GameStop Survey Suggests We'll See Nintendo NX Within The Next 12 Months

I Can't wait for the new console.

From that survey, you'd almost expect NX to be some kind of VR thing, looking at all the other options given. XD

I don't think GameStop will know anything about a potential release, I mean Nintendo hasn't even revealed the system yet. Plus do you really think Nintendo would trust giving out release date information to a potential outsider that could leak it?

I'm still on the boat saying we'll only get whatever part of the NX doesn't connect to a TV this year.

Next year will be whatever replaces the Wii U.

Obviously this proves it. It's not like they've never taken preorder money for stuff that never ended up happening or charging the wrong amount on things and cheating customers. NX mentioned in their poll = solid proof it's coming.

For some reason Nintendo seems fixated with the Gamepad, and while on paper it looked like the next step for the home console, in reality it didn't work. A while ago NL and others were asking 'should Nintendo drop it if favour of the pro controller'. I was and still am in the yes camp.

But Nintendo can't let go of the gamepad and I think the NX is gamepad 2 and Wii U 2 will be here in 2017.

Nintendo also seems fixated on innovation. Without it we would not have had the 3ds but innovation does not come without its failures, the gamepad being one.

The first 3ds had its limitations but the new version is great. Maybe the same could be said of a new gamepad, but I'm not sure we need one.

@zool the gamepad is amazing and I don't see what the problem is, its comfortable and convenient to use and offers amazing gameplay possibilities. Ps4 n xbox are old hat with there basic controllers

@zool If the NX really does end up being a hybrid, then it will definitely have some kind of gamepad, albeit one that is portable and essentially replaces the handheld device.

People see the Wii U as a step towards that goal, it just didn't work out and I think was perhaps part of that was that it was rushed and didn't spend enough times in the research and development phase.

@FragRed Interesting you mention that, I remember thinking when the Wii U was first announced that you'd be able to take the GamePad with you places. It seems that the next logical step would be making something like that a reality, and judging by how little the GamePad has been used for its unique features, some small part of me still believes that was the original plan for it.

@zool The problem with the gamepad was largely execution. Many of the games Nintendo has released for the WiiU didn't benefit from the gamepad all that much. They should have invested more into games in genres that would benefit from it. The gamepad is most definitely a step forward. It's unfortunate that Nintendo tried to market it as a device that would appeal to ultra casuals. When playing the Witcher 3, it was painfully obvious that the gamepad would have greatly benefited the experience. This is true for a lot of modern games.

Well I know a lot of people who are not gonna get them from Gamestop including me that's for sure.

I think nintendo is trying to start the hyper train and helping to advertise. This is a good way for them to tell how many consoles they should get ready (so there is no shortage of systems like the Wii had). I could see nintendo releasing it this holiday season, to help them get a boost for it...anything after that, is going to hurt them with the PS4 and XONE getting most of their major releases by the end of 2016 and both of those consoles entering their 4th year in 2017. If nintendo wants to get back into the fight, it would be a good reason to get the system out in 2016. As for the Wii U, it may have a small fanbase, but they'll continue the games coming out for it until 2017, just be focusing more on their next one if it sells more. The Wii U may be a good system to it's fans (like myself), but nintendo's not going to continue something that isn't doing the best...just like Sony gave up on the PS3 when the PS4 was outselling by a mile-stone...it's a business to make money.

trust gamestop...um...wha..what?

Oh hey look, another non-article. There's not even a slim chance they know any more about NX than we do; and anyone should know that. But hey, those clicks are pretty important these days, right?

I still say Nov 2017. Until Nintendo officially announces the date, all this is pure speculation.

@Octane +1.

Gamestop employees googled the Internet for "new Nintendo console". Found lots of articles about "NX" on NintendoLife. Published survey. NintendoLife reports the survey as "news".

Uh....strange survey to put the NX in....

My survey shows that the NX will look good in a fedora. Hat controller confirmed.

I like being informed but even I am a bit tired of these very empty-feeling NX articles. A lot of speculation that just doesn't feel substantiated.

A little more journalistic discretion would be appreciated...I mean really I know no more about when the NX is launching than before I clicked the article. In fact I knew exactly the same amount of information as before clicking the article as after. =/

Whatever NX is and whenever it's going to be released, I'm probably gonna wait till the end of its lifespan. Unless indies start making awesome exclusive games for it. Nintendo obviously can't maintain a steady stream of must-have titles. Good stuff but not enough.

@roboshort It could and maybe should have worked, but it hasn't, and should Nintendo try and reinvent the Gamepad like they did with the 3d in the 3ds, or move on? I hope they move on.

I read some reviews from multi format games sites, reviews of games that were released on the Wii U that had previously been on Xbox or PS and the reviewers almost all agreed that while the Wii U version was almost as good as the other two consoles, the gamepad did not add anything to the overall game play, although on a few occasions it hindered gameplay.

I guess it is useful to display maps on but that's about all, most of the other stuff was either gimmicky or slowed down the game and third party developers could not be bothered adding additional content because it would not sell any extra games. Those that did then deserted Nintendo.

How helpful of them to tell us the correct answers too.

@Tsurii the only 'real' clue so far was given last year by someone from Nintendo (forgotten his name) when he said that the NX is NOT a replacement for the Wii U.

@roboshort the gamepad doesn't get credit for what splatoon players know, it's the best way to play a shooter on a console. it may even be better than a mouse. it was just so intuitive and natural that people never realized it.

@MitchVogel 'next logical step' is telling. the wii u wound up with the dual screens of the ds. the 3ds got similar motion control to the gamepad before the wii u even came out. it eventually adopted the button layout too. we may think the nx was created to combat wii u sales woes, but going hybrid may have been the plan all along. it just got bumped up is all.

the nx can be whatever nintendo wants as soon as it is still compatible with wiiU games and it has at launch a remaster version+AllTheDLC of Splatoon, Smash Bros, Mario Maker, MarioKart8, Xenoble ChroniclesX and Bayonneta 1+2!

i love the gamepad but there is some cons. It is heavy and awkward for some games. The fact that the battery life is only 2 hours is a major downer. The 20 Ft range makes going into the crapper a joke. I agree with @MitchVogel. I did think you could take it anywhere and was somewhat disappointed that did not do that. That being said, it is great. I do think the next logical step is to sell it as a portable then release the console with a normal controller. This would be the best option.

Yeah...sure. I think it's more likely that they're just guessing because of the rumors. This doesn't mean anything.

Welp, still sooner than I want but I understand why Nintendo will have to do it. I'll be waiting to see what the launch line up is. Still quite content with the WiiU. So I'll likely sit this out a year.

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAS!

If it's a handheld I'm buying ASAP. If it's a console I'll wait a bit.

@Ashthearcher @Ryu_Niiyama You guys realise this isn't confirmed? It's not even a rumour. GameStop doesn't know any more than we do. It's a wild guess at best.

@Tsurii @Octane These types of bait articles seem to be very prominent when there's very little actual Nintendo news. Would be so great for a Direct to be announced very soon so these can at least temporarily go away.

@Octane @FragRed Of course Gamestop will know more than we do about NX, they are the ones who are going to be selling the things. Gamestop had Xeno blade Chronicles as an exclusive, they have in store Wiig U kiosks with demos, they have exclusive amiibo, they have more 3DS promotion than any other store I know. Best Buy knows more than us as well. You can't be a big manufacturing company like Nintendo and come up with a new product you expect stores to sell and not tell the stores when they are coming. Not everyone at Gamestop and Best Buy know anything, but the top 1% of employees know some generalities about what to expect and when. They've probably known since Nintendo changed its marketing footprint to Nintendo. Not exact specifics, but a general idea of when it would be coming, maybe how much it would be and how much stock they could expect to get.

Considering the bad blood between NoA and Amazon US it would be stupid of Nintendo to not be in communication with Gamestop, Best Buy - the place for all those E3 demo events - and maybe Walmart and/or TRU and about changes to their hardware supply.

Those retailers may not know a lot more than us, but all the stuff we hear as rumours they hear as fact or fiction.

As far as the release date, I've been a big proponent of holiday 2016 since the beginning for many reasons - not enough Wii U games for 2017 and the holiday being the only good time to launch new hardware being 2 important ones - but this being Nintendo, maybe we do get Zelda U and Paper Mario U holiday 2016 and NX March 2017. When it will sell for a month then doing nothing for 5 months. You think they would learn from 3DS, but maybe not?

@zool Nintendo was at it's best when it was focused on innovation, just not necessarily innovation in hardware, at least not primarly.
I agree though, so far I have seen zero convincing arguments in favour of the gamepad for actual gameplay. There were some decent implementations, but really nothing that could not have done without it (yes, even Splatoon could have easily used a minimap/ overlay or whatever). The most beneficial aspect to me still seems to be Off-TV play. It works better than the Ps4-Vita combo, and sometimes it can be a useful feature, but that is about the extent of it's usefulness - nothing I could not live without.
The ressources spend on the gamepad, not to mention the development ressources desperate chasing it's actual "fun factor" would have been better spend elsewhere ... :-/
Nintendo has a tendency to hamstring itself, by forcing itself to adapt to complicated circumstances of it's own making. If you just happen to have perfect timing, hitting the proverbial zeitgeist spot-on, as with the Wii, then it is quickly forgotten, that half a dozen other attempts at making this "magic" happen, were mostly failures.
Maybe they should focus on a more pragmatic approach, and not so much on chasing the (hopefully) next big thing.

@rjejr I get what you are saying, and it does make a lot of sense that the top people at these companies know more about the NX than we do, including launch details.

My only concern is that if it were to launch holiday 2016, then Nintendo need to pull a Sony and Microsoft approach and make the first reveal before E3 to get the hype started with the main showcasing at E3 itself. Otherwise I don't think they'll be able to both reveal the system, showcase it and show the line up all in a single 1 to 2 hour slot. And I certainly don't think it would give people enough time to get fully hyped and save up to buy the NX.

...too bad that GameStop is going to close in Puerto Rico this March...

I trust nothing except for official word from Nintendo.

@Ralek85 @Ralek85 I agree.

@zool Gamepad works a treat, off tv play alone is worth it for me and whoever has a family who doesn't live in a mansion with multiple TVs. Now, if everyone KNEW about it, that's a different story; and it's mainly Nintendo's fault.

It works for you . But most people don't live in a mansion but most. do have a second screen.

@zool We have a 2nd, 3rd and even 4th extra screen, but they're all PCs, laptops included. And that's the case for a large percentage of people in UK. You should know the average family-home size, living in uk yourself...

Most bedrooms with gamers in them will have their own screen and possibly even more than one console. I don't class children as gamers. They play games.

I'm beginning to wonder if NX will be the most hyped Nintendo console yet. And we technically don't even know about it!

@rjejr I depends, some may know more than we do, but the guy that made the survey? Most likely not. Still, assuming they did know ''something'', Nintendo would never allow GameStop to casually mention its release window like this. Not until they've revealed that themselves at least.

Holiday 2016 is still 9-10 months away, I doubt anyone store already knows what's coming and what isn't. Fat chance this is just a guy taking a wild guess.

Ah, but the information here DOES teach us something new. It means that a major US retailer is trying to gauge interest in upcoming devices.

...That doesn't seem new or interesting? Well, considering Gamestop store shelves have only dedicated barely more than zero space to Wii U, and only a significantly smaller space for 3DS than the DS back in it's prime, I would say this survey is important. If their research shows favorable results towards NX, and unfavorable results to all or some of the several VR devices on the horizon, or vice versa, then that may partially determine where their shelf space will be dedicated towards in the future.
Will Gamestop feature NX on the same level as Wii/DS put together in the past? Or will they convert to more of an Apple Store appearance, with overpriced fancy gadgets hogging a lot of empty space? (Anyone who has ever visited an Apple Store knows what I mean here. )

Or will it be some sloppy configuration in between? This survey gives us a heads up to pay attention to what direction they'll be going.
Also, I've yet to see more recent store display efforts match those put into displays at places like Toys R' Us back in the '90s, for Nintendo, Sega, and Sony. Perhaps the NX could mark a return to the huge gaming company logos emblazoned for all to see throughout both smaller and larger stores?

It seems pretty plausible that Gamestop has enough info to consider putting that on their survey, ahead of any reveal. If devkits have gone out, Gamestop would know through their connections.

I'm ready for more NX details.

@Octane Yeah, I think NL is positing the wrong questions in this article, and are guilty of using sensational headlines. They should be questioning the role of retail for NX in the future, and commenting on past and present treatment of shelf space for Nintendo. (Though they're UK based, so maybe they can't do that accurately in the case of Gamestop.) I also wonder if the UK has ever been exposed to the incredible displays the US had back in the '90s and early '00s...

Nah, that's nothing special. GameStop just thinks that the NX might come in the next 12 months. They don't know for sure.
Although I believe it most likely might.

On the topic of VR, I think they just listed all of the new gaming tech hardware incoming, and the only ones just happen to be VR related and the NX.

Obviously. Nintendo already said they'll be talking about it in 2016.

Interesting...
I hope they do smaller, less clunkier controller with the NX, the Gamepad was really annoying to use sometimes, and use to get finger prints on it whilst the Xbox One controller was really fun to play and use. So please Nintendo do not do another Gamepad.

@zool Sure, and kids sleep in the shed, yes? You'd be lucky to fit a bed and a wardrobe in most kids bedrooms. Again, in UK.

@CB85 Nah, this is just new hardware that they're anticipating will be released this year. Don't read into it any more than that.

The Nx is a portable virtual reality device releasing this year. It will use an improved version of the New 3DS's 3D, as well as full screen emergen and an improved Power Glove. It's basically a mix of 3DS, VB, and PG.

@andrea987

As soon as I find out if the next Zelda is going to be on the NX, I will sell my Wii U. Especially if my digital content is backwards compatible.

@sandman89 yes, ps4 and xb1 are old hat. Old hat that are leading the industry numbers right now and have all the new games across all genres coming out for them.

Let me guess, next you'll say they're all sheeple too.

At this point I am amazed that anyone still thinks NX is coming in 2017. Just because you just bought a Wii U and don't want a new Nintendo to come this soon means it isn't coming this year.

Pfft, Gamestop doesn't know anything. Remember when Twilight Princess was up for preorder for like 2 and a half years?

@gatorboi352
I too am amaze that people still think that the NX is going to be a 2017 release.
It is like they think Nintendo should keep a half dead console alive a little bit longer to satisfy them and not think about their company finances returning to significant profits ASAP. Some even want the NX in 2018.

What is even more amazing and verging on the point of being silly is that people still think it is only a handheld taking into account the company has always contrasted it with the Wii U.

@Octane "but the guy that made the survey?"

That guy is only a pair of hands, the puppetmasters behind the scenes probably know more than we do. Not a lot more, but what do we actually "know"? I feel like it's almost entirely all rumours at this point. IWiat asai d"NX platorm" adn Regie said "NX" at E3. That's really not much more than what we already knew, Nintendo is a company that makes videogame hardware and 3 years after Wii U they would be working on new hardware. That's not news, but that's really all we "know". Retail bigwigs probably have a better idea as to the "fact" Ninteod told them them are making new hardware and probably has also given them a window - late 2016, early 2017, late 217 - and a window is more than we have, Nintendo has never given a time line for launch, only when they would talk about it. Reggie probably plays golf w/ the heads of Best Buy and Gamestop, they know.

@FragRed "don't think it would give people enough time to get fully hyped"

Since when does Ntineod do anything to get anybody hyped? They had 5 games out for the Wi U holiday 2016 - Devil's Third, Fatal Frame, XCX, Mario Tennis Ultra Smash and AC:aF. 5 games on 1 system in the span of about 1 month. How much advertising did you see for 5 games?

I Agree w/ you 100%, Ninteod should advertise more. They released the $249 3DS in March, and it bombed after the first month b/c nobody has $250 to spend in April, May or June on a videogame console. but if you announce the console in spring, games in summer, launch in fall, well people don't really have to save up for a holiday gift, the average US resident spends $800.

http://americanresearchgroup.com/holiday/

I don't think the NX will be over $800. It's main compettion will probably be VR headsets, Occuls Rift and PSVR, but I think the NX could sell better than those. Hard to tell when Nintneod won't even give us a clue what it is.

There are just too many reasons in my head to launch in 2016, not enough to wait. Though again, it would help if I knew if it were a $400 Wii U w/ a portable Gamepad, $300 Home console or $200 portable w/ TV out. But I think they still have lots of time to build up hype for 2016 after TP HD, SFZ and Pokken release. Early May for hardware, E3 for games. And whatever they decide, I think retail CEO's know. Or retail CEO's know Ntinodo hasn't decided yet, b/c maybe they haven't.

@Octane hmm... I have gotten information from DMs rather early back when I worked for GS however honestly my comment was in general. If the NX comes out within the next two years I'll be sitting it out for a year. Mostly because I just finished buying a ps4, xbone and jpn wiiu in the past 6 months. However also just because I have quite the backlog to work through and I very much like the wiiu.

The NX is going to get new details revealed this E3. And I can say that it will get a release date sometime next year. Most likely during E3 2017. It COULD be a handheld. And it probably will be. But if it's a console, I would say it's a better idea to wait until around the time Sony and MS are ready to show off their next systems. but they probably won't even have theirs ready to reveal until 2019. There's no telling what's gonna happen. But I hope Nintendo is ready to get back into the competition and pull gamers towards their system. They should've already done this with the Wii U. (which shouldn't have even had Wii in its name) It's time to show people Nintendo isn't "kiddy" and that they can compete.