbox one for the majority games ps4 for exclusives and pc for pc exclusives. Having already established the majority of next Gen library on Xbox I doubt I'd want to divide my catalog further by buying any third party games for nx

@DeAthgunzero I also hate that the gamepad is almost certainly dead, unless it is reintroduced as a smaller successor to the portable business with connectivity with nx. I think the gamepad is the most comfortable controller I've ever used and could not care less about its integration, selling gamepad separately with nx would be awesome, they would need to do better with integration for multi-player instead of inventory menus and maps, different views in star fox and motion controls. Sell it as a split screen solution for local multiplayer. Image playing evolve with two gamepads one nx the monster plays tv hunters on the gamepad with full-screen all around

For me this is a good indicator that NX will be a hybrid handheld/home console device.

It makes sense as Nintendo do not have the resources to develop for 2 dedicated machines now they are in HD format. This is clearly visible with the droughts in recent years and would be eradicated by having only one console to support.

Probably the reason why Iwata is so confident there will be no droughts on NX.

Any of you follow business QA sessions before?

He says he can't give details on NX for specific and arguably valid reasons, then some people rake him over the coals for being vague. The lessons learned from 3DS did not include the moment of the destroyed partnership with EA, of course. So the big third party support to keep games coming regularly lesson sort of fizzled. Even so, Nintendo did work hard with third parties as evidenced by games like Hyrule Warriors, Bayonetta 2, Star Fox, to keep games coming. This is part of the under-the-surface work that is continuing, right?

Also, continued diminishing sales doesn't mean they haven't been learning from failures at all. The market is constantly shifting and what has been successful in the past for a company doesn't always apply to a future market. The video game market has been particularly volatile and few have predicted its sweet spots to success very well.

Nintendo has misread things very badly in the past and taken risks that have paid off short-term but done damage long term. The successful hardware (like DS and Wii) has been often met with immediate derision from core gamers, while one ended up a darling and the other a pariah to the same gamers. Keeping in mind that focus on casuals on both gave them their initial success. (generations games on DS and Wii Sports on Wii)

It's a fickle business and Nintendo has always been a bit of an odd bird doing things their own way, seeking their own sense of games that they enjoy themselves. Makes some of the best games but also some of the most divisive and making things families can play together earns derision from a large segment of core gamers now. Of course they have been up and down and they make choices that look bad in hindsight.

I actually think Iwata-san has done a good job of keeping people up to date with Nintendo's current thinking on things. From blue-ocean strategy to now. He gets a lot of flak, but that's what happens when you are somewhat open. People just want more and more but there will be success and failure. Every company has it, but not every company is as forthcoming with its perspective on things.

My general optimism can't help but bring up the many things have been improved this generation that most can agree on: The Nintendo Direct, the Treehouse Live involvement, the expansion of Nintendo studios, the combining of the hardware groups, the initiative to finally solve the membership issues by partnering with DeNA, the continuing relevance in gaming despite a weakly accepted console through games like Mario Kart, Splatoon and even Super Mario Maker, and the apparently growing partnerships with other studios again giving us Hyrule Warriors and Bayonetta 2.

I don't know. None of these statements seemed very remarkable one way or the other.

Just scanning the comments I see people talking casual, casual, casual. Don't forget this: https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2014/08/shigeru_miyamoto_confidently_outlines_nintendos_move_from_casual_to_core
Nintendo has basically set up a strategy to be visible in the area of mobile games but pursue core gamers on its dedicated hardware.

Not saying it will work or not, but the intent is pretty clear on moving away from satisfying casual gamers who aren't looking for a challenge or deeper experience.

@DanteSolablood Regardless, it was profitable.

And while you may be right about Wii's fate, what about the DS? That thing sold like to the top of the world!

@Azikira Doesn't everybody?

@Artwark Selling guns to minors is profitable.. doesn't make it either good or popular.

The Gamecube made money but also started rumours that Nintendo was just for kids, that they were going to drop out of hardware and is generally considered by business leaders as a disaster. The DS & then the Wii saved Nintendo to a certain degree. And I agree, the DS sold really well at launch (despite a lackluster games line-up in the US/UK) - but then I attribute this more to the quality of the hardware & it being a NINTENDO HANDHELD. I own or have owned one of every Nintendo handheld (including every iteration of GBA, DS), but have never bought one at launch.

Nintendo isn't good at launching hardware, promoting hardware & have relied too much on the quality of their products to sell themselves. The launch of the 3DS was better managed than the launch of the DS in many ways, but by the time the 3DS was launched people were not inclined to trust Nintendo just because they were Nintendo. I am one of the people who bought a 3DS not long before the price dropped £100,

@Quorthon
Oh, you.

@Ryu_Niiyama Um,

@MewTheSmasher I just love how Iwata is like "what the heck are you guys...ah screw it I'll dance too."