Early NX Reveal Was To "Reinforce Commitment" To Dedicated Hardware, Claims Nintendo's Scott Moffitt

Iwata said this before. I don't know why you "claims" as if Moffit came up with it, or it's not completely believable.

Iwata said before, that the reason behind announcing that the NX is a thing, is to show that Nintendo is still committed to making Hardware.

@RupeeClock No, it doesn't. They didn't reveal anything. They only confirmed that they are working on new hardware, something they always do, so no big surprises there. Without specs or any idea of what the NX is going to be, developers don't have anything to work with.

Which makes no sense to me really because they announced they were working on new hardware before there was any doubt.

@RupeeClock 3rd Party's problem with developing for the Wii U, isn't console power, it's the Wii U's lesser Install Base, so they are less likely to make money off of a Wii U version. If Console Power was the problem, then the Wii, which isn't even a HD system, wouldn't get versions of games that appeared on PS3/Xbox 360. Consoles that are HD systems. The Wii got as much 3rd Party support as possible, because of have well it sold.

Iwata already said this. Hopefully it's something good. But I think all the people are expecting this expensive PS4 clone are going to be disappointed.

@RupeeClock that's why I think the NX will be Android based. That way the at least have support from Unity, Unreal engine, Game maker,etc as well as most free development tools.

@Octane some of the bigger publishers/developers get behind closed doors previews of the system, waaay before the public gets to see it.

@ikki5 at the moment they announced the deal for mobile games there was obviously doubt.

@Octane Wasn't there an article, that said that Nintendo showed developers something with the NX at E3, behind closed doors?

Saved us from months and months of pointless speculation and bad mouth clamming that Nintendo died.

@HugoSmits It was revealed well before the mobile thing that they were already working on the Wii U successor, they just never had a name or project name or anything.

Even still, with the way E3 went and what they've been doing recently with the Wii U, it just seems odd for them to say "Oh, we just announced the NX early and will give the Wii U a normal life span" considering how the Wii U is pretty much a dead platform. it just doesn't make sense for them to drag the Wii U on with it is such a failure marketing wise. Sure it made them some profits on the Wii U now but those are not going to hold steady and they'll be losing money pretty quickly with what they have coming. Delaying the Wii U termination will only hurt them more than what it will achieve. People want something new, both developers and consumers, it won't be like Sega where trust issues pop up with their constant releases.

Fun that almost everybody from nintendo references towards NX as content to enjoy in the living room. Not just a new handheld device, then.

And now they might just be saying THIS so that Wii U owners won't worry. But we'll just have to wait and see.

If they didn't announce the NX when they announced that they were going to develop smartphone games, then there would have been lots of rumours saying that Nintendo are going to completely abandon dedicated consoles.

@DBPirate There was basically nothing new for Wii U at E3. So yes, Wii U is dead.

im just happy to hear they will keep making gamesystems,all those stupid rumors scare me:).
imagine a world without a nintendo consule...PANIC

But what about the Wii U's future? Is it only me who wants to ask this question?

@HugoSmits True, but RupeeClock argued that announcing the system early would give developers more time to work on games for the system. This isn't true, because they could've easily showed a prototype off behind closed doors. They didn't have to reveal it publicly in order to let the developers know.

@Takerkaneanite6 There might've been, I'm not sure if that statement was ever confirmed or not. Nevertheless, that had nothing to do with the early reveal of NX. They could've showed developers some proto-type hardware without publicly revealing a codename to the public.

People are looking too much into it. They only revealed the codename of NX ''early'' to reinsure the public that they're still working on dedicated hardware systems. If they didn't make that mobile game announcement, we wouldn't have heard about the NX yet either.

Cant wait for more info. But I swear if Zelda Wii u is pushed to the nx platform I am done with nintendo.

Nintendo said 'We are making mobile games now.'
Fans groaned.
Later Nintendo said 'We are also making hardware to play our mobile games' Fans said 'WTF?'
Then it turns out that NX is a mobile device and Nintendo mobile games only runs on their mobile device.
Android and iOS users said 'booooo...'

@whodatninja Doesn't look like the Wii U has much of a future.

@Marshi I hate to break it to you, but that's probably what they're going for. Zelda Wii U wasn't just delayed to 2016, it was delayed indefinitely. You know what else has an indefinite release date? The NX. I don't think that's coincidence.

You'll probably see it on Wii U too of course... But it won't be a Wii U exclusive.

"Going back to the reveal, it was important for us to reinforce to our loyal game fans out there that we remain committed to the world of dedicated game platforms".... what about WiiU???

@whodatninja Ehhh I've had a Wii U since launch, and play it constantly. I play Earthbound, Harvest Moon, another Harvest Moon, the Castlevania games, Duck Tales, Contra, oh and umm, actually Wii U games, like
Mario 3D World
Mario Kart
NintendoLand
.and umm
ummm
Mass Effect was great on wii u but missing the dlc, so i sold it...call of duty black ops 2 was great but had no dlc so i sold it...
hmmm
Smash Bros!

3 years after i got the console, i still have 4 games for it.

I mean they're great games, but............i feel like the wii u died November 18th, 2012...

@manu0 So Xenoblade X, that fire emblem crossover,Yoshis Wolly world,Mario Maker, And Star fox didn't exist?

@LilC nothing NEW.

All the non-reveal reveals are beginning to make it seem like the talking heads need to BE committed.

This was the statement from the beginning… it was even part of the 'reveal'.

'As proof that Nintendo maintains strong enthusiasm for the dedicated game system business, let me confirm that Nintendo is currently developing a dedicated game platform with a brand-new concept under the development codename "NX." It is too early to elaborate on the details of this project, but we hope to share more information with you next year.'

I don't understand how there was any confusion or why it has had to be explained again and again. Internet folks seem to need a refresher in reading comprehension skills.

Yes we get it. Stop telling us the same damn thing over and over and redirect that energy toward convincing the higher ups to make a good console for once. And if it's a handheld, don't make it a flimsy toy that likes to emo-cut itself.

This was exactly what I thought, and hope the NX takes its time. The Wii U and 3DS still have some life them and should keep going for a few years if you ask me.

oh please!... you need to commit in supporting your existing hardware! cause fans need to feel that to aquire your next platform. everyone knows you're going to release another platform, as also MS and Sony will - no big surprise. Admiting this too soon does more bad than good...

The Wii U is dead but not enough to just toss it out. There is and will be plenty of fun to have with it.

The NX already has Square Enix on-board and that is huge! Final Fantasy might be coming back to Nintendo where the started. And we got Dragon Quest games coming too.

I'm both excited and leery. A game that will be coming out for both the 3DS and NX makes me wonder how weak the NX could be. The New 3DS can push Xenoblade Chronicles, which proves it is powerful but it is still using scaled down Wii graphics which would not take much power to accomplish.

What does give me some excitement is that Final Fantasy XIV might be ported. This means that finally, Nintendo might have something that companies will want to port to. Companies don't want to port to the Wii U because of all the work involved to take games coded for x86 and code them for IBM's Power architecture. They also don't want to take their beautiful graphics and scale them down by reducing detail and removing objects (imagine Skyrim with no plant life). If Square Enix is willing to port to the NX, then that should give you some idea of what its capabilities could be. They could match or exceed the PS4 and XBONE. The one thing I do not see that the NX will be capable of is 4k but that makes no sense for any console to do.

Well duh, Iwata (R.I.P.) said the same thing when he announced the DeNA partnership and NX.

People forget so easily in the gaming world.

@Takerkaneanite6 It is and it isn't. It's the fact that only 5% of the userbase purchases any third party title combined with the low install base that makes it unappealing. That is compounded by the now unique chipset and inability to use the most popular engines. Throw on that there is a lack of meaningful internal storage built into the console. Finally, top it with a poorly designed network infrastructure (on xbox chat is built in, on Nintendo you have to build it for example).

If there was money to be made, the third parties would fall over themselves to make it. Hence why the Wii got a lot of games at first. It was only when the mainstream gaming failed to sell while the shovelware did sell that the Wii fell into a hole of crapware. Even then, publishers couldn't entirely ignore it because of the install base.

I think it's fine that they announced the NX early. It makes the hardware sound mysterious, with tidbits of news coming in every now and then despite no one knowing anything about it.

So far they have a nice little chunk of the indie scene, would like to see them build on those relationships with the NX.

Executive VP of sales? So this is basically just his guess, as he probably had no say in the matter. Like when Iwata apologized for a bad E3 showing, but then Reggie said it wasn't an apoligy, even though Iwata us in Jspan, Reggie is in the US, and knowing Reggie he probably didn't even know about the tweet until he read it.

And really, NX being included in that DeNA announcement isn't really a bad choice, it's easy to under stand why they did under the circumstances. But opening the E3 Nintendo Direct by saying NX? Where's the context, how does that make any sense at all? The only way to translate that is - "We know WiiU is dead, but don't worry we are working on a new console for next year." Nintendo themselves said they didn't talk about Zelda U b/c it isn't coming out soon, therefore the fact that Reggie DID mention NX must mean it is coming out before Zelda, Nintendo basically said so.

It was still a terrible, terrible idea. Telling us "We're working on something because we're always working on something," is one thing, but giving it a name and bringing it up all the time has done nothing but convince people to stop buying Wii U's.

Is that a Mario candy tin? I have one of those sitting around somewhere...

@crimsontadpoles: Pretty much, I believe this is precisely the reason they announced NX, b/c the announcement of making mobile would cause a stir w/ the fans/consumer base, & investors, that think Nintendo had basically said "We're done in the hardware business". So, this kinda put Nintendo in a tight spot: they felt that to announce making mobile content, they also had to announce new hardware in-the-making.

@Everyone_Else: In my opinion, though, Nintendo could have more cleverly handled this situation. For example, they could have cleverly said, something like, "We're going to continue making great content for our current platforms, & we are also continuing to always create new hardware ideas". Or, something to that effect. The way they did it, more, or less causes no one, w/ even minor knowledge of the "NX"'s existence, to not want a WU.

I just got mine last year. I truly hope Nintendo doesn't abandon it, so soon. I can't afford a new console at the drop of a hat. Money talks, but Nintendo needs to consider that a portion of its consumerbase doesn't have money to throw around. I'd like to replace my 3ds, if need be(l/r triggers failed, blowing into them doesn't work), but w/ "NX" coming around in a year, or 2, & "NX" maybe going to be a hybrid(console/mobile), the 3ds, which is older than the WU, will also face retirement, as the "current platform". That doesn't stop me from playing it, it's just not gonna get new titles(probably from any souce, Nintendo, or otherwise), if it's not a current platform. Except maybe from the homebrew/emulation scene, since it won't get any more "stability" updates.

It's sad that Wii U will have just a normal life span being Nintendo's best hardware yet. There are enough great games out and many more even better games coming, and honestly they look great, even next to most XBOne and PS4 games. Even PC veterans are amazed the first time they see Mario Kart 8 or DKC: Tropical Freeze running. Of course NX was announced at a time when rumours where spreading about Nintendo going out of the home console business. It's all a bit crazy considering the huge jump in hardware power from Wii to Wii U.

If they really wanted to reinforce commitment to dedicated hardware they should be making games for Wii U instead of abandoning it and making filler titles like amiibo festival

@nintenkid: Nintendo is making Wii U games, and pretty fantastic ones at that, not just in glorious HD but also with orchestral/liveband soundtracks now!
Have you heard about Kirby and the Rainbow-Paintbrush (May), Splatoon (June), Yoshi's Woolly World (July), Devil's Third (August), Super Mario Maker (September), Project Zero: Maiden of The Black Shrine (October), Starfox Zero (November), Xenoblade Chronicles X (December), The Legend of Zelda U (2016), Fire Emblem X Shin Megami Tensei (2016), etc. etc.

@Octane except that nintendo had NX running at E3 for third party developers exclusively and dome developers already have development kits. Some games are already confirmed for it, such as that dragon quest game or whatever it's called. Never played it. But it's huge in Japan and the import scene

Definitely good PR from the sales rep.... I'm probably the minority here but how can people say they are no games to play on the Wii u with all the games coming out .. Look at @SKTTR 's post ...

I don't have the time To even play all theses games!! 😕 not hating just wondering 😊

That's really yesterday's news, Iwata said the exact same thing when he announced the DeNA partnership and NX.

Someone's gonna have to do some serious searching/researching, because I can't find the source for what I'm about to say, but I read somewhere the other day that NX is actually a term used in some professional industry or something to specifically describe a totally new or different idea, something that hasn't been done before and is being tried/tested for the first time, or something like that. I can't remember where I saw it or what industry it was used in, possibly film/TV or maybe computer designs, but it was kinda spot-on in terms of explaining exactly why I believe NX is in fact codenamed NX. The way it was used in that source and the fact Nintendo has used it as a codename was really quite telling.

I know I'm being a bit ambiguous but that's because I seriously can't remember where I saw it, but I just remember seeing it and thinking "Holly sh*t. I know this must be exactly/specifically why Nintendo called gave NX the codename it did and I really should take a note of this somewhere, or just mention it in a blog or something."—but I didn't

All I know is that is doesn't mean "NeXt" or "Nintendo-something", or even "cross-over/cross-platform" or whatever else other people have been speculating it means. Not that it won't be cross-platform, but that's not what the NX actually stands for—Not as far as I'm concerned, based on this very specific use I saw the other day.

I REALLY wish I could remember where the hell I saw it...

NX means whatever nintendo decides it means, it's just a codename, I don't remember nintendo ever releasing a dolphin or a nitro.

Why do we have to disect every comment that comes out.

Lets just summarise what we know:

NX is the codename of a new console that nintendo is working on. It looks likely to be a home console at least in some fashion, and will come out at some point in the future, thats about it.

@Morph Trust me; if you'd seen the little article or whatever it was that I'd seen that gave a very specific use for the NX moniker, you'd know there was a very specific reason Nintendo also chose NX and the codename for its new system, over every other possible and random codename. A reason that hints as to exactly what Nintendo is thinking with this new console/platform.

I still think the announcement of the NX was too early which will bleed Wii U sales even further for the saavy gamer consumer. It also shows that Nintendo is accepting the Wii U's defeat, which sends a downward message to those who invested in it or were potential buyers. In any case, the positive is what they're committed to with the NX, which impressed shareholders, investors, and gamers, so that's the upside. All I care about is if Nintendo will deliver. I love their gimmicks personally, but the gamers, devs, publishers, and world in general has "grown up", and simple tricks will not cut it anymore. Strike the balance between gimmick and hardcore and you will have one of the finest Nintendo systems ever. It's all on Nintendo at this point.

@russellohh you illustrate the problem perfectly: The core library for Wii U is great but it's just so small that, for me anyway, there isn't enough to keep me playing. Thankfully I still have a backlog of PS3 games.

@GiSWiG That game that is coming out on the 3ds and (possibly) NX just happens to also have a PS4 version as well. For all we know thy are hoping to make the NX a port of the PS4 game.

If they were truly committed then they would release software not more hardware.

@FlaygletheBagel I'll hate to break this to you. You say, like many other people that the new Zelda game is being a cross-platform release like Twilight Princess, but consider this. The Gamecube already had an exclusive game on it, Wind Waker, so they ported the extra game to the wii. Now the Wii didn't have an exclusive Zelda game yet, so they didn't port Skyward Sword to wii u despite it being far in the wii's life span. The wii u has no exclusive zelda, plus the delay was caused by a new idea in the creative department, not a business decision. All zelda games have been delayed, and all nintendo consoles have at least one exclusive Zelda game. Zelda Wii u is not going to NX.

@Sam_Loser2 exactly no need to rush. Wii U is doing fine these days especially in Japan and with all the amiibo. Big games coming up with Mario Maker, Xenoblade X, Starfox and Zelda. All good from my perspective.
@SKTTR very nicely said. Honestly, I have no idea sometimes where these comments come from. Unbelievable.

The Pokemon Shuffle thing is justifiable because even though Nintendo is the parent company, The Pokemon Company is still it's own entity and has rights to do whatever they want with their IP.

@Zyph pretty sure that's incorrect

@Morph Sure. But at the very least it's of course with consent and cooperation with Nintendo and the move was pretty logical considering the nature and type of the game like the card game and then this.

The early NX reveal got Square Enix interested, that's for sure.

I just hope NX has at least enough power to load games at the speed I expect from a Nintendo. Wii U failed horribly in that respect, despite 5 previous consoles that were the opposite.

@DESS-M-8 Can you (or anyone else for that matter) confirm they had the NX running behind closed doors at E3? I cannot recall if that was just a rumour or actually confirmed.

Nevertheless, is doesn't contradict my statement. RupeeClock originally said that they revealed NX early so that game developers have more time to develop games for NX. But as you said yourself, that is all done behind closed doors. They could've showed the NX to developers without publicly revealing its codename. Thus, the early NX reveal was nothing more than a reassurance that Nintendo will continue making dedicated hardware and not go mobile or third party or whatever the doom and gloom articles have been saying.

EDIT: As for Dragon Quest XI and all the other Square Enix games that are rumoured to be ported to NX, Square Enix themselves have stated that they would like to, but don't know anything about the NX yet, and haven't negotiated with Nintendo yet either. That's why nothing has been officially confirmed, because they don't know even what the NX is yet.

@Octane At the moment Nintendo is showing stuff outside the company itself (even closed doors), stuff starts to leak out. It’s better to be on top of things; so it makes sense to announce the system and control the media, instead of rumors starting to leak.

Of course rumors leak anyway, but now Nintendo is able to publicly denounce them (which they already did a few times).

I still really want to get a wiiu but now, everyone is saying its dead. ;_;

@HugoSmits Sure, but still, they could've waited until E3, or whenever they started talking to third parties, if that's true. The original announcement was nothing more than a reassurance.

Do you have any source by the way? I can't find any confirmation that they're showing the NX to third parties. I'm sure I read something like that, but I'm not sure if that was just a rumour or not.

I may like my Wii U, but I will have to admit that the console is a failure. They have good games and some of them have become hits, but where is all of the big adventure titles that take more than a few hours to beat? They keep on moving the next Zelda title further and further into 2016, and for some reason, I think they'll do a cross-over like they did with Twilight Princess. I think when they announce the NX this holiday, they'll have an early release date for it. As far as companies on board, nintendo sony and microsoft show off consoles before the public's eyes...that way, companies have the time to develop for it and have games ready for launch or early into the lifecycle. I just hope that nintendo has a good launch library this time, not making purchasers wait 6 months of longer for a game to come out.

I thought this was made clear many times already. Nintendo weren't being deceptive about it at all.

Just note the language used, "dedicated gaming platform" and "dedicated game device business." He also states enjoying in the living room. Not sure this means Wii U replacement at all.

So parents can't afford to buy their kids a games console, yet they can afford to buy each one a smartphone? Sigh, this is why middle school kids keep getting in trouble at school with their phones. They shouldn't need any kind of cell phone until they or their friends can drive.

What's that, they want a portable device that can go online? Just get them a (2/3)DS. True, some advanced online content won't work, and it requires a wi-fi signal, but that's good enough when combined with the much superior control scheme options and games library.

We already knew this, but thanks, Scott.

It's amazing how some folks have over reacted to the NX "reveal". I use that term loosely because the only thing that was really revealed was the codename. And even before we knew it's official codename Nintendo had already mentioned that they were developing ideas for new hardware. In some ways it could prove to be a brilliant move because instead of people saying that Nintendo is giving up on the console market and "going mobile" now people are wondering what will NX be. Although so little is known about NX right now that most people are fearing that it will repeat the wii U's limitations but if Nintendo can get more positive rumblings from third parties that would likely bring about a turn around in people's negative expectations. That DQ XI quasi-announcement certainly got people talking. If Nintendo can get more of that happening and then for that to materialise into games and ongoing support then, hey sky's the limit.

@Octane of course they won't confirm anything. NDA's my good man. Have you heard nintendo say they're working on which specific titles for NX?
No.
Can you 100% guarantee that they are developing a number of software titles?
Of course they are.
What a company reveals publicly that they are developing and what they are actually working on are two wholly different things.
Even more so when it comes to a soon to be released console.

@DESS-M-8 Well, exactly. As long as there is no confirmation, nothing is certain. We do not know whether they are sharing details with third parties or not. It's possible, and probable, but not certain.

Anyway, my original point was something completely different, the first mention of NX was a reassurance (the the fans and media), it wasn't meant as a reveal for third party developers, that happens behind closed doors anyway.