Sources Suggest Nintendo NX Is A Fusion Of Home And Mobile Hardware Powered By "Industry-Leading" Tech

Glad to hear. Let the leaks begin. I suspect it will use Zen.

Home system with additional portable unit. Cutting edge chips. Sounds...expensive

The dam is about to burst with all of these unofficial leaks.

I've owned more Virtual boy games than wii u games, but with the possible specs, portable bit, etc....hmmm

I'm surprised there isn't an article on the Nintendo Network ID maintenance on Monday.

Cool! As long as its not a "Link your IPhone to the base" sort of thing, I'm happy. This sounds legitimately cool!

I still really want to get a PS4, just holding out for a Final Fantasy VII: Remake limited edition console. I know it will happen.

Here, I'll fix this. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Nintendo NX development kits have been issued to third parties, have begun collecting dust, third parties blame the consumers for only buying first party games on Nintendo systems.

@abe_hikura I'd assume $100 more than the Wii U was at launch, but not sure. The PS4 is already a few years old- i saw the first dev kit for it in early 2012. My PC is faster and handles most games better than an Xbone, and cost $380. Although 3DS and such are always around $200 at launch, my quadcore Android that has graphics and specs much nicer than the 3DS...costs $40. Essentially, they're so late in the game, and the PS4 and Xbone were already older PCs when they launched, i can see Nintendo launching a system that will compete with those quite cheaply.

'Can't wait!

@WebHead What's Zen?

I'm liking what I'm hearing - a lot of the concerns of Wii U are being met by the sounds of things.

Look at the manufacturing efficiency of the 2Ds, they're now selling them for £80 and still making profit (I strongly expect the mobile unit to be a 2DS style tablet)

Take the disc drive out (expensive hardware) and you now have a system cheaper and potentially more powerful than Wii U. Third parties have been included early. Looking good so far.

@tysonfury upcoming AMD chip soc/architecture.

It'll be interesting to watch how this turns out. I would have thought that if a handheld and home console have the same specs, either it's power will be low for a home console, or it'll be really expensive as a handheld. Nintendo have a habit of proving me wrong, so I'm looking forward to seeing it.

I think it's more important now, more then it's ever been before; that Nintendo put the strongest system on the shelves when the NX comes out. I don't think they can afford to put out a system that is weaker then what's already out there (PS4 & Xbone). Of course it will come at a hefty price I'm sure.

I want to see games like Fallout 4 on the next Nintendo system and I think having a powerful system will help bring those type of developers back to Nintendo systems again.

@Grumblevolcano

Yeah, I really hope they do it the right way this time around. The Wii U's NNID management system sucks. You shouldn't have to call the customer support line just to unlink your ID, or access it from a different system. I think they were just overly concerned with trolls taking advantage of multiple Miiverse accounts. I never even use the app anymore, since they did that aweful redesign.

I remain skeptical to fusion between home console and portable. Not that it's not likely to happen with the NX, much of the rumors surrounding the system point to exactly this happening.

The Wii U is a bit overpriced because of the Gamepad, compared to how useful it is. I enjoy Off-TV play when I use the TV for something else, but I would take a Pro Controller and TV-screen over the Gamepad in most scenarios.

If they make some sort of Gamepad you can take anywhere. There is no need for buying two separate systems, which is a good thing. Making the system with cutting edge hardware would also take the price tag high.

I think the best approach is to just make a good home console, and a portable that can be used with it, just like the Gamepad only better, sold separately.

Anyway, looking forward to what they have in mind with the NX.

Hopefully at least most of this turns out to be true. Cost will more than likely be the issue here, but giving out one handheld would make sense, then you just buy more as needed.

I was really not expecting Nintendo to go the route EVERYBODY thinks they're going. I'm still skeptical, or maybe this isn't the NX's only feature. Nintendo's gotta know that this is the #1 idea on people's minds, and they love doing the unexpected.

@PaperMario64

Yeah, pretty much sums up my feelings as well, although, I will say that they could very easily do various bundles. One that has just the console, and one that has the handheld with it for a higher price. That way it gives people the option.

If it does turn out to be this way, then my concern is with people who like handheld games only. At least at the moment, there doesn't seem to be an option for them. We'll see though.

@russellohh "my quadcore Android that has graphics and specs much nicer than the 3DS...costs $40" That's probably subsidized by your phone plan, and not an accurate measure of the actual cost of the device.

I'm very highly skeptical of the top shelf specs bit. The same rumors were swirling about the Wii U when it was still "project cafe." I would expect NX to be on par with PS4 and XBO, but no better. However, the concept of switching between mobile and console on the same platform is of great interest to me. That should allow Nintendo to merge its console and handheld game development divisions and reduce game droughts. That will be huge for a company that has to work so hard to support its systems with its own games.

It will be interesting to see how the DeNA and mobile gaming projects work together with this concept. Interesting days ahead for the Big N.

I still don't think Nintendo will force the Japanese market to buy a console and a handheld together. I believe that they will, at least for the Japanese market, sell the handheld separately.

Just watch as EA announce another unprecedented partnership with Nintendo at e3 next year!

@Nicolai

Yeah there's probably a curveball in there somewhere. I think all of us here, are hoping for zero gimmicks this time. That said, merging the platforms just makes sense with how Nintendo is right now. We go through too many dry spells. First the 3DS has nothing coming out while the Wii U is booming, or vise-versa. This way at least everyone is more integrated at Nintendo.

Iwata hinted that the successors of the 3DS and Wii U would run on the same OS, so I do find at least most of this incredibly likely. But yeah, we'll see.

Must stay calm and keep expectations in check but new consoles, especially Nintendo's, always get me excited!

I bet Sony is spending today trying to get confirmation on this. If they get a wiff that this is true they'll be hurrying a Vita/ps4 bundle and gearing up their PR machine again. "why buy Nintendo's system when ours awkwardly dose the same?"

I'm not sure i like the idea of having to buy both the handheld and console at the same time.

I honestly couldn't be happier with this news. A powerful system that supports both domestic and portable play. Damn!

Give me backwards compatibility with Wii U and 3DS and I'll be as happy as can be.

ive not a good feeling about the nx,i know its just rumors but i like a lot of them.i wish this is true and i wish the return to the cartriges rumor is true also

@abe_hikura that is my idea it is a home console that is like the ps4 but a little more powerful and a handheld that is more powerful than the vita.and will be sold separately but not too expensive.

I just want another chance to use a controller/unit with a touchscreen. Inputting download codes on my 360 is agony after using the Wii U and 3DS on screen keyboard.

@Akira_1975 At the moment you have to choose between (ease of) third party and Backwards compatibility (at launch)

I think delaying backwards compatibility till after launch would be wise anyway, the NX needs to distance itself from the Wii branding early on. let the early adopters pick up the console on its potential and let them sell it to others. then update it to play Wii U/3DS games to sweeten the deal and lure in those who skipped wii u/3ds

Awesome if it's true (I hope so). Home console and handheld hybrid along with "industry-leading graphics" is just what I wanted the NX to be!

Industry leading?

That's certainly nicer than the "not as strong as a PS4" rumors.

If it is a hybrid, they had better make the portable units available to buy separately.

This is really good news (^_^)

@andrew20 You're living in a fool's paradise, brother.

I don't know if they'll actually link up the console and mobile parts like a Wii U and Gamepad. It would make a lot more sense if there was a console box and a handheld that played the same games. Like IPhone, iPad and Apple TV all running the same stuff. You buy it once, then choose how you want to play it.

The comments on industry leading tech is the exciting bit for me. If they make it easy to port, people WILL port at first, and then if they sell, the multplats keep coming.

@earthboundlink Its not subsidized. I use a $30 a month unlimited Data/voice/text plan from Virgin Mobile. My phones are 100% paid for by me, and not subsidized into the plan- you can get a 4-core 2 GHz LG Volt or Kyocera Hydro for $40-90. Even the iPhone 5, with all its prettyness, is sub $200 now. A generic android is super cheap. The top shelf specs is also.....suspect? I too think it will basically be a PS4, only with fancy take away stuff. At this point, the Vita can basically do a PS3 game and it looks the same on both- the NX could do a full PS4-quality experience on a handheld, almost. If Nintendo got creative, or ran the same game at lower rates/resolutions etc, i can def see me carrying the low-res version of a game like Dragon Age Inquisition in my pocket- or at the very least, Mario 9 at home and in my pocket on the NX attachment, and Fallout 4/Dragon Age on just the home portion. Honestly, this might be the most excited i've been about a nintendo console in many y ears, and i buy all of them at launch

Interesting. Would love to know what architecture Nintendo went with this time. Common sense will be X86 on the home console unit and ARM on mobile unit. Game will be separate I guess if they go with this setup, but the mobile unit could tether to the home unit, making it the second screen and could support multiple mobile unit. Can't wait to hear more next year.

My guess will be a home console unit that is as strong as PS4 or a little better, and every purchase included a mobile console unit that's as strong as Vita or better. The price might compete with PS4 or maybe $50-$100 more. The mobile console unit could also be purchased separately for handheld user only.

I think that might be a good idea, keeping the idea of secondary screen gaming but drop the Gamepad in favor of mobile unit. Sort of like PS4 and Vita setup, but more integrated.

Sounds pretty good. Not sure about fusion of console and handheld, but not totally against. Maybe 2 separate products running the same software and able to play the same games. High specs would be welcome. Backwards compatibility with Wii U gamepad would be amazing, but not sure I can see backwards compatibility happening. 3DS cartridge slot would be welcome. Not sure if that is possible either.

Just hope it won't be too pricey. You know a lot of people won't justify buying Nintendo games if the price is too high. Maybe offer bundles, like one with both and each sold separately to lower the costs? They could of easily offered a cheaper option on Wii U if they made a console and Pro Controller bundle and sold the gamepad separate as well.

When I read mobile though, what popped to mind was using your phone like a Wii U Gamepad touch screen....

If this turns out to be the case, I'll be disappointed if they no longer make games designed specifically for handheld...but home console style games on handheld? Count me in, I've loved the recent ports like Majora's Mask and Xenoblade. That being said, there needs to be a way of playing HD on whatever portable device it is. One of the biggest negatives for me on Wii U is games where the GamePad is the main display (the latest Kirby) meaning you miss out on the benefit of HD on the TV. If I'm to play Zelda on the NX away from my TV, I don't want to feel I'm missing out.

@Sakura I would love to be able to use the Gamepad for off Tv play on the NX when (assuming its bundled) some is using the handheld

I hope the specs are beastly.

So NX is a more powerful Wii U with a tablet controller that you can carry outside the house anywhere?

To calrify a bit about the expected performance:
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Carrizo-in-Review-How-does-AMD-s-A10-8700P-Perform.147654.0.html
At 15 W TDP, the 8700p is likely comparable to the Wii U on the GPU side, and it's not the most powerful AMD iGPU. Now, if they use Zen CPU and Arctic Islands GPU they will use also 14nm/16nm FinFET, which means power consumption will be mostly halved. If Zen and Arctic Islands are much more efficient in performance per Watt, a 5 Watt fanless system as powerful as the Wii U might be feasible.

Could this mean main series Pokemon games on your television?

Industry leading? I hope it's a 128-bit system, that will beat the PC too. Hehehe.

@Ralizah Industry leading in mobile is still not at the same level as PS4. Mobile CPUs are more power efficient, and less capable (but not by much, really).

What's bigger, the hype train or the rumor train?

My wallet!

Pretty much what I expected. I just hope they can pull it off in a way that makes sense and that everything is seamless between the portable and home console. I also hope it's not too expensive. Either way I'm very curious to hear more.

One theory I have is that the NX will be a "pay what you want" hybrid console. Basically, the "handheld" and the "console" part of the NX are sold separately, and add-ons are available for each devoce to turn it into the hybrid, or it can be bought as a complete bundle for a little less than if it was bought separately. This would also go along with the idea of an optional disk drive.

@Zelkardaim One of my most favourite gifs ever, and so very appropriate. I'm starting my NX savings fund today.

Hoping beyond hope that 3DS form factor is retained for the portable and includes cellphone capability.

Best console ever, plus best handheld ever, plus best mobile ever, all for under £200 - fantastic!

@manu0 That was exactly what I was thinking but theres a point in htis concept. In Japan, mobility is everything, what if they took this "cross platform play" concept to the max, what if you could play the game at home with both screens and then when you are off to work you could continue playing on the mobile device, of course with less functionalities, the gameplay would be different but it would be a mix of all the concepts they have. Thats what the dreamcast vmu aimed at, a couple of sony early handhelds. And I dont know If you knew, but the motion technology on the wii remotes were first used, early versions of it of course on a wario game for the gameboy advance. Nintendo is constantly rewroknig their concepts, and people forget about the use of the 3ds as a smash controller for the wii u version, thats a key.. they use games as a way of beta testing the concepts they will use next, if we want to speculate, that would be a good start, understand history to better understand the future...

I've started putting aside €30 per month since last July. If it comes out in November next year, I'll have enough dough for the console and a couple of games.

But Nintendo had better learned form their Wii and Wii U mistakes !! I want 3rd party exclusives too this time.

@NintendoFan4Lyf I'm pretty sure the only reason Nintedo didn't include Dolby and DTS decoders was because of the licensing costs. And the same goes for Audio CD and BD support.

I'm not really convinced by the hybrid concept - I'll wait for a official version from Nintendo next year... Until then, it will be "wait and see". I really prefer a more traditional console format.

@abe_hikura I'm hoping the gamepad is compatible, but wondering also if the handheld bit might take the place of the gamepad. I suppose that could work, but would like more value for those who have a Wii U. Have a feeling they might just drop everything to do with the Wii U though I wish they'd tell us already! Still, feeling more positive about this rumour than I have been about a low-powered, budget, Nintendo-only game system. They only really have the 2 choices; I hope they take the high-spec route so we can get 3rd party support and a wide install base for some longevity. I'd like a definition of these "fearsome" specs.

@Sample_Text That would be ideal! Choose your own system set up, a bit like with PC peripherals/TV media centres.

As long as the "mobile unit" can fit in my pocket comfortably.

@MoonKnight7 I'm kinda hoping for more gimmicks, in a sense. I want Nintendo to do something that isn't what the Vita already is to the PS4. Motion-controls, 3D, and second-screen gaming have been a blast.

Except for the last sentence in the article, which is pure speculation, the rest of the information here matches exactly my prediction on the forums.

Make it at least as powerful as PS4 and Xbone and there might be a chance to compete with them. Many have bought one of those consoles already though by the point NX launches so it has to be A REALLY GOOD console.

This is the first NX report that I actually want to be 100% accurate. Fingers crossed!

Considering how M$ is trying to get people back to XB1 with BC, I can't imagine Nintendo not offering it, at least for the handheld version (ARM is still the leading portable chip... heck iPhones use a variant of ARM IIRC).

As for the Wii/WiiU compatibility, I hope they put that in. It would let them sell their existing WiiU games for the NX.

I mean... ease of development isn't about processor architecture, nobody programs in assembly anymore, its all about libraries and engines. The Wii and WiiU were difficult because they used a different control scheme. (Remember Xbox 360 was the easiest of last gen to port PC games to... and it used a PPC chip).

If they have the same OS for both, and it compiles to a FAT binary (like the universal apps on OSX did), they could use ARM for the handheld and PPC for the main machine and achieve their goals.

As long as all my 3DS and Wii U/Wii digital content is transferable, I'll be happy

So basically a Wii U but with a slightly less bad controller that most quality games force you to use?

Good to combine home console with the mobile unit - I wanted to purchased a mobile unit like 3DS for long, because it seems to have more games than Wii U.

This sounds interesting. I hope the price is not that high though.

@NintendoFan4Lyf No way this would be 4K compatible. It's not even a standard for PC yet.

So which 3rd party is getting in trouble for blabbing?

I heard about this last year... And NOBODY believed me... Well I am glad the news is finally "out".

Also get ready for account bound games, not system bound. Buy a game once have it available on ALL systems. Lost, sold, or your console stolen? No problem! Just get a new one and sign in and all your purchases are there to re-download. No need to call up Nintendo Customer Service to get all your games transferred. All your previous purchases will be account bound as well.

This does look promising, and is also what many have been predicting for a while now. I'm all for it as long as the mobile unit is a decent pocket size.

Sounds way too good to be true. Really sounds like a repeat of the wishes that fans have been begging for for a couple years now, including mine.
This is Nintendo, when was the last time they made a system that fans indisputably actually wanted?
And I seriously can't believe any bull crap that states Nintendo is using industry leading technology anymore. This gen proved that those words are automatically lies when describing a new Nintendo console.

@QBertFarnsworth Here, I'll fix this for you:

"third parties blame the consumers for only buying first party games on Nintendo systems."

"third parties blame the consumers for only buying first party games on Nintendo HOME systems."

Monster Hunter, Yokai Watch, Dragon Quest - 3DS gets a lot of 3rd party support, especially in Japan. Hence the new "hybrid", which will basically be a portable w/ TV out. It's Nintndo's first step towards getting out of the home console wars.

I guess we'll see but I'm still wary of what Nintendo's going to do and where it's going to go with the NX.

@Damo

" - back in July Square Enix stated that it intended to bring Dragon Quest XI to the new console. Given that the game is also coming to the PS4, it is likely that NX will offer a similar level of power to Sony's console - it could even have an advantage over the rival system, as well as the Xbox One."

You left out that DQXI is also coming ot 3DS, so NX could just be a 3DS port, like Zelda:TP on both Gamecube and Wii.

And you know it's coming to 3DS, you wrote this piece 2 1/2 months ago.

https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2015/07/dragon_quest_xi_is_coming_to_the_nintendo_3ds_and_nintendo_nx

For the first time, I'm starting to believe that Zelda might actually launch on NX, instead lf Wii U, which in turn makes me believe Twilight Princess HD is real. You know, as an "apology" to Wii U owners for not bringing a new Zelda.

I'll also just take this opportunity to post my own idea for NX here again:

https://inceptionalnews.wordpress.com/2015/06/26/heres-the-gist-of-my-idea-for-nintendos-nx/

@Sample_Text If the disc drive is "optional," you've made it a download-only system. No one will ever make physical games they lose money on when 99 percent of the ownership will get the game digitally.

I'm sceptical about the specs and/or handheld component simply because of the cost. How will Nintendo keep the system affordable with a mobile unit included? The gamepad was the main reason the wii u was so expensive and why Nintendo were unable to reduce the cost. Will they want to make the same gamble again?

"Given that the game is also coming to the PS4, it is likely that NX will offer a similar level of power to Sony's console - it could even have an advantage over the rival system, as well as the Xbox One."

If it's not MORE powerful than both those consoles, assuming it's some kind of normal home console (in part at least), then it's already fallen in exactly the same trap that both the Wii and Wii U fell into imo; they were both last-gen tech inside what were meant to be next-gen consoles, and far behind the power of the other next-gen consoles at the time.

NX is not Nintendo's current-gen console, that's the Wii U (and it was greatly underpowered when compared to the current-gen competition), so the NX needs to be more powerful than any current-gen systems or else it's already way behind the technology curve—unless it's not quite a normal home console as we imagine it, and maybe then, and kinda only then, it could get away with being current-gen power once again (like in my idea for NX above for example).

I'm just very wary of anything I'm hearing from Nintendo, or rumours, at this point.

@Nintendian
why would need a 128 bit processor a A 64-bit register can store over18 quintillion different values. What you want is pipelined processor that has huge caches, processors work really fast, the major bottle neck comes from loading data in and out big caches = better performance. the size of processors general purpose registers mean very little.

This is what microsoft did with the xbox one and 360 had processors with huge caches thats 360 wiped the ps3 and why the xbox one wipes the floor on ps4 too, sure it cost Microsoft silicon real estate (not alone the cost of producing a die like that) meaning they had reduce the amount of vector units the gpu had. but from performance stand point a bigger cache will always give you better performance than adding more logic.

The big move from 32bit 64bit was a memory addressing issue, in that you could have no more memory addresses 4GB including the addressing of ram and other devices.

Besides The ICL 2900 has had a 128-bit accumulator, and its instruction set included 128-bit floating points. The size of the computers acutecture rarely has anything to do with it performance.

@Nintendian
why would need a 128 bit processor a A 64-bit register can store over18 quintillion different values. What you want is pipelined processor that has huge caches, processors work really fast, the major bottle neck comes from loading data in and out big caches = better performance. the size of processors general purpose registers mean very little.

This is what microsoft did with the xbox one and 360 had processors with huge caches thats 360 wiped the ps3 and why the xbox one wipes the floor on ps4 too, sure it cost Microsoft silicon real estate (not alone the cost of producing a die like that) meaning they had reduce the amount of vector units the gpu had. but from performance stand point a bigger cache will always give you better performance than adding more logic.

The big move from 32bit 64bit was a memory addressing issue, in that you could have no more memory addresses 4GB including the addressing of ram and other devices.

Besides The ICL 2900 has had a 128-bit accumulator, and its instruction set included 128-bit floating points. The size of the computers acutecture rarely has anything to do with it performance.

THE HYYYYYYPE!!!

If the portable included functions as a gamepad, and both can be sold separately (but with it being cheaper buying them together), then I think this is excellent news. I've already got money put aside for this, I hope they pull it off.

This means main series Pokemon games on telly! 😃😃😃

@russellohh Your sarcasm is noted, but if that's actually true please please please play some Wii U games already.

I'm excited. I hope Kingdom Hearts 3 and 2.8 gets ported over to NX because I don't want to buy a PS4 for those games.

Hopefully this work like an hybrid of the PSTV by playing Wii U and 3DS games + NX games.

They need to hold off until 2017. Nintendo's consoles have always had 5 or 6 year lifespans. I'm certainly not expecting 6 years out of the Wii U, but I think it would be a disservice to those of us who have adopted the console to break precedent and have a short 4 year span.

Nintendo also has GOT to play ball at least somewhat on the hardware front. They don't have to release a juggernaut to destroy Sony and Microsoft's successors, but it needs to be beefier than the Xbox One and PS4, and not by the margins that the Wii U is stronger than the PS3 and 360. The NX needs to be a 9th generation console, not a stronger 8th generation console. Atari already tried that with the 2600 and the 5200; we don't need a repeat of that.

FINALLY.

The Lateral Thinking with Withered Technology philosophy simply wasn't working anymore. I'm glad they finally realized that more power does NOT mean they've sacrificed their integrity.

Well this isn't news! It was evident amongst internet chatter nearly 2 years ago that the systems would share the same architecture, meaning the same software would run on both, and wouldn't need seperate development.

'Technology convergence', they've been going on about it for decades.

If it proves real I'll be extremely satisfied

Also, this sounds a lot like PS4 and Vita's situation but more integrated. Nintendo usually likes to do things differently, so this may definitely be fake.

Very exciting news can't wait too hear about the NX now I hope its uses cartages like the 3ds the only prob is no backup capabilities if Nintendo goes for this over optical disc drive, free internet is still a must for me thats one perk Nintendo has over the competition, cloud storage rather than hard drive space, subscription for virtual consoles rather than drip feeding us over time. It's the wait n see game now!!

I love the idea of blending home and mobile but I'm unsure how games will work. In order to hold enough data for high resolution graphics and audio you either need a physical disk or huge downloads. If you end up able to take your gaming on the go after buying home version how will that work? The handheld won't have an optical drive, not something full size at least and we know the pains the psp had. Does this mean we may end up in a digital only age for NX? As a collector I truly hope not. i am hopeful this works out though. The idea of playing some of my 3ds games on the tv or full home games on the go will be really nice.

@earthboundlink I'm interested to see if Nintendo can do what the vita couldn't. Have a high specs handheld that can compete in the mobile market. I love my 3ds, and I look forward as much or more for their next iteration of handheld.

Please Nintendo give the handheld two analog sticks and enough buttons his time. The nub on the new 3ds is not the same as the regular analog circle.

Can next year come already? I wanna see the NX now!!

@jbrewer99 There was the rumor about the NX not having an optical drive so this may actually be the reason why it won't have one.

I have faith in Nintendo here. Everything I've scoffed at them for in the past has turned out to be unexpectedly enjoyable for me. Their gimmicks have been my favorite parts of their systems lately.

I will admit, I enjoyed connecting my 3DS to my WiiU Smash Bros and using that as a controller. I'd love to see it used more in that way. I would also like to see more games paired between the two consoles, such as Mario Maker which could really benefit from having a mobile port.

Not gonna happen. There's no way Nintendo would be stupid to do such a thing. I mean Nintendo would have to make their own sim card or partner with someone like Samsung to make that additional Mobile even happen.

It will have PS4 level specs. They say leading chips, but most likely only comparing to current consoles. So it will be up on par with PS4/XBO. Now that those consoles have been out for a few years, producing will be cheaper. Most likely cost $350-400

I suspect the NX will be like the Virtual Boy and original DS were, an experimental third line. In the VB's case it didn't work out so was forgotten, the DS on the other hand was a success and thus supplanted the GBA line.

Let's see how it does this time.

Sounds cool! So basically a smartphone (ish) controller which aim assuming will have a touchscreen like the gamepad which could mean backwards compatibility with wii/wii u and well as all of the ds line. And more power? Yes please.

I'm thinking $350 at launch with no disc drive. Probably will have a 500 gb hardrive and cloud storage. Nintendo will announce a $7 a month subscription service which includes access to classic Nintendo games. The portable controller will have its own mobile processor allowing on the go gaming. Nintendo has already said they want scaleable tech in their next systems. If Nintendo can confirm Bethesda being on board then I will buy at launch. I also believe it will be backwards compatible with the WiiU and that most titles will work on the WiiU and the NX for the first year to help ease the transition so WiiU owners won't feel left out in the cold. I seriously believe this system will be download and cartridge based.

Make it wii/wiiu/3ds bc, and I'm sold.

@RoomB31 like what honestly? I have 122 games on my 2DS, counting both 30 full retail games- pokemon, mario 3d land, mario kart, fire emblem, kirby- and 90 plus Virtual Console and eShop titles.
I still have close to....30? 40? wii games.

Wii U: Mario Kart, Smash, 3d world, nintendoland.
is there honestly anything i'm missing?

Industry-leading chips are nice, but the real challenge for the NX won't be convincing people that it's better than the PS4, but rather convincing them that it's better than the PS5.

Recall that the Wii U was actually the most powerful console available when it launched, but it was shot down within what felt like mere months not by the launch of the PS4 and Xbone, but just by their promises. It's hard to win the spec war when the competition can just say "Yeah, but our system's gonna be better."

This is exciting. Build it around a useful feature that can apply to any game rather than a feature that requires games to be designed around it. I don't care so much about the system's power, though.

@GunplaGamer I'm just hoping that our Wii U vc will be transferable to the new console.

@russellohh of course its all subjective, you may not think that there are a good number of Wii U games to play. But then what do you play?
I have about 18 Wii U games, sure they're not all AAA games, but they are enjoyable and fun/entertaining etc....

I wasn't insinuating you weren't a Nintendo fan, but if you think there are only 4 Wii U games worth owning, (1 being Nintendoland) then you really haven't played much. (also if you are going to count 90 digital games for your 3DS, but tell me 0 are worth playing on the Wii U then you need to keep playing).

I don't need to list (to you) all the games worth playing on Wii U, because you have clearly written off the system, but not sure you've given it a hard look.

We get your point, which is Wii U has fewer games worth owning than previous generations, but that doesn't mean it has only 3 games worth buying.

@russellohh I'm the opposite, I've currently got the biggest, and possibly best, library of games for Wii U than I've had on any system ever. I've had a C64, MasterSystem, Saturn, Dreamcast, SNES, GBA, DS lite, GameCube, Wii and 3DS XL

@ Fath, that's a great point about the Wii U and something that's not really mentioned much when discussing the system's failure. A lot of people were waiting what MSFT and Sony were going to launch and obviously most of these people thought it better to either stick with what they have or to wait until the newer systems came out.

@Superryanworld It should, since it would be registered to your NNID.

A tablet with proper controls would be cool and a stationary unit for streaming to tv and handling multiple local players. A wii u update like that would be an instant buy for me, especially ifbit had a good stylus.

@RoomB31 @MJKOP Ill start by saving I sold 450 video games two years ago, so its not like i'm not big on buying games. I am really choosey about games lately, (mortgage, two car payments, family etc) but honestly.... what are there besides the games i listed? There are no pokemon, zelda, metroid, kirby, fire emblem or fzero games on the wii u. No fallout 3, fallout 4, or dragon age or mass effects. A bunch of indie games- 90% of which are $1 on Steam. What am i missing, people?!

Well, guess who called it?!

By now, I'm almost certain that the NX is going to be a buffed-up WiiU with a GamePad that can be used as a standalone device for portable play, possibly even running independently from the main console to lessen hardware requirements for dualstreaming.

Not as bad of an outlook as it once was - still not getting it, though.

Certain people didn't believe me when I said it would be a hybrid, and they didn't believe me when I said it would release 2016...
Funny how those same people have nothing to say now.

@russellohh something...

@abe_hikura Well I suppose you can just buy the home unit instead of the bundle. I doubt they want another GamePad/Kinect situation.

@ElkinFencer10 It would be a disservice to keep dragging their life cycles with cheap rehashes and cheap-to-make spin-offs nobody wants.

@russellohh sorry mate I didn't realise there were so many comments here, I just replied to your early comment without reading anything else lol. I've never had a massive library of games for any system to be fair, games were a huge luxury when I was a kid so we played each one we had to death because the next one would be a long time coming! I'm very particular too with what I buy now, I've two young kids, mortgage and a car, but I've built up a really good, strong library of games for my Wii U, though this includes indie games & some Virtual Console stuff too

The WSJ article supports everything i've thought and hoped for about the NX. I think it will be revealed in January or February with a Holiday 2016 release.

@AyeHaley you mean like what the PS4 has already done?

@AyeHaley there's still no word on a 2016 release, but a 2016 reveal.

Clarification: The report says that NX would be a handheld and console that make up one platform, but NOT necessarily one device. A one device hybrid was already deconfirmed by Iwata a year or two ago.

@Peach64 Yup, it confirms that it's an ecosystem. A true hybrid is not happening.

It sounds like they are going to update the WiiU to XBOX ONE power and throw in a 3DS. Not very exciting.
So 2015 is the last year for the WiiU. Of course there will still be some games in 2016 that were delayed. But this is pretty much the deathblow for the WiiU.

@RoomB31 LOL I suppose you don't own one, otherwise you'd know thats the laziest argument you can think of. Funny how I bought my PS4 to have something to play and not be bored during those droughts Wii U keeps having.
Its time to move on.

If this is true, then I really think Nintendo is rushing the NX so it's released earlier than it's supposed to be (Not that I'm assuming the NX will be launched very soon, though).
The Wii U, no matter how awesome it is, was rushed to the market — a slow OS and drought post-launch make it clear Nintendo wanted to release the Wii U at the end of 2012 to exploit the holiday season.
Even the 3DS had a massive drought at launch. Thank goodness Nintendo handled the situation properly.
Nintendo really cannot afford to make the mistakes it made with its current systems.That's why they needs to take their time(and work on a strict schedule, nonetheless) to make sure the NX has a perfect launch. An NX blunder might hurt Nintendo way more than it might help them.
_{Of course, we don't know what the NX is, so it's all under assumptions and whatnot.}

@Fath I think for most of it's lifespan the NX will be competing with the PS4. The Wii U is being dropped so soon because it's a sales flop, not because it's naturally time to replace it. I can imagine Sony holding off until at least 2019 before their next machine. Microsoft could possibly go sooner.

@Yorumi What am I supposed to be making up? I've never had a massive library of games for any system in the past to be fair, games were a luxury in my house when I was a kid. On Wii U I've got a bigger, better library than I've ever had. That includes full retail games, indie games and Virtual Console downloads. I'm sure your own collection, on any given system, would put mine to shame but I'm not making anything up

I think there's a much more important question here:

Will the 3DS get phased out?

@Yorumi In that same interview or whatever it was that he said no to a hybrid, he also said that in the future Nintendo should be looking to have something similar to what Apple does with iOS - ie a platform that consists of multiple different devices. He basically said that in the future they should have an ecosystem that consists of a handheld and a console that have the same OS, the same or similar architecture, the same services, and most of the same library. That's what this report supports.

It is being praised as "Slightly more powerful than a PS4", but will probably released in 2017, and soon after it the PS5 announcement alone will crush it. I do own a WiiU AND a 3DS and I love Nintendo games. But I agree that it is technically weaker than competition, and that is the way Nintendo has been ever since the Gamecube (of which I still own two units btw).

@AyeHaley
Irrelevant to hardware. That's a software issue.

High powered system with a portable attachment sounds very interesting but it also sounds like a PS4 and Vita.

@Yorumi, Lying by omission?! Lol ok. I'm not implying anything, I read a comment by @russellohh and replied to it, stating that I was the opposite of him, I personally have a bigger, possibly better collectionof games on my current system of choice, the Wii U, than I've ever had in the past. That's about it, not implying anything, just a simple, friendly reply. I'm aware the Wii U has a small library of games, and it ain't gonna get much bigger. Didn't intend to lie, deceive or imply anything, my apologies

@GuardianKing

If this is true, I would say yes, but not as quickly as the Wii U, that much is certain. The Wii U would be dropped almost immediately and the 3DS would probably hang on for another year or so. Just a guess though, of course.

http://email-junk.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/michael-jackson-pop-corn-01.jpg

@Yorumi @MJKOP the library isn't going to knock hardcore fanatics over, but there are 625 titles available on the Wii U and about 193 VC games, and that is ignoring everything available in the Wii back catalog. Personally I own about 93 of them and outside of the 360 it is the most titles I've owned, and outside of the Gamecube one of the most satisfying collections. It is a matter of taste. I would say if you are a platformer fan, there isn't a better system out there right now than the Wii U, but if you are a shooter or RPG fan then you probably need to look elsewhere.

I personally feel that outside of sports, Nintendo has done a decent job of covering most of the genres on their newest console. I think had they been smarter about release schedules, we all would have been happier as we would be seeing a more consistent release of eShop Nindies, Wii classics, and Virtual Console games to fill in the voids between Nintendo's roughly monthly retail Wii U releases.

I really hope this proves to be accurate. For us older guys, there would be no more "waiting to get home from our job and put the kids to bed" before we get to play our games. Lunch breaks, lulls in work, waiting while running errands, etc, to chip away at huge games like Zelda or a few matches of CoD, or Smash.
Or those of us with friends in different time zones, it'd be easier to connect whenever to play. I'll be a day one buyer this time around.

We're going to need a plumber to fix these leaks...

@Darknyht when I go to visit my brothers house, my nephew is still playing Fifa 13 on his Wii U. I think that's pretty sad, Fifa isn't for me, in fact I haven't bought one since Fifa '95(!), but it's very important to a lot of gamers and it almost makes me angry that he's stuck with Fifa 13 and he doesn't understand why

@NintendoFan64 I know of a plumber... never known him to do any ACTUAL plumbing though lol

@Yorumi Good point.

Anyways, if NX is the ecosystem platform, I think they might do a staggered release. They could have it so that in Holiday 2016 the NX Handheld launches in Japan while the NX Console launches in the west, and then in Spring 2017 have the console launch in Japan and the handheld in the west.

My reasoning for that is the differences in buying patterns between regions. Also, there's enough pending localisations that the 3DS could easily be stretched to Spring 2017 in the west, especially if there's a Monster Hunter X Ultimate. In Japan though, the releases are on the sparse side like the Wii U.

It's really not that serious! Those that can afford the system will buy it, those that can't will wait for price drop or just won't purchase. Honestly the WiiU is a great system to own but its not the ultimate console out there, none as far as im concerned are! The games that came out for the wiiu were good family friendly & enjoyable for the most part for first party.

Nintendo did at one point dominate the market but fell off because they didn't evolve with the times. Opting for couch friendly games that offer limited online play which isn't bad i enjoyed those experiences but im alot older now and responsibility keeps friends from getting together for the most part. Hopefully Nintendo makes the correct decision on the NX making it dev friendly and listening to the public!

@MJKOP i'm the same way, and i have no problem spending too much money on games. Its just........ the wii u library is just lacking. No Pokemons, no Zeldas, no Metroids, no Fire Emblems. During the Gamecube days, id always buy the GC version of BMX, Metal Arms, robotech, and a dozen other games. Now, the Wii U ONLY has exclusives- and very, very few at that.

Awesome.

Whatever they decide to do, I'm cool with it. As long as they keep making great games, I'm good.

For all Wii U's criticisms, it has some of the absolute finest games I've played. DKC Tropical Freeze, Pikmin 3, Splatoon, Mario Maker and Bayonetta 2 will be forever remembered as some of my favorite games of all time.

Same goes for 3DS. So just keep those kinds of good games coming and everything will be A OK

Wow. This 100% confirms everything I've ever said about wii u and NX. In your face! To most people in here that neigh sayed

@Artwark
Think they mean mobile as in handheld, not as in mobile phone.

I can't be the only one thinking 'cutting edge hardware' could mean anything and not necessarily power. The Wii U has hardware features that could've been deemed cutting edge. I reckon it will be an industry leader in quietness and energy efficiency.

I hope they're going back to cartridge based games

@russellohh on Wii U I own Super Mario 3D World, DKC: Tropical Freeze, MK8, NSMBU, NSLU, Splatoon, Super Mario Maker, Rayman Legends, COD: BLOPS2, Pikmin 3, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, ZombiU, Yoshi's Woolly World, Skylanders Swap Force. From the eShop I have Balloon Fight, Brain Training, Sin & Punishment, Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, SM64, Thomas Was Alone, Mighty Switch Force HD, Stealth Inc. 2, BIT.TRIP Presents Runner2, SteamWorld Dig, Armillo, Color Zen Kids, Spin The Bottle, Toki Tori, EDGE, Gunman Clive HD. Maybe that's a pathetic collection, I don't know but for me it's pretty decent, and very high in quality, although that's only my opinion, obviously. Oh, and a few apps, Art Academy and such

Bit disappointed this is happening so soon... still adore my Wii U n thought the exclusives coming out looked good... Guess they'll be made (or held back) for NX launch too now!!! Intrigued by the "industry leading tech" claim... My PS4 (which I love) and X1 are hardly cutting edge these days!!!

It can't be coincidence that Monolith have just started a huge recruit push.

http://www.siliconera.com/2015/10/16/xenoblade-developer-posts-for-urgent-and-mass-openings/

I'll believe it when and if it happens..

pulls up chair and popcorn, one leg over the other

This could be fun~

As usual, people hoping for a powerhouse that will blow the competition out of the water will be disappointed.

At most, the NX will compete with PS4's and Xbox One's specs - not surpass them. Like it or not, but Nintendo places greater emphasis on new types of hardware experiences, rather than simply cramming 'grafix' into a box and calling it a day.

As such, something's gotta give. Cost will be a big issue, and people must remember that Nintendo is still a toy company. This isn't going to be some sleek, stylish gadget akin to an Apple product. Or even a Sony/Microsoft one. They want users to have fun above all, and the NX will reflect that in some ways through cheaper (or 'outdated' if you prefer) components. And it will have them.

What's utterly vital is in how they'll market the thing. This is one area that Nintendo cannot screw around with. It's not about power (though it obviously is important to an extent), but how they'll be able to sell it as the next big thing. Smartphones aren't popular because of their specs; it's because of how easy they are to use. Minecraft also proves that the biggest games aren't the most photo-realistic. Even the PS4 isn't selling because of its superior RAM; but because Sony hit a homerun with their marketing. The fact that it can use buzzwords like '1080p' over Xbox's '900p' is just a pleasant side-success. Look at the PSOne, PS2, Wii and DS. Nintendo's biggest potential audience isn't one that cares about arbitrary numbers behind a non-existent hood - and those that do will buy the thing anyway. Loyalists like myself are already guaranteed to part with the cash - the Wii U audience.

@AyeHaley My point solely being how many HD revisions Sony et 3rd parties pumps out. I don't care for one currently, no games that interest me yet, nor is the price viable yet. I'm fine with my Wii U & PS3 combo. You can move on, I'll do the same when there's nothing left I WANT to play.

@MJKOP I owned the mario and luigi ones and sold them, and zombiu was.......well, it earned its 6/10. A friend said hes picking up mario maker for us to do together. SteamWorld, Thomas, Switch, etc were all games for other systems as well, so..........yeah. I have 5 Wii U games, you named like, 7. Now i'm even sadder than before!

@russellohh I think all of the Nintendo major releases are worth while, save Game & Wario and Wii Party U. Even those were mildly entertaining. And I think the Indie selection is pretty good.

That said, I can see where somebody might not be all that jazzed over the Wii U library b/c much of it is going to be on the lighter side of things. There's some old multi-plats available that are pretty cool, but you will miss out on anything that's close to new. The only recent "mature" titles are Bayonetta and then Xenoblade in 7-8 weeks.

However- I have an XBone, and while it's a good system, I enjoy my Nintendo themed games much more. If I had to give up one, I'd say goodbye to the XBone that has more variety but really no games that I'm passionate about.

@PaperMario64 the title is misleading... it states in the actual report that there is both console and portable devices... that work on the same platform of the NXOS...

@rockodoodle See? NintendoLand, Mario Kart 9, Bayonetta. The entire Wii U library, right there. Xenoblade isnt out, Zelda isnt out, StarFox isnt out. The system has been out 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and all people can name for it are "well, it has mario 3d land, kart and bayonetta........"

Oh joy, here comes the "WiiU is done" train again.
You nerds who come into my work and whine: /57000 upcoming games/ THE WIIU IS OVER EVERYONE GO HOME

I'll happily buy it if it is a meaty handheld that I can take on the go. Not too bothered if it is a home console (or a hybrid), but we'll just have to wait for a proper announcement.

@russellohh
Can name a lot more than that.

Mario Maker and Splatoon alone and those are just from the last several months.

Don't kid yourself. The Wii U consists of a lot more than those 3 games you mentioned.

@hillyarb
All they need to do is use standard micro SD cards instead of those stupidly expensive proprietary memory cards, use a standard USB port such as Micro USB OR USB Type C for charging like the Vita Slim, and apply their first party magic. Third party support is great as well, but that's not a problem for either of the 8th gen handhelds (in Japan at least). Vita's JP 3rd party support is VERY great, so much better than 3DS's at the moment. It's just greatly lacking in the first party department, which is not a problem a Nintendo handheld would have.
Have all that, and Ninty's 9th gen handheld (I'm sure it'll be a bit more powerful than the Vita, but not so much so...similar to the 3DS and PSP's relationship) will be able to enjoy all the success that Sony's little one should have gotten.

@JaxonH Again, i have well over 2 dozen replies to my comment.
Every
single
person
names mario maker, mario 3d world, and splatoon, mario kart, mario bros, mario mario mario mario.
no exceptions, at all.Literally, not ONE. "There are totally more games than what you mentioned, like Splatoon, Splatoon, and Splatoon".
Thank you. I've heard of Splatoon.
I am seriously contemplating offering a $10,000 reward to the first person to mention a QUALITY Wii U game besides Mario and Splatoon........

I'll wait and see for the specs tear down. If this console is going to be competitive technologically with the PS4 and XB1 while having mobile capabilities, it will probably go for $400+ at launch, which would square the specs up with things like the Nvidia Tegra K1... which means the guts of the NX will look something like this:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/tegra-k1-kepler-project-denver,3718.html

As the article states, "The Power of an Xbox in a mobile SoC (system on chip)". Tablets using this technology are now running around the $300-$600 mark, depending on a number of factors. (Most of which probably won't affect the NX.)

That being said, later on in the article, it's shown that the Tegra K1 compares favorably to the PS3 and 360...but it's still lesser than the PS4 and XB1. The mobile component of the NX will have more power than a PS3 or 360, that's looking likely. The console itself remains more of a mystery. To compete with the PS4 and XB1, it would need to upscale and enhance what the mobile device already offers... Which is not cheap.

Nintendo tends to want their systems at no more than $350 (USA) MSRP, but there's no way they can create a hybrid system that can compete with (much less beat) 8th gen system performance without a price tag increase. Thus, they may opt to make the mobile device a required device, and the home console component an optional performance increasing device.

If the games are digital only, then I will not buy it ever, because that means DRM hell. For those who do buy it, it would mean a $100+ increase in the cost of the console to have more memory installed. (Nintendo probably will opt for flash memory again, not an optical hard drive.)

@russellohh Super Smash Bros, Bayonetta 2, Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze. There you go, three quality Wii U games that aren't Mario or Splatoon.

@russellohh
Maybe that's because it such a great game and you conveniently ignore it, and Mario Maker.

Almost seems criminal.

And go ahead and get that checkbook out cause I can give you a big long list if you really want one. I was merely giving you some glaring omissions from recent months.

But I'll start with one quality game other than Mario and Splatoon, and that's DKC Tropical Freeze- simply THE finest platformer ever made. Or how about Wonderful 101? Pikmin 3? Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate? Zelda Windwaker? Yoshi's Wooly World? Captain Toad? Kirby Rainbow Curse?

All quality games. And that's not including NSMBU. Or NSLU. Or 3D World. Or Smash. Or Mario Kart 8. Or Splatoon. Or Mario Maker.

Which shouldn't be ignored. Mario and Splatoon are some of the best games on the system. Why would someone want to pretend they don't exist?

@russellohh Hmmmm... the best version of Rayman is on the Wii U. Zombie U (again, the best version), Lego City Undercover, DKTF, Kirby, Wonderful 101, Captain Toad, Mario Party 10, Wii Sport U, Mario Maker, Splatoon, SM3dW, Yoshi. I've had a great time on all of these (except Yoshi, which I should get today). then, Smash and MK8 are titles that I have nearly 500 hours on.

@PlywoodStick If its going to go with a Tegra, it will use the X1 not the K1.

This is what everybody was expecting and I'm sure it's what the NX is. Especially since the 3DS is so old now and there are not even rumors about a new handheld.
I don't believe the whole industry-leading chip thing (might just be industry-leading for that kind of technology) but bring it on, Nintendo. Give us a real Hybrid console for a real price. If it's good people are willing to pay the entry fee. If it's mediocre...no need to even try. PS4 will be 300€/$ at the point this is released.

Can't wait until Nintendo gives up on boondoggling and I can play Zelda on PS5.

@PlywoodStick I think they should launch this in Nov. 2017 for a few reasons- the cost of components should drop the further out they go, allowing them more pricing flexibility. PLUS, it will allow Nintendo (and hopefully other developers) more time to get their games released at launch.

@Faruko That's assuming Nintendo goes with the bleeding edge of hardware... and everyone knows Nintendo is wont to use aged technology. Maybe future versions of the NX would use it, but if the NX uses the Tegra X1, then we may be looking at a $500+ Nintendo console. (Unless, of course, the price for the home console component and mobile component is split...)

@PlywoodStick by the time of release the x1 will be more than a year old

The android machine using an X1 cost $200 btw

@russellohh you kind of ignored the bit of my comment which mentioned Yoshi's Woolly World, Pikmin3, DKC: Tropical Freeze... Super Mario 3D World and New Super Mario Bros. U / New Super Luigi U might not be your thing but they are quality, in my opinion. ZombiU may be 6/10 to you, but again that's opinion

@Faruko Right, but the NX is being finalized now, it's probably not being built on the exact same standards as tablets. Nintendo has always used more than 1 year old hardware, too.

That $200 would go towards just the mobile device itself, and most mobile devices using the Tegra X1 cost more than $200. You're probably just seeing the $200 price tag from carrier markdowns with plans. In Nintendo's case, that $200 wouldn't include costs of the home console component. That would just further posit the notion that NX will sell the mobile and home console components separately.

Maybe the home console would use something comparable to the Tegra X1, but it seems far more likely that the mobile component would use something comparable to the Tegra K1 to bring down costs. Otherwise, they're pricing themselves out of their usual market range.

So much to say, so little time.

I'll just sum up what I think of the statement in my mind:
IDEAL

@Yorumi That would be... heretical from Nintendo's perspective. Considering they appointed one of the old guard to the role of CEO (who is a banker no less), I find it rather unlikely Nintendo will buck the tradition of profiting from every console sold for the NX.

You're right that a bold move would probably be wise, but the current leadership is not likely to be so bold.

@rockodoodle I don't know if Nintendo's operations are flexible enough to accommodate that kind of plan. They probably already have their plans set in stone by now. Nintendo has historically been pretty rigid about specs planning, and having the specs decided ahead of time, so I doubt they would delay the console simply to capitalize on marginally cheaper tech costs.

There's always a price to pay elsewhere for a decision like that. If Nintendo did do that, it would mean that DeNA has greatly influenced Nintendo's budgetary decisions at the highest level.

I would suspect the launch lineup will look more like an N64 lineup than a Wii U lineup- sparse in general, some third party offerings, but most of the heavy hitters will be first party. Infrastructural roll out coinciding with the launch of the console, bringing mobile components onboard day 1, instead of having delays like with previous consoles.

@MJKOP @rockodoodle Mario Party 10, zombieU both have 60% ratings, and I've played both- they deserved it.
And of course, one is a mario title. So.......mario mario mario, and a title with a 3/10 review that earned it. and yes MJ, Pikmin 3 was good...then you listed a bunch of mario titles i already listed.
So, in terms of games with above a 60% average, meaning total crap
we have
Splatoon
mario 3d world
mario kart
mario bros
mario
mario
mario
mario
and....
Bayonetta.
lego city just squaked by with an 80%.
woooooooooo 4 games and mario!

NX is an amiibo.

Pokémon main séries on th big screen. Thats all I want!

@Stu13 NX: The Nintendo system almost no one could ever find.

@Yorumi the problem is flash memory like an ad card isn't meant for log term storage. They don't last anywhere near the length of actual cartridge memory or even optical. This is why the vita and 3ds use proprietary cartridges instead of simple sd cards. Hopefully Nintendo can create something less expensive that lasts as long as cartridge memory while holding enough data for HD video and decent audio. I'm not sure what the current limit is on 3ds cartridges but resident evil revelations was huge compared to most. Several gigs if I remember correctly but still nothing close to the 50gb of a bluray. I think cost may force these into digital only which will be a shame.

NX is wearable VR tech. 'Turn your morning commute into the Indy 500, slay your coworkers with the legendary sword of heroes.'

@jbrewer99 3DS cards cap out at about 8GB. Most games don't even use half that amount, only Xenoblade 3D and Fire Emblem Fates come even close to maxing that out. RE: Revelations only used about 3.15 GB.

@MrGuinea very possible. I hope that's not the case but times are changing and it could happen. I don't think the us infrastructure is quite ready for all digital. Many rural areas just don't have decent speeds and then you have collectors like myself that really don't like the idea of digital at all. I buy some but they are mostly eshop only games that have no physical release. I'd hate to see it come to that only but we'll have to wait and see.

Well, i guess that NX stands for "Nexus" afterall.
Id imagine it being a home console with a stand alone "tablet" controller that wors both, independantly and in connection with the home system.

Lets wait and see.

@PlywoodStick To me, going with a loss in console sales is the only way at this point. They can't pretend anymore that PS4 (and Xbox One...) don't exist. Because their beloved families and casual players know that they do! And they buy them.

@russellohh you seem determined to not enjoy what's available on Wii U, that's up to you. Each to their own, right? I'll just keep on having fun, which is, as a wise man once said, what video games are all about. In fact these comments have reminded me of a number of Wii U games I still need to pick up somewhere along the line. And thanks to @JaxonH I'm playing Tropical Freeze right now, Splatoon has kept me away from for far too long!

@Damo W/ all the crazy stuff Nintendo has done over the years, my suggestion that the NX is a portable which isn't strong enough to run PS4 games, and is therefore getting a game on par w/ a 3DS game, is what confuses you?

They said they were making a 3DS version, and they said they were making a PS4 version. The fact that you would think the PS4 version is being ported to NX and not the 3DS version is what surprises me. How many PS4 games have been ported to Wii U? How many handhelds are powerful enough to run PS4 games?

OK, maybe 3DS "port" was a poor choice of words. What I mean is, a game more on par w/ the 3DS version than the PS4 version. You can't just jump to the conclusion that NX will be equal in power to PS4 just b/c it is getting the same game when 3DS is getting the same game as well. Why does it have to be a PS4 port and NOT a 3DS port?

@MJKOP "I'm playing Tropical Freeze right now"

Have you gotten past crossing the falling bridge on top of Rambi? I think it was world 2-2. No matter how many items, lives, or powerups I had, I just could never do it. World 1 was fun though. Right now I'm looking forward to playing Yoshi in mellow mode.

It would be pretty dang cool if the NX is backwards-compatible with 3DS/DS carts and Wii U/Wii disks. I never bought the Wii U, so I would likely buy the NX on day 1 if it can play Wii U games too. Otherwise, I'll probably wait.

Unless Nintendo does what they should have done with the Wii U and release the brand new Zelda game that I've been wanting for years as a launch title instead of as a poor-selling swansong for the last system...I loved Skyward Sword, but I would have bought a Wii U on day one if SS was a Wii U game, and the same probably holds true with the NX.

@Monsti I would think it more likely that Nintendo will return to their N64 era policy of spending an extra $100+ for every console shipped on marketing. (Which was not done for the Wii U...) They will most likely still opt to profit on every console sold, but hopefully put far more brawn behind their marketing and social networking outreach this time around.

@PlywoodStick #201 And yet, that new CEO is one that correctly predicted the outcome of the current situation with the Wii U and he wants to change things and drive the business end to a more positive result:
http://www.breitbart.com/big-hollywood/2015/09/16/nintendos-new-president-predicted-wii-u-failure/

Also note that Iwata-san already laid out plans before his passing, plans that (if online info on that is correct) will be running for at least another 6 to 12 months and changes were already set in motion by Iwata, so it wouldn't be so strange to expect something different from them this time.

Maybe they finally decided to to tip over some bigger coffee tables...

@everybody People using terms as highly unlikely in relation to more powerful hardware might want to take into account that both the Xbox One and PS4 are really not that powerful and are already a few years old. In PC terms their hardware would already be next to obsolete.
It really isn't that hard to get considerably more powerful hardware for a comparable or even slightly cheaper price. Remember: you have to think about them buying components by the truck loads, it's not like we can just add up the cost of the chip sets and gfx cards and come to a conclusion that it would be too expensive for them.They'll be able to afford it, even if it is a considerably large chunk of money.

A good, healthy initial investment may eat away at their cash reserves, but it is a very good step to take to secure a better future, and if anything bankers are especially aware of this. And the current CEO is a former banker, so I'd say: let's add another carriage to the hype train...

@MJKOP I'm not. I own hundreds of Nintendo games. I really, truly, want to know a game that isn't Bayonetta, Mario, or Splatoon, or DK freeze, all of which i own, or am waiting for a sale on. And, not a release of a PC indie game. What are your top 5 NOT Bayonetta, Splatoon, or Mario games?

@Yorumi sure it can be done but I think even with current technology it will be cost prohibited. Even if just a normal sad card were used, say 64gb. That's probably $50 plus just for he card. I know large quantities will save a some money but it may still end up being $30-$40 per car. That leaves little room for the developer and Nintendo to make much money on the game. Things could easily change though and Nintendo could have something interesting up their sleeve. I'd love to see cartridges of some sort so we can either pop it into our home NX or our portable NX on the go. It's possible but will take some serious engineering to make it cost effective. Maybe they have the costs down on 3ds type cards and can really expand the storage on those. Who knows.

I see the crystal ball brigade are out in full force. "I called it first!" And so on.

@bloodycelt Yep iphones currently use ARMv8-A dual-core chips designed by apple themselves and a PowerVR gpu to go with it...

I would probably have to disagree somewhat with your statement about architecture though... Its the fact that apple uses the same chips in all their products that allows them to make one OS that spans all devices ... they really dont have a lot to change to make it run on all devices either... If nintendo had say PPC and ARM as their two main processors for console and home... (which is what they have now already) they would have to make 2 separate OS's that function as one... it's just a lot simpler on their end and for developers if they had the same architecture on all hardware configurations. One OS, and all games function across all devices. (give or take some unique features ... also I believe having those pieces of hardware communicate with each other would also be simpler. Its basically like having the same exact device twice ... (of course ... a handheld would probably have less ram and other such limitations... so it's more like same hardware, lesser specs basically)

@TheRealThanos I'm not too sure about the information coming through a neoconservative news outlet... This isn't really their area of expertise.

That was all rhetoric, anyways. Coulda been, shoulda been. Hindsight is 20/20. We'll know for sure how much his "foresight" is genuine by next year.

@russellohh I don't have Bayonetta yet. Outside of those games, my personal Top5, in no particular order, Pikmin3, Smash, (if it's allowed?), DKC: Tropical Freeze, Yoshi's Woolly World, which I 100% finished last week, and Rayman Legends. I LOVED Origins on Wii but Legends is even better. Never played any Pikmin game before but I fell in love with 3!

@PlywoodStick That's not the original source: that's Nikkei, a VERY reliable source.

@rjejr it is HARD right?! I'm about halfway through World 6 actually, but I'm down to about a dozen lives. Let me know how you get on with Yoshi I really hope you enjoy it as much as I did

If this NX is a Wii U with Analogue shoulder buttons, as powerful as a PS4, supports multiple game pads that can also be used as handheld machines...then stone me where do I buy one?? Wii U is my fave Nintendo console ever. However, for Nintendo to capture some of that PS4 xXbox crowd, I do think they need an enthusiast division for a more mature audience. Y'know, the audience that doesn't like gaming as much as football, cars, stealing cars and Vietnam, but likes the aforementioned enough to have a console to play them out in as much realism as possible because god forbid they use any imagination.

@MJKOP so mario's smash friends, mario's yoshi world, dk freeze, and rayman that i have on Steam.
GRRRRRRR. i likely will pick up yoshi world, tho. was it better than epic yard? kirby super star was really hard around the arena, and the meta night levels, and dream land 2 had some rough boss battles. Epic yarn, however, was unplayability easy. i was afraid yoshi yarn would be the same

@TheRealThanos I'm still going to wait and see if his apparent clairvoyance pays off this time around... As was said, "Iwata left no future plans of how his successor would manage the company." Okay, there's Iwata's plans for the next year... but then what?

The leader is now a banker, not a game designer. I would suspect that in practice, meaning not just in rhetoric, he will think and act like a banker, too, in contrast with Iwata's zany ideas (which stemmed from his designing creativity).

Sounds like that would be too expensive to sell both a console and a portable in one box.

@PlywoodStick Oh, make no mistake, my friend: me too, but if more of these kind of tidbits pop up and they stick, then I'm going to adopt the label "cautiously optimistic"...

@russellohh why does the Mario thing bother you so much?! OK kick out Smash and stick in ZombiU. I know you don't rate but it is highly rated by some. Yoshi doesn't play anything like a Mario game, Tropical Freeze either. Three very different platformers. I think Yoshi is better than any Kirby game. Get Legends on Steam if ya like, I'll be playing the superior version!

@J-Manix98 I'm waiting for the FFVII remake as well and am hoping for a special edition PS4 - just hope that when it does release I'm able to get hold of one!

@Kage_88 "Loyalists like myself are already guaranteed to part with the cash - the Wii U audience." But will they or will Nintendo abandoning the Wii U so early be one step too far.

@yuwarite I guess customers could buy the consoles separately or get them together - an NXBox One

@wazlon

Dude, wish you the best of luck. The idea of a FFVII Limited/collectors edition PS4 system bundle is literally the only thing holding me back from buying one. I know its a long way off, but it'll be worth it methinks. That is, if it even happens. It's killing me too! I have been wanting to play The Witcher 3 so bad!

@PlywoodStick Both Miyamoto and Fils-Aime have stated that all plans that Iwata has made will be executed EXACTLY as he has laid them out and that they would cover a period of around 6 to 12 months, counting from this year's E3.

And the new CEO has already stated that he wouldn't change anything about that course, so he will probably plan around that and take care of the business end, seeing as that is his expertise.

If I understood correctly, he also stated that he isn't going to be in the CEO seat for too long, so in some ways this is certainly an exciting time.

@russellohh wonderful 101, Hyrule warriors, Affordable space adventures, Mario Maker (you'd be doing yourself a disservice lumping this with all other mario games... its a vastly different experience), Sonic Lost world, Monster hunter 3 ULTIMATE, Wolly world, Captain Toad, Runbow, NES remixes... all these are fun and worth a try..

Your argument does not stand... there are many games out there that aren't mario If you're not into them that;s fine but they are there... Also if you're like me and didnt get to play mass effect, darksiders II, assassins creeds, on 360 or ps3 All those are available on wii U as well... also splinter cell was fantastic... not exclusive but still offered on the wii U for those of us who only ... or mainly gamed on Wii for a whole generation. Tekken tag 2 is even on wii U.

Gosh, I hope this proves to be true!

My stance on the NX is the same as it has always been; I have no intention of updating from my Wii U until holidays 2017 or later. I plan to at least ride out a 5 year lifetime on the Wii U, regardless of when Nintendo intend to release their next home console. None of the 'rumoured' information here changes that opinion.

That said, if this information is true... the part about the specs is not something I care too much about. The part about third parties receiving development kits is pleasing to hear, as it would be good for Nintendo to try and get them more involved early on. Finally, I do like the concept of a handheld/console hybird and this combination would allow for the Wii U gamepad concept to live on through the NX, so it something I approve of. Of course, none of this is confirmed, so who knows what the NX will be, how Nintendo will go about releasing it, or when.

I'm so scared that Nintendo will botch this up by either shoehorning the mobile device in with the console, not offering just a mobile device if someone wants to skip the console, or if they make the NX on par with PS4 and Xbox One. It NEEDS to be up there with the most up to date PC's to really wow people away from the competition. The 360 and PS3 were at the same level as PC's way back in 06' so the NX needs to do the same whenever it launches. And please Nintendo, you really, truely need to fix your online ecosystem. No friend codes, not even for communities. Make miiverse more usuable than it is now to the point where videos could be recorded and uploaded at will. Something similar to the Xbox One. Everything needs to be more stremlined and easier to use. Basically, copy your competitors and do what they do, only better. Sometimes, thats where inovation starts.

@MJKOP Yeah, I did forget about sports. Sorry about that. Unfortunately, if you want to simulate the real world leagues they are locked up by EA Sports for the most part, and for whatever reason EA cut Nintendo off early into the system's life.

If you don't really give a flip about leagues, then there are some options (just not generally modern). But unfortunately Nintendo themselves chose to focus on arcade style sports games instead of sim style. I personally wish they would go the Super Mega Baseball route and have the cartoony, Mario themed stuff but with a solid simulation behind it.

@TheRealThanos https://secure.marketwatch.com/story/nintendo-taps-tatsumi-kimishima-to-serve-as-ceo-2015-09-14

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanwa_Bank

"In the 1990s, it was the most profitable bank in the world, and second-largest in terms of assets behind its eventual merger partner Tokyo-Mitsubishi."

"Following the collapse of the Japanese asset price bubble and a wave of bank mergers in the 1990s, Sanwa entered into merger talks with Tokai Bank and Asahi Bank, and the three banks announced a merger in 2001, which would create the third-largest bank in the world behind Deutsche Bank and Mizuho Financial Group."

Kimishima left his banking job and joined The Pokemon Company, then Nintendo, in the midst of a flailing Japanese banking market... This is the background of the person who is now leading Nintendo. I would suspect his actual business practices will reflect this background of being a banker for one of the biggest banks in the world, during the peak of it's growth. (Which inevitably fell, then merged with other banks to maintain the image of infinite growth.) He's very pro-growth, so I'm not sure that the stockholders and board of directors will want him to have such a brief tenure. He's a big deal for them.

He knows how to operate a company's assets, but can he really direct a whole company as anything other than a sort of bank?

@Darknyht you didn't forget about sports at all, I was agreeing with your comment that that's an area lacking! It annoys me my nephew is stuck playing Fifa 13 because of EAs decision to abandon the Wii U so quickly. Don't know WHAT happened between Nintendo & EA, such a strange one.

Unnamed "sources suggest"... This should be labelled Rumour, not News

@PlywoodStick Yeah, I've read some of that previously. But the things said by both himself and Miyamoto and Fils-Aime really do seem to point more to him not interfering with the game-side of things and instead make Nintendo into a money making machine again. If he is indeed going to step down again after a year/year and a half or so (as he has also stated himself) then I wouldn't suspect too many changes being made either way other than making Nintendo seriously profitable again instead of marginally profitable, as it is now.

@manu0 handhelds are more popular there, I would think it'd be the opposite.

@DavidReid89 Yeah I know. Why would it be the opposite?!

Excited is an understatement ~

Awesome

@PlywoodStick Forgot to mention some sources to my onwn statements:
http://nintendoeverything.com/kimishima-no-changes-to-the-basic-strategy-set-up-by-iwata/
http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2015-09/16/nintendo-president-tatsumi-kimishima-one-year
http://fortune.com/2015/09/15/nintendos-new-president-kimishima/

A possibly interesting bit is at the end of the article in the last link...

@TheRealThanos The business side of gaming almost always clashes with the creative side of gaming, almost invariably. That's why Iwata was so important, because he was able to balance the needs of the creative side (led by those such as Miyamoto) with the needs of the business side (led by those such as Kimishima), while favoring the creative side whenever possible (due to his background being from the creative side). Kimishima represents a 180 degree pivot from that- the business side will now be favored.

He's climbed to the top, and those who strive for wealth are not like to easily forfeit the power they have gained unless they get it right back in another way. (Which would make whoever would get appointed after Kimishima within such a short 1 year time span a figurehead in practice...Or, as implied in the end of that Fortune article, an accomplice.)

@TheRealThanos I should point out that the whole 1 year term thing is business as usual for Nintendo. Iwata was only ever elected to 1 year terms. He just had several consecutive one year terms. So it's mostly a matter of whether Kimishima gets re-elected and if he is willing to stay in the role.

@PlywoodStick I would answer you, but it seems that I already pre-empted your comment with the links I posted in my previous one, so I would invite you to read through them.

And correct me if I'm wrong, but I get the sentiment that you are looking at this a bit too "Western" especially with the "those who strive for wealth" part.

I've worked with a lot of Asian people in IT and finances and they are VERY traditional, honor bound and NEVER too proud to take up a temporary position if it is for the good of the company (which will also be noted as an honorable thing on their resumé) which in the long run will also be good for themselves because of that.

Western business men may be more loose and relaxed in some ways, but contrary to popular belief should definitely be eating WAY more humble pie than most Asian business men I know...
@IceClimbers Kimishima himself has not mentioned anything toward staying longer and even then, it will more than likely depend on how good his first run will go (dòh), and that will probably also be intertwined with Iwata's plans, so I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
Or maybe the Regginator will take over in due time and Kimishima will once again move behind the curtain...

As long as the portable system has real, physical buttons like the WiiU gamepad, and then works with a home console, I'm game. Especially if they allow the current WiiU controllers and gamepad to work with it as well.

@TheRealThanos You're right, I am looking at this from a Western perspective. I would be pleasantly surprised to see Kimishima follow the path you've linked and described. That would help restore my faith in Nintendo's leadership, too.

@Captain_Gonru Wii sold b/c it was $250. Wii U didn't sell at $350 or $300.
3DS didn't sell at $250, sold at $170.

I can't even begin to imagine anybody laying out $500 for a Nintendo console, even if it is 2 in 1 box. Xbox One didn't sell at $500, sold at $400.

Nintendo isn't Apple, they can't sell an iWatch. Apple fans are legion, Nintendo's are dwindling. $500 scares off everyone.

$300 - 2DS hooked up to a hollow Wii U. It's the Gamepad, but backwards.

Though I'm not sure who's buying any Nintendo hardware anymore, at any price.

@PlywoodStick Well, they're Asians after all, so you have to switch to another mindset altogether to try and understand them (or in my case: at the very least be able to communicate with them in the right way), same as I have had to do multiple times since moving from the States to Europe and meeting with and working with all kinds of people from nearly every European country. Even in Western society there's a lot of different styles of thinking and perceiving things so sometimes you really do need to take that into account instead of looking at it from one's own perspective.
Remember: Asians are the people that even up to as recently as the late 80's - early 90's still sometimes literally fell upon their own sword, taking their lives in one way or another if they had done some irreparable damage to their company.

Save for the odd exception here and there, I don't see that being a common thing in Western companies. We're more likely to screw our employer over instead of bringing honor to the company...

@TheRealThanos Yeah, Western companies (at least in USA) reward our business leaders who screw up big time with multi million to multi hundred million $ bonuses or multi billion $ bailouts. At worst, the company may face negligible fines. No real punishment at all, except maybe a few scapegoats, if any. And so it goes. (Though there are exceptions in beyond ruinous cases like the BP oil spill.)

Very different from Easterners genuinely being depressed and guilty if they did something very wrong. I can't say I'm convinced the difference is altruistic, but at least it's human.

@rjejr I need my systems to be affordable. With GameCube, I was working and living at home, bought it with my own money. Same with the Wii, I was privately renting my own place and working full time, splashing out £179.99 on that wasn't a huge deal when my money was my own. I've two kids now though, a mortgage, a car... My Dad passed away suddenly two & a bit years ago, Summer 2013... me & my bro & sister got a little bit of money & I treated myself to a Wii U, the Mario & Luigi remotes, and Super Mario 3D World when it came out, November I believe. Dad bought me a Sega Saturn for Christmas when it was slightly above our budget so I figured he wouldn't mind... When NX comes around, I hope to be able to join in the fun at some point, but price will be huge for me. I plan to enjoy my Wii U for a long time yet though!

@PlywoodStick Well, trust me: it's the same over here. Since the credit crunch especially banks and companies that took out government loans are doing all kinds of things they shouldn't be and hospitals are notorious offenders too.

As for Asian people being altruistic or not, it is more a case of them still being WAY more traditional and putting enormous emphasis on honor, discipline and glory instead of putting wealth first, because they truly believe that wealth will come naturally if you follow that path.

And you would think that their aim may be lower, but in exercising these for them so inherently important practices they actually strive for the heavens, a goal way higher and to them more significant than the short lived premise of wealth. Fortune for them and their family's name AND ancestors, that's still where it's at for a lot of them.

Obviously Asian companies are modernizing too, but the difference is truly still VERY significant. Think of Nintendo themselves: Miyamoto cutting his own salary to help the company out and several other big wigs following suit. When was the last time you saw a Western company do that?

I hope this universal OS thing is still true. So, one OS, like Android, that runs across all Nintendo systems and let's the console easily play the portable's games and vice versa. Though, I guess the portable would only be able to play the lower graphics spec games of the console. This would finally allow console owners to play the likes of a proper Pokémon game on a TV.

It seems the dev kit for the NX might suggest the NX console being more powerful than the PS4/XB1:

http://mynintendonews.com/2015/10/16/report-dev-kits-suggests-nintendo-nx-likely-more-powerful-than-ps4-and-xbox-one/#comments

@IceClimbers And that ties in nicely with why some big third party developers were so enthusiastic about NX when approached by Nintendo at the E3. And then there was also the behind closed doors thingy. Man, I know these are nothing more than rumors for the time being, but the wait is just going to be too long...

@Yorumi click through to the original message, where you can chat with the original poster, and maybe find out some more.

http://www.williaint.com/nx.swf

@Yorumi Oh, I completely agree with you on that, but I already said as much in my first comment beneath this article: the part I directed @everyone...
@Williaint That's a nice logo. Made that yourself?

I just hope that all my 3DS downloads and games carry forward.

Good ole WSJ to stir everyone up with a very subjective written article.

I wouldn't be surprised if the NX console is out by the end of next year.
Though I can't wait for the articles on whether or not Nintendo can be trusted with NX console after cutting the Wii U short. This will lead to the press to nail NX to the wall at every chance.

Figured as much. I am excited and ready for next year! That means Pokémon on home console (basically) confirmed.

A recent report popped up and apparantly NX may be even more powerful than PS4 and X1
http://playeressence.com/nintendo-nx-dev-kits-are-more-powerful-than-current-gen-report/

"One software demo included with the kit crunches so many polygons that it’s currently impossible to run at 60fps using a current-generation Intel (we’re assuming a Core i7 Skylake) CPU and a nearly top-of-the-line graphics card…"

Just imagine the sort of visuals Nintendo could achieve with this kind of power

@Wolfgabe IceClimbers already posted that in comment #267...

@Wolfgabe Just imagine how few people will be able to afford it if true.
Why does it seem like most people on this website were born with golden spoons in their mouths? My family makes middle-class wages and video gaming is nearly pricing itself out of what we can afford, and that, my friends is why console gaming is dwindling in sales.

I think the home and the mobile units will be sold separately, but will have a unified OS and crossplay. It's also time for a unified account system.
I just hope that we won't have to buy our VC games yet again to make them playable on the new systems...

If it's 2 in 1, we should in theory have double the amount of games, or at least an substantially higher volume (no doubling up of Mario Karts and the like), which could also mean more new IPs (or at least more than we're used to). So if 3rd parties still don't quite flock to the machine, initially or long-term, then Nintendo at least has the situation compensated for better (driving higher sales, which in turn attracts 3rds, in theory at least).

@Yorumi Yeah it's definitely a bit interesting. The question is, will later versions of the devkit be a bit weaker than what's being suggested there?

@TheRealThanos Indeed. I think it's possible that close Japanese third parties might have had devkits for a while, and that the WSJ is referring to western third parties getting devkits now or it's just a late report. Then there's obviously Nintendo's dev teams, which have had the devkits for quite a while.

@electrolite77 Yeah, an ecosystem definitely solves some of their problems. The biggest one being their inefficient development teams. Take Animal Crossing for example. The 3DS already had a main series AC game in New Leaf. Meanwhile, people have been complaining about amiibo Festival because they want a main series AC game on Wii U, but the main AC devs were busy with Splatoon. With an ecosystem, that type of situation won't occur.

So many redundancies will be solved. Waste of time to be developing two separate NSMB or Mario Kart games because they have two separate platforms. Now they can just develop one of each. This means less software droughts, and more time to develop new IPs or new entries in less-seen IPs.

A lot of this seems a bit vague especially due to the wording. I'd 100% doubt they've ever combine the two systems or sell them both at the same time simply because a large proportion of their handheld userbase buy them on the cheap. A Family with 2+ kids aren't going to buy 2+ home consoles in order to get each kid a handheld.

What's more likely in my opinion is what Iwata had said in 2014, two or more separate devices running the same operating system with connectivity between the two devices. Both based on the WiiU architecture, this does make me think that maybe only the WiiU Virtual Console will be transferred across directly(I wonder if 3DS will be like the Wii mode of the WiiU).

Regardless I think we'll definitely hear about both a console and handeld in 2016 if not atleast one of them launching. Although he's won't be here to do it himself Iwata said in 2014 that in two years time that Nintendo would redefine the meaning of the videogame platform(albeit QoL has been shelved due to his passing)

http://www.kitguru.net/gaming/anton-shilov/nintendo-we-will-redefine-the-definition-of-video-game-platforms/

So beyond anything else 2016 will be an important year for Nintendo's 9th generation if not the beginning.

@MJKOP "why does the Mario thing bother you so much?!" Cause people are tired of Mario! Mario this Mario that! It's annoying

@TwilightAngel Well Mario sells, you can't argue with that. When a Mario game flops, then perhaps people are genuinely sick of Mario. In the meantime though...? More Mario. If the quality is maintained then it's all good with me

@IceClimbers I concur. A time scale of three months in between a first showing and receiving dev kits after applying for one seems about right, although I'm no insider in that area, but it seems unlikely that one will be landing on your doorstep next week if you order one now, knowing Nintendo's strict nature and policies...

"At least one mobile unit would indicates that multiple units can be linked to the same base console."

But if the mobile unit is its own handheld device, would it be possible to only buy the handheld and the game vs. the entire package? I don't know, that part is confusing me, though obviously we have no idea how that would work or what it looks like.

I'm not buying it year 1 like the Wii U. I'll wait about 1-2 years afterwards like I did with the 3DS.

Oh ho hoo... Let the wild speculations begin!
What's funny about all this is how everyone is taking this as fact, or claiming that their predictions were correct. It's like they're setting themselves up for disappointment.
But I'll chip in my two cents. Like I said before, Nintendo shouldn't rush the NX at all, or it'll be difficult to make it sell, like the 3DS. Unlike everybody else, I don't expect the NX to launch "next year (assuming it's a home console or something similar)." Nintendo should use the extra time to round up great 3rd party support and, of course, abundant first party support. Since power is practically the only thing on a 3rd party's checklist, I won't say no to some extra oomph under the hood (again, assuming it's a home console).
But why others speculate specs, I guess I'll continue playing my Wii U.

@Nintendo_Ninja It's not like you know exactly what the NX is, anyway...

Homeconsole and handheld in one...its probably just wishful thinking. The thing is: Developing a handheld and a homeconsole lets Nintendo earn money 2 times. But on the other side: Nintendo has to create less games if they opt for just one system.

As for the power: So it could be powerful, that's very nice. But hopefully Nintendo won't just use that power for sidescrollers alone. Hopefully they also use it for big, free-roaming 3D titles (1 Zelda and/or Mario is not enough).

@maukenboost To give you an idea: the mobile unit could have both its own cartridge system, much like current handhelds, and an evolved form of DS Download Play, which would allow you to download your NX "home base" game to the mobile unit and store it on a compact storage medium such as in a smart phone. The same software architecture used across both systems could also contain an automatic scaler that adapts the software to the platform it's on.
So, 1080p native on the console, 720p on the handheld, and a reduction in several graphical effects and so on, to account for the less powerful hardware. Think high end gaming PC vs lower end gaming PC, but still being able to play the same game on the go.

The smaller screen will also soften the effects of the downgrade so you wouldn't notice it as much as when you would compare the two PC's running the game side by side. Just one of the possible options, mind you, but I like this one best because it "feels" more plausible to me than some others I've seen across the web.

A theory related to this is that the home console version of a game could contain both a high and a low end version of the game on the same disc and you will be able to download the lower end one to your handheld unit and use the save system for both, so any progress you make on the mobile version can be saved and loaded into the home version and vice versa so you can continue your game regardless of which of the two systems you use.

I'm not getting my hopes up. I'll believe it when I see it.

@Shining-Void "Im not getting my hopes up. I'll believe it when I see it."
People should take notes from you. ☺

@Shining-Void When something sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

The Wii U didn't have this feeling I'm getting from the NX. I can't help but think the NX is Nintendo's big console after the Wii, and the Wii U was merely a stepping stone/place holder console until the ideas and structure for the NX could become a reality.

To be perfectly honest, i'll be buying this console no matter what...

Seeing as I am still perfectly content with my Wii U and 3DS it will be quite some time before I even consider getting the next Nintendo system unless there are some absolutely unmissable games at launch. I will likely wait a few years like I did with the Wii U and that ended up paying off since I had plenty of games to choose from by that time. The idea of a hybrid console is undeniably tantalizing though, I just need to see how well it is executed.

@Grumblevolcano No, I don't think so. If NX comes out next year, then the Wii U would have a had a lifespan of about four years - that's around the same as Gamecube. Not the longest time on the market, but not exactly Virtual Boy or Dreamcast.

@PlywoodStick Actually, both 3DS and Wii U were initially sold at a loss (though a single game was enough to turn a profit for the latter).

@russellohh Obviously the Wii U isn't for you. If you can't find anything to like from its high-quality library, then there's no convincing you. Must suck to hate fun.

In hindsight, it's hard to believe $250 for the old 3DS was selling at a loss... And I would have thought it was just the 32GB Wii U SKU w/ Nintendo Land that sold for a loss at $350? I can't imagine the measly 8GB Wii U SKU sold for a loss at $300...! Flash memory was expensive, but not THAT expensive.

Glad to hear they are finally giving in to the war on power. It prevents many many sales.
I hope it's not too late.

@Maggots. OSX and iOS are actually the same OS with a different display manager. Modern OS are usually capable of running on multiple architectures.

The main difficulty between iOS and OSX is that the UI is vastly different (Touch based vs mouse based).

This sounds a lot more promising than all the other rumors lol.

@maukenboost
Yeah Nintendo will probably sell the NX consoles and the NX handheld separately, as well as combined in a single bundle.

I hope that NX will be released in 2017 with this news.

@westman98 I don't know, that just doesn't seem to be beneficial to Nintendo to sell them separately as well as together.

@QBertFarnsworth Games have already been put in development for the Nx from third-parties and they thought highly of the system

@Nintendian Miyamoto once said he might make Super Mario 128 as a joke. Anyways, 128-bit isn't that diferent from 64-bit. Heck, it's not even that diferent from 32-bit.

@Neko_Rukiafan Keep in mind though console makers are usually able to get components for cheaper than standard market prices since they tend to deal directly with the manufacturer. I think what the comment may have meant was that the SDK was running on a PC with an i7 Skylake and near top of the line GPU.

Granted I have heard Nvidia will likely be debuting their new line of GPUs next year dubbed Pascal. There is a good chance NX could be based on something similar to Pascal but scaled to be able to fit in a console

@russellohh LMAO every time someone lists a game for the Wii U they like, you say "okay well tell me any game that isn't Mario or Bayonetta or (game that person mentioned) or (game the person before that mentioned)." Sorry dude but that was hilarious to read Sure enough the Wii U doesn't have the best library in the world, but it sure as heck has enough games to have justified its entry price in my eyes

Ooh-wee! The speculatin' sure is mighty fierce!

Yay! The hype has officially begun for me today. I am gonna start saving ready for day 1! (Will I ever learn!?)

Im just glad that the coming together of home and portable console will be more than just a portable device that has an HDMI port - which would be a mess of compromises.

A separate portable console that is part of the NX platform that can work as a controller sounds pretty flippin cool. I'm starting to picture the NX portable as being something that can easily fit into a pocket like a smart phone except that I'm picturing it as having buttons and sticks set into the touchscreen as per the sharp free form screens. a sleek, slim, touch screen form factor would be cool as it could support silicone covers/cases that could all manner of prong handles to make it feel like a "normal controller".

I kinda agree with reviewtech ossan's assertion that NX home version if it is being spec'd in the PS4/xbone league of hardware specs would be better served by being released in 2016 rather than '17. They might as well not leave it too late in this current generation to launch hardware that directly takes aim at their rivals. All indications suggest microsony wont drag this generation out the way they did their seventh gen consoles thus if NIntendo waits too long it could be deja vu where they release similar spec hardware at a point when their rivals are hyping up their next generation hardware. Still way too early to accurately guess how this will all play out.

@Damo "You can play at home and continue on the road, there's no disconnect."

Well I think that "1 save file" has to be the selling point, MKX, SSBX, SMGalaxyX - X in the title to match Nitnedo X, whatever X winds up standing for - but I'm still not holding out hope for PS4/X1 graphics even on the home part, much less the portable. Though RealThanos has me starting to imagine it's possible. If they sell it separtly price might work, but not as 1 package. Guess we'll see, just not soon enough

No surprise considering how weak are the ps4 and xb1.

They were mid range when they were relesed 2 years ago.

@rjejr I see that my idea coincides with the one @Damo explained to you and to me that also seems quite feasible in this day and age. I only wonder if they can come up with a truly smart piece of tech to let the software detect and auto-adjust itself to the platform it's running on like I described in comment #294, since on a PC you have to do most of the adjustments yourself.

On PC, most of the times games do boot up in a certain resolution automatically and often times there is an "optimal setting" selection in the menu, but that is still not the same, so I'm very intrigued as to how this will pan out.

In any case, even the rumors already seem way more promising than those concerning the Wii U at the time.

@Damo
Not at all am innovation considering that's one of the Vita's original selling points. It'll only be new if they make it so both the home console and the handheld both use the exact same game cart.

@PlywoodStick
3D tech was super expensive back then. Though I'm pretty sure the 3DS at $250 was a profit and that it only became a loss when they did the price drop.

@maukenboost
Well, some gamers will only want the NX handheld component (which will be most people, since Nintendo's NX home console component will have competition via the next Xbox and PlayStation), while other gamers will only want the NX home console component. Forcing consumers to buy both NX devices when they only want or can only afford one is not going to help them sell more hardware, sell more software, or gain more developer support.

my 2 cents: it will be both a home and a mobile console. The home device is basically a docking station fitted with an optical drive but the CPU/GPU hardware is located in the portable device that has a HD touch screen and flash memory to install a couple of games.

"Industry leading tech"..... we can only hope.
I don't know how I feel about the whole mobile/home console. It just sounds like a gimmick. How about nintendo just makes a straight forward up to date tech with other systems. No gamepad, no take it on the go, that is what the handheld are for. Just a good old fashion game console. Nintendo hasn't had one of those since the Gamecube....

@AVahne That's precisely what's being suggested.

I just got my tickets to the hype train! All this suspense on waiting for more news about the NX making me go crazy lol

I won't believe any rumors until Nintendo says something.I remember all the Wii U rumors that didn't come true.I still don't believe that NX is going to be a hybrid of handheld and home console.Most people are going crazy about that.Give me 1st hand proof.I also believe that NX,whatever it is, is going to release in 2017.

Naaah, you'll see. "fusion" will be made on OS ground. It will be easy peasy to create for and port games from handheld to home console. Of course everything will be back up with hightech specs

@Damo If it did have a physical option, then they'd most certainly drop optical media anyways in favor of 3DS-like carts.

@NandN3ds

Yeah there's no way they'd release just one piece of hardware for a single gen. The whole reason Nintendo's handheld line is so popular is that its much more affordable than the console.

People who bought a Gameboy. GBA, Nintendo DS, 2DS for ~£100 (and reaches even £50 later in the generation) or a 3DS after the price drop who never bought/buy a Nintendo home console are not going to be anywhere in line for a hybrid for £350+ just to use as a handheld(taking into account the need for a really brilliant battery to run a home console without plugging into a power supply).

With their new OS they'd be best off with multiple form factors:

£100: Affordable Handheld(think 2DS, Nintendo DS/Dslite, Gameboy, GBA with the potential to be as low as £50 partway through the gen)
£179-£249: Standard & Premium handhelds(think basic 3DS and XL models)
£299-£349: Home Console

I think this way they'll have all their bases covered from the start due to various entry points. I think the lack of a 2DS priced system at the start tripped Nintendo up and probably helped smartphones grab their potential audience. I wonder if a £100 handheld with Virtual Console titles available from the start(maybe some pre-installed) would be good way for Nintendo to make new fans(While smartphone games are free I think the lack of in-app-purchases in combination of the quality and lower price tag(perhaps lowering some of the VC prices) is something Nintendo hasn't capitlised on with their younger/family audience which they could with the Virtual Console).

I do think Nintendo will have to release somekind of paid service, its the only way to keep the price of the console as low as possible (and software, obviously)

@maukenboost
I don't think there was ever any indication that Nintendo wanted to create a "fusion" between their handheld and console. What they are more than likely looking to do is to create a family of NX devices, with the same or similar architecture, OS, and software. Just think Apple; iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touches all utilize Apple's own processors, run iOS, and share the same or similar applications, but they are still separate devices are built to function on their own.

@MJKOP My kid will be home from school and start Yoshi this afternoon. I just started Disney INfinity 3.0 Rise of the Empire (why coudlnt they just call it Oringal Trilogy or Last Hope Trilogy?) so it may be awhile. But I'll let ya know. My favorite sports team, the NY Mets baseball team, is making a long run into the playoffs, and that takes precedent over videogames for the time being.

@MJKOP "but price will be huge for me."

I'm torn between thinking nobody knows who or what Ntinedo is anymore, except maybe a nostalgia company like Atati or Commodore or AOL; and everybody thinking they are the budget gaming company. Only 1 of them can be right, aninimoty or Walmart of gaming, bu tI can't se peopel waiting to spen d$400 or $500 on a Nintnedo gmaing console, no matter what kind o fhardware it has under the hood. People send way too much money on Apple products b/c Apple sends way too much money on makreting. Sony has a brand nam egoing back decadesof electronic excellence, peopl pay top dollar for that, Nintnedo makes games, games should be cheap.

That's not me being negative or mean, just how I think people view the world - the more companies spend on advertising, the more their products must be worth. And Nintendo isn't outspending anybody, they only spend money advertising $99 2DS toys.

NX Home for $200 in late 2016, Wii U w/o the Gamepad, but b/c w/ the Gamepad. Wii U has b/c w/ $80 Wii Balance board so why not? NX Away for $150, the 4DS w/o 3D display, in 2017. Also unctions as a Gamepad cntroler on all games out of the box.

@Captain_Gonru "or thought it was, as some parents I dealt with did)."

Well it's good to know your cranky for a reason. OK, tomorrow I really need to start job hunting.

And it made sense for the Wii U in Japan to have an 8' radius due to the apartment dwelling population there. Or if they wanted to sell it to people living on the ISS (international space station, not the guys in the middle east) butit doesn't work in a US home where mi Wii U is in my basement but I can't use the Gamepad in my living room directly above it.

And I'm sure you've read this from me many times, but I have said from the beginning that they should have put a WiFi chip in the Gamepad for Miiverse, Netflix, web browser and eShop. All of those work fine over WiFi,and at great distances, and it would havelet the Gmaepad almos function as a tablet. The Wii U Deleuxe even came w/ 2 stands - 1 charger, 1 not - so people could have put 1 by the TV, 1 in the kitchen or bedroom to use the Gmaepad as a tablet. So I can't really fault those parents you had run ins with. A tablet w/ an 8' radius, might as well just have put a 10' wire on it and save money on the battery b/c you can't take it anywhere anyway.

And just to clarify, I left playing games off that WiFi list, I get gaming lag, but those others things could have used WiFi, everything but gaming. Remember the very first Wii U reveal w/ the photos on the tv, WiFi should work for that too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4e3qaPg_keg

Oh, and that drawing app and Othello should have been free w/ the system to. And I'm still waiting for "Wii U Play Together", the follow up to Wii Play and Wii Play Motion, where grandkids play tic tac toe, checkers, Hangman, Connect 4 and Battleship online w/ vid chat w/ grandma. How did that not happen?

And where's Twilight Princess HD?

So much fail. Cant blame it all on the parents.

Edit - speaking of fail, there are no photos of Netflix or photos in that video. Oops.

@TheRealThanos " software detect "

I think I've covered this a couple of ways in my head, possibly none of them work.

1. It's the same hardware both Home and Away. So then it doesn't matter. The game is made for the small screen resolution, the Home base upres it for the tv.
2. 2 versions of the same game are made w/ different res for the different hardware. When you buy the HD version on disc it downloads an SD version to the handheld so you only have to pay once. If you download on the handheld you can download on the home, simple cross buy stuff.

I suppose it wouldn't work seamlessly, but I think as long as they can get the Save point to work on each version, and it's the same game, and you pay once play anywhere it works. I have 2 PS3 in my house, basement and bedroom. If I had PS+ I could cloud save and continue playing the same game both places - 1 save, 1 game, 1 price. Though no cloud, just hardware. And Iahve done it with a thumbdrive, Nintendo just needs to do it wirelessly. I'm starting to get nostalgic for my Chao on my Dreamcast VMU.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKiegkfExn8

So I suppose the ideal situation is make the handheld as powerful as you can, then make the home part that. Then code the game in 2 resolutions. Like the cheat to turn GoW2 on PS2 from SD to HD. Come to think of it there was a list.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_PlayStation_2_games_with_HD_support

Of course this would mean NX never getting a major AAA 3rd party game again, but the indies should like it. And Konami.

@Captain_Gonru Question, why did you mention 2008, Wii U came out in 2012? And I get not having a wire, would have been backwards after Wii. My point was they should have had WiFi, but since they didn't have WiFi, might as well have had a tether. I was being completly sarcastic - shocking I know - I never really meant they should have had a tether. Though I suppose if they did, people would have known Wii U wasn't a Wii and the Gamepad wasn't a separate accessory and people would have known only 1 per system if it had a special jack in the back like the old Kinect on Xbox360.

@Captain_Gonru I had my download to the Home before transferring to the Away before the no disc patent news was released, I still think the world isn't ready for all download b/c 50GB games take some people 10 hours. Even w/ pre-download that's too long. Buying a 50GB disc w/ HD and 7.1 surround - for reasons I've never fully understood sound takes up more space than video - and then transferring 2-3GB of stereo and SD to an Away should take only minutes.

I'm assuming everything wireless controller is BC b/c why not? So yes, 1 person can play the game at Home while another plays Away, even for 1 price. I have 2 PS3 in the house and my kids and I can play the same game at the same time on both for 1 price.

Of course none of this matters if Nintnedo doesn't come down off the mountain and join the world. Better have the stone tablets chock full of info when they do or it won't matter what NX is, nobody will buy it.

@Captain_Gonru It probably could work that way for Ntinedo games, I think SM3DW was about 2GB, maybe 8GB, which would still fit on a cheap SD card. But what about DI5.0 and Skylanders: The Chase for Mo' Money, and Lego: Black Hole for Your Wallet? Can Nintendo really make another console w/ ZERO 3rd party support of major franchises like Madden and FIFA?

As for what do retailers get out of a download only system, see the 3 games I mentioned above. And why does Target have that huge Disney Marvel Playmation section next to DI? Playmation doesn't even hook up to your tv, much less go in a console, so why is it in the videogame section? I want to see you back in your glory retail days explaining THAT to confused parents. "No, it doesn't work w/ PS4 or Wii U, it doesn't even hook up to a tv, it's just a toy, I really have no idea why it's in the videogame section." If my Target just screwed it up and it shouldn't be there, apologies for wasting your time w/ that.

OK, back to the discussion at hand. If Away is just a 4DS w/ TV out, and there is no such thing as a Home version of the game w/ 7.1 and 1080p 60FPS, then yes, your idea works just fine. Though I think that so thoroughly kills ALL 3rd party support they might as well just make a cheap nostalgia machine and let DeNA make ALL their new games. Which, BTW, I'm not opposed to, it's what I've been saying for 12-18 months, drop out of the Home console market and go all-in on handheld w/ TV out, people would know to expect 480p 30FPS w/ stereo sound, but the Fusion Hybrid sounds like maybe it's more than that, a Home console w/ 3rd party support.

Some day, Nintendo is going to say something about something.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTLqp-KKuo4

@Captain_Gonru Playmation doesn't hook up to a tv, it's just toys that vibrate and talk when you play with them, action figures w/ voice chips and IR sensors. Which is why it makes absolutely no sense to be in the "video"game section. Disney must have paid a lot of money for that shelf space.

I do agree w/ you though, games can be DL, but people still need to buy the consoles. I still think Amazon not carrying Wii U themselves hurt sales a bit. Not a lot, but some. But here's a thought, retailers can just expand the digital download card section. That thing grows every day anyway w/ all that FB nonsense and Club Penguin, who even knows what else. Just replace all the discs w/ code cards. Have to be cheaper to manufacture and ship. And they make good gifts, they slip into greeting cards, no wrapping paper or overpriced gift bags required.

"And that shopper, despite all the shouting that happens on enthusiast sites like this, is what drives the market, ultimately."

I'm so happy to read that sentence w/o having to type it myself.

I'm not worried about third parties on 3DS, Monster Hunter, Yokai Watch, those Squeenix JRPG, the games are there. It's Madden, FIFA, NBA and baseball games that kill Wii U for some people. And Destiny, COD and SW: Battlefront this year. These games were never going on 3DS anyway, entirely different thing. Which is why NX as 4DS w/ TV out still works for me but Home needs AAA sports game. I think it will survive w/o Batman or Asassins Creed or GTA or MSG, but it needs sports, and maybe COD.

@rjejr @Captain_Gonru Some interesting additions to the conversation indeed, but I was actually thinking WAY more simple, with (as I described earlier) PC game scaling in mind, seeing as that has been around for as long as there has been a Windows OS, so to implement that in a smart, automated way should be well within the realms of possibilities. @rjejr sorry to rack your brain so much about that...

What this means is that you would have only one game, but the software should have some algorithm written into it that detects on what system it is running, i.e. home console or mobile unit and then adapt accordingly, up-scaling or down-scaling as required. The home console will get the full blown experience at 1080p native, 60fps, 8x anti-aliasing, 8x anisotropic filtering, full realistic shadows and dynamic lighting and the mobile version will be 720p, where possible also 60fps, 2x anti-aliasing, 2x anisotropic filtering with simple shadows and lighting. The smaller screen may also soften the blow of that downgrade, making it less notable for all but the most critical gamer.

You can also downgrade on textures and so on, which is why I said "Think high end gaming PC vs lower end gaming PC" in comment #294, which you may have missed because it wasn't part of our discussion.

So, one version will have all the bells and whistles and the other version will be running sufficiently above minimum requirements to make it a good experience, which (again) should be well within the realm of possibilities keeping the PS Vita in mind, and also guesstimating what Nintendo is up to with consolidating all their departments into one and talking about systems being like brothers and so on.

I therefore believe that the mobile component will be the new handheld as well as a controller, but they will at least offer the system with one mobile unit because I don't think they are done with the GamePad idea and Off TV Play. They were only testing it out and it both failed and succeeded in some part, so I think they will build upon the positive part of it.

So, not only GamePad functionality but also a handheld, that doesn't have those restrictions that the current GamePad has. And this time graphics are going to be on par or higher than Sony's handheld offering.

Some sort of internal storage (in combination with micro SD slots) could take care of your game downloading (either from the eShop or from the home console version of your game, which I imagine would need to be downloaded to the mobile unit to play on the go) which could be just one version of the game, on the disc, or as I was theorizing earlier, it could also be that they don't have to do any smart scaling as there will be two versions of the game on the disc and connecting the mobile unit with the home console will offer you the option of downloading the smaller version onto the unit.

As for the save game: it will indeed be one save to rule them all, which doesn't have to be overwritten because it could simply be updated, meaning if you start playing on the mobile unit and you boot up the game on your home console some time later in the day/week, it will simply ask you if you want to continue from where you left of because the mobile unit syncs with the home console and vice versa, so your save game will always be up to date.

If the mobile unit has wifi or bluetooth it might even be possible to update your home console save game through one of these methods.
In any case, we can definitely expect some parts of current ideas to return, seeing as Nintendo always does that, and I personally don't think it's going to be any different this time around.

Except for the part of the hardware apparently being able to run an incredible demo that no other current system seems to be able to handle, which would mean Nintendo once again being a forerunner instead of a (very) slow catcher-upper...

Cheers...

@Captain_Gonru @rjejr A small addition to that wall of text:
I forgot to mention that I also suspect that it will be possible to connect a total of four mobile units to the home console, updating multi-tap to the 21st century.

And all of us old enough to have witnessed the glory days as they happened will once again be able to shout: "Nintendo, now you're playing with power!" without seeing people shaking their heads in mock amusement and disbelief...

@TheRealThanos So its all doable?

"As for the save game:"

um, you may be missing something, multiple users. I was instantly annoyed last night to turn on Yoshi for the 1st time and see that the first save slot was used. Even though my kids, wife, and I, each have our own accounts, we need to share the 3 in game save slots, not 3 for each account. That however, is nothing compared to SSB for Wii U, where the first time I played it everything was unlocked and 1/3 of the challenges beat, b/c there is only 1 save point for everything for everybody on the console. If Nintendo can't even get that right, I have no faith in them getting this right.

Example - 1 kid takes the Away to school and plays the same game the other kid is playing at Home while he's sick. Lets say they each progress 1 hour in the game. Who's save gets over written? I already lost all of my Hyrule Warriors save info b/c I played on the system but my kid on the eternal HDD. When I tried to move over only his save from the external HDD to the internal it overwrote mine and my other kids even though they were on different accounts.

So in a 1 person household maybe they could get this to work seamlessly, but w/ 3 or 4 people playing the same game I'm not so sure. Not after SSB, thats for sure. Morons. Now it would make sense if its a 4DS w/ TV out and all the saves are simply on the handheld part and the Home unit is simply a TV dongle converting WiFi to HDMI, but then if you can't play at home w/o the handheld it really is no longer a Home console fusion hybrid, it's just a portable w/ TV out. And I need multiplayer in my house, we still haven't played Lego City Undercover due to 1 player only. Well that and it's $50 for a 3 year old game. Still waiting on Nintnod Selects for $20.

Now they could sell it w/ 1 handheld and let player 2 use the Wii U's Gamepad, making it a Wii U 2 that supports 2 Gamepads - or 4 as you say in you raddendum, and I think they will, but only 10 mil people have a Wii U, and the Gamepad isn't portable.

So while I do appreciate all the feedback, and making me rack my brain is good, I'm still not sold on "seamless" or things running smoothly in my 4 person household. Its like directions. Stay on the road and you're good, but once there's a detour, watch out.

Fun, fun, fun. Maybe we'll all just give up gaming for Pikachu stuffing.

@rjejr Pikachu stuffing? I'm not quite sure what to picture there, but it could be that or solving the riddle of how to get Pikachu on a bus...

As for your busy household-save-problem: I think I have solved it...

Each mobile unit has its own code/username/account and the home console has a save slot for each mobile unit so no one is overwriting a save game of another user, because the mobile unit syncs with the correct save slot each time you connect them.

You might think that this means that I have already abandoned the "one save game that rules them all" idea, but nothing is further from the truth: it is still one save game between mobile unit and home console, except for four separate users. (or less, obviously, if you don't have four people using the console)

The reason why I think that they will sell at least one mobile unit in the starter pack is because they have to sell the idea and if they sell everything separately, a lot of people might possibly stick to their pro controllers and what not...

EDIT:
There has been quite a bit of talk about improving the account system, so all of that together should also offer a solution to the example of the problem that you posted.

@Captain_Gonru I reckon the account/username/NNID you enter on the console as one of four possible users could easily be "reserved" for additional mobile units (assuming that one unit is in the starter kit) that you might buy later on, depending on what separate units cost. Initially, they will probably let most games also support the various other controllers.

Once you sync a new unit to the home console, it will ask you to which account the unit should be tied, it will sync and download the necessary software and/or upload all the game progress the second user already made on the home console to the mobile unit, and the same for the third and fourth user, so everything is correctly distributed across multiple units, negating any save or NNID problems. Obviously, this means that every game comes with the standard option of 4 save slots, to accommodate the maximum number of mobile units.

That means that you will only see your own games and your own results on your designated mobile unit, and you will only be able to see and edit all users on the home console, if necessary.

And parents or primary users (i.e. account number one) could designate games that can be shared by all users, which still wouldn't have to endanger individual save games, because the saves are still tied to the individual accounts, neatly saved in their designated save slot, with the system taking care of the saves, so no kids, wives, girlfriends or pesky over-for-the-holidays-cousin overwriting your hard earned level 149 Pokemon by accident...

Hope that makes sense to you. It's just off the top of my head, after all...

@Captain_Gonru Don't worry: I'm 45yo, and a very relaxed, social person, and I won't get stressed every time an anonymous person on the internet doesn't instantly agree with everything I say...

First off: I see that I forgot to react to the download only problem you painted, but I would like to respond, so here goes: I never said that Nintendo would go download only, so you must have misread me somewhere. I only used download in relation to the mobile units, but always added that these downloads come from the physical copy of the home console version of a game.

Both industry analysts and quite a few reliable and knowledgeable media have estimated that Sony will move towards GaaS (Gaming as a Service) if they will release another gaming system, a rumor only supported even further by their purchase of cloud gaming company Gaikai, and Microsoft may go the same route, seeing as digital games are already a really big portion of their current console and backwards compatibility is completely digital, only requiring an original game disc for verification of purchase to prevent piracy and what not.

This will only expand in the future for both parties, GameStop or not. And there are other parts of the world to take into account too; parts of the world where there is no GameStop, so they may have some "clout" but they certainly aren't as big worldwide as they are in the States, so their word carries little weight in Europe and Asia.

I know they've bought out several companies in Europe (like EB and Micromania) too, but none of them are big enough to be leading in the area of game and console sales; there's a lot of other brands and shops in Europe and Asia that are WAY bigger than the ones that GameStop bought. For example, I am originally from California, but I live and work in the Netherlands and travel frequently throughout Europe and I still have to see the first GameStop or even EB Games. I may not have seen every part of those countries, but I know for a fact that they haven't got a single store in the Netherlands.

As for the continuing quest for a near-perfect save system: that primary account could indeed be set up by a parent, because if only children play on it, that might even be required, depending on the age of the children.

Obviously, if it is a person of around 15, 16 or older, then no overseer is necessary, but to name one example, my best friend's daughter has restricted access to her account on the Xbox, which was configured by her father, so she can only play on certain days and never after 9pm, except for the weekends.

As for the necessity of a home base: with only a mobile unit, you could of course also enter an account, since everything I suggested earlier pertaining to saves and accounts works vice versa, so if you buy the mobile unit first (and we are then of course assuming that it will indeed be the next handheld) then you could enter the data there, and sync with the home console later on if you ever plan to buy that.

The save game solution works both ways and so does the account.
The reservation of accounts on the home console was only a suggestion based on buying that first, but maybe I should have elaborated on that a bit more. (then again, there's already more than enough wall of text to go around)

As for @rjejr: I have the utmost respect for the man, as far as you can have that for any person that you don't really know personally, and I really like to read his comments, especially the longer ones, because they carry a certain weight that more often than not (in my humble opinion) only an older person could express. Even though he can't type Nintendo to save his life...

@Captain_Gonru I also hope that they keep physical media, but it is rapidly becoming more of a hopeless dream than a reality. As for retailers: they could still sell DVD boxes with a card with a download code in them, same as the Xbox 360 had for their Xbox Live subscriptions for those people that want a pretty box to put on their shelf: http://img.ozgameshop.com/pc_and_video_games/accessories/xbox_360/xbox_360_points_and_subscriptions/xbox_live_gold_12_month_membership_card_xbox_360_and_xbox_one_digital_download_1_raw.jpg

Nintendo is stubborn enough to continue giving us some kind of physical medium at least for the foreseeable future, but the other two? I'm really not so sure.

Most of the signs are pointing to it being highly unlikely. And there's even talk that Microsoft will leave altogether: the department doesn't want to, but more and more shareholders speak out about completely disbanding the Xbox department and concentrating solely on PC.

Oh well, we could always become retro gamers...

@TheRealThanos @Captain_Gonru

Regarding download only - I haven't given this too much thought yet, but what about putting the games ON the toys? Both Yoshi's Wooly World and Chibi-Robo came w/ amiibo. Couldn't you just give them a thumbdrive outlet? OK, sure, 3DS doesn't have a USB port, but 4DS/NX could have one. Sure all the games would cost $10 more, but they already went up from $50 to $60, who's going to notice $60 to $70?

And it doesn't have to be amiibo, COD could be on a dogtag, Forza on a matchbox car, Madden on a football. Senran Kagura on a ... well I'll get back to that one. XCX collectors edition already comes w/ a thumb drive w music on it. I see lots of games over on Pushsquare w/ physical items. Like the little silver blob from DQ on the PS4.

I don't think the toys and swag are going away, might as well make good use of them. USB 3.0 seems pretty fast for large file transfers but I'm open to new tech. I don't think it can be wireless, but this could be the console of the future:

Thinking Dena and nintendo could produce a software app which has compatability as a Nx controller....the mobile aspects could always mean smartphone/tablets/mobile gaming device/wiimotes all as multiple controllers....and ps4/xbox are under powered expecting something thats new ball park hardware from nintendo as 3 years after the ps4.....cross platform could reali mean cross alot of platforms including vr/ar