Retail Executives and Analysts Voice Support For Nintendo's NX Release Window and Lack of E3 Showing

This is rather unusual of Nintendo to delay something cough cough, but if this will help the NX be the best system it can be, then so be it.

I'm no expert but I think Nintendo's doing something right. Yeah I know what you'll say - typical Nintendrone but I am far from that. Showing only Zelda at E3 isn't the best thing, I really would've liked something more but this means they can focus on showing one of their biggest and most antcipated game in all its glory. If it's as big as they say then we shouldn't worry too much about spoilers. As for the NX they can take their time and hold their own event showing it off with no competition from other companies as it would have at E3 - especially with the PS4 Neo. They can have people fully focused on NX when they want. As for the launch timing, it's perfect for me as I'll have enough from Christmas and my Birthday to get it, so I'm fine with that. As I said I'm no expert, I'm just a 15 year old boy. But Fates and the many other (J)RPG's will keep me busy along with other games such as Rhythm Heaven Megamix until the NX so I don't have a problem. As for people with different tastes I agree they should bring out more the 3DS. As for Wii U they can either release something fans want or let it die peacefully and it'll people a chance to work on their backlogs (like me). Anyway I've been talking (well, typing) for too long. That's just my view on the matter.

@BensonUii That image gets me weak every time I see it. X3

Hmm, are those positive noises in the retail scene due to definite insider knowledge or is it just fingers-crossed hope? I'd love to know. There seems to be some buzz, but it's impossible to verify in light of the stony silence from Nintendo.

There is hype for the NX have too see if it goes up when Nintendo reveals the system.

@Sakura I suppose they want to make profile with the NX so they are not going to knock it before its released, weather they know anything about it or not.

They can release this late next year for all I care. I still think it's a big mistake to show nothing of it at E3 this year. They need to create buzz about it and not hold to these secrets like they have always done. This is same old Nintendo if you ask me.

I agree it better that they take their time to get it right rather than rushing it out in time for Christmas. I was mainly against the NX launching this year mainly out of concern that it would suffer from what I call Saturn syndrome look up the Sega Saturn launch to understand what I mean. Also people seem to forget PS2 also happened to launch in Spring

@Wolfgabe No, PS2 launched in October I believe. I know because I waited outside of a Best Buy for about 15 hours.

Unless you're referring to the Japanese release?

I think E3 is for them to network with other devs/publishers about the NX. If the rumors about easy porting are true, I think 6-8 months should be enough time to port quite a bit of One and PS4 games. This could build up to one of the best launches in console history... if 3rd-parties join in of course.

I'm just hoping we'll get a surprise Direct with a "last gasp" of Wii U content. I honestly don't care if it's anything more new aside from the new Zelda, just give us some more VC content like Skyward Sword to see the system on its way into the sunset.

And regarding the "life support" comment, I would only see shutting off Internet and eShop connections in that light and that's very unlikely to happen for years, even if the NX is a runaway success. That's certainly not something I'd be willing to place any bets on.

My thinking was that an exciting NX reveal at e3 would make Ms and Sony's 1.5 systems look, well, redundant. Sony and Ms get their userbase considering dropping console money this holiday, then Nintendo swoops in with something that more compelling that will open up a whole new library and maybe gameplay styles.

That can still happen this year I guess. I just don't understand the thought process but clearly we don't have any information on what NX is at all or how far along anything regarding it: hardware, software, manufacturing logistics, online infrastructure, backwards compatibilty/VC components, etc. are ready to be shown AND UNDERSTOOD.

Nintendo has had a bad habit the last few gens both console and handheld of revealing their ideas with very little proof of concept so maybe this is a smarter tack.

@BensonUii This is surely the darkest time line...

Most of these analysts know nothing. Case in point, Michael Pachter.

@Dakt Nintendo better support the online servers this time! I was so so mad at Nintendo for killing the Wii servers that I didn't buy the Wii U until 2 years ago.

Nintendo sells 100 million wiis. Screwed everyone...

They better not do it again.

@Sean_Aaron don't be so sure, Nintendo screwed us on the Wii online!

It seems to me that the lack of NX at E3 speaks to a lack of confidence in the system. Let's say they show its specs (and whatever new gimmick is taped on), and everyone thinks it's crap; then Nintendo has to spend all of 2016 arguing "Please just give us a chance!" Whereas if they knew it was a killer crowd pleaser, then 2016 would just be a huge momentum builder. I'm not getting my hopes up on this one.

We all wish the NX will be the second coming in consoles, but how often has Nintendo really delivered on your expectations? I mean really? Personally, I believe the N64, GameCube Wii, and WiiU have all fallen short of what they could have been - yes, the phenomenally successful Wii included. I always have thought of that system as an accidental success. How much further could the aforementioned systems have gone if Nintendo had proceeded with them differently? There's no reason why Nintendo shouldn't still be top dog in the industry, but it just isn't.

Reminder:

Wii released Q4 2006

Nintendo WiFi service ended may 2014

Wii U released Q4 2012

NX releasing Q1 2017

Are they going to kill online for Wii U in the middle of 2019???

I sure as hell hope not...

@Danrenfroe2016 The best thing here: two of the more multiplayer focused games with online access will be released between july and december this year: Monster hunter X (in the West) and the next generation pokémon.
A few month later, the new generation Nintendo platforms are released and in the second year after, the services for the previous consoles are cut off. Nice timing

@Li_Bae I really agree with your statement on the Wii.

The most disappointed I ever was, dirt 2 was coming to Wii... And it was a quick throw together by a substandard dev as a cash grab, not anything like the real dirt 2 on other systems...

@Danrenfroe2016 Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection went offline in 2014, two years after the launch of the Wii U and Nintendo Network. It wasn't like it went offline the very day the Wii U was released.

"voice support"

Very timid limited support at that. While none of the comments was out right negative, they were much more along the lines of giving Nintendo the benefit of the doubt than endorsing missing the holiday or missing E3.

They are basically saying - well it's not the end of the world if Nintnedo misses the holiday and E3, lets just hope they know what they are doing and don't screw it up.

Admittedly a lot nicer that what the people actually playing the games and buying the systems with their own money have to say, the people who have the choice to continue gaming on Wii U/NX or switch to PS4 or Xbox 1, but it's what I would expect from businessmen.

I didn't see anybody answer the questions straight up - Do you think it would be better for Ntinedo to launch during the holiday or in March, do you think it would be better for Ntneod to show NX at E3 or at some other time. Just b/c Nitnod can be OK missing both the holiday and E3 doesn't make those the optimal choices. The world isn't black and white, right or wrong, it's all gray. Man it's been all gray and raining for a week now where I am in.

@Danrenfroe2016 Dirt lived up to it's name on Wii. It's the real dirt.

I feel like all this NX news and how the Wii U is already is hurting Star Fox Zero sales and will help kill sales for other upcoming games like Paper Mario at this point . Kind of sucks.

@rjejr New technology, if it's good enough, will sell whenever. As long as the games are there at launch, the NX will sell well in March.

Showing NX at E3 would be okay, but it's much better for Nintendo to announce it either at a bigger event (like the Tokyo Game Show) or a dedicated event where they will be the centre of attention.

@rjejr If the NX isn't projected to be ready by the holidays, then March of the following year will give the 1st and 3rd party games more "oomph", for lack of a better word. I would rather have a great selection of games (strong support) than only have one or two games with a "meh" attitude about it. This is probably a smart move on Nintendo's part. Not sure about the E3 "only Zelda" showing, however. Can't they feature some 3DS games as well? Since I am a 3DS owner, the new releases slated through December look amazing.

Nintendo is like a clock: tick tock tick tock...

NES = Tick
SNES = Tock
N64 = Tick
GC = Tock
Wii = Tick
Wii U = Tock
NX = Tick

NES was the original, it was successful.
SNES was overshadowed by the new king: Sega.
N64 was the best 3D console, successful.
GC was a failure like Wii U.
Wii was the most successful, followed of course by
Wii U the crappiest.
NX is another Tick, and so it goes on and on...

@Nintendian I would say it's more tick-tick-tock-tock-tick-tock; the SNES was still reasonably successful, while the N64 bombed almost as badly as the Gamecube.

@DiscoGentleman Really, I always thought of it as the more "intense" and "competitive" fanbase.
Dead Space, Halo, Dark Souls, Call of Duty, The Elder Scrolls... they're very P-v-P focused and/or darker and more mature.

Anyways, "...believe the company has 'just switched off Wii U's life support'" isn't surprising in the slightest.

@readyletsgo Well, "positive noises" are far better than Nintendo getting a slamming for the timing decision. It's absolutely possible that the decision is wise. But it's also absolutely impossible to tell at the moment.

@Nintendian To call the N64 a "tick" in the wake of the Playstation, which outsold the Wii, seems like a tough argument to make.

@polaris1966 Having to launch in March b/c either the hardware or software isn't ready is one thing, but trying to make it sound like launching in March is better than launching hardware and games right before the holidays is something else. The holidays do matter, and trying to make it sound like it doesn't is just delusional. Nobody can say - holiday's don't matter - they do. Go look at any console ever launched and see where most of the sales are. Oct, Nov Dec. Yes, launch month is always good, early adopters have you covered, but Dec is a better 2nd month than April.

@the-madprofessor "but it's much better"

I'm not sure if it's b/c you are in the UK or not, but in the US E3 is it. Everybody knows when E3 is, I'm nto sure most Americans know when TGS or any of those others are. Meybe it's the US-centirc view, maybe it's th eUS media hyping E3 year round, or something as simple as the time zones, but for American gamers it's all about E3. There is no "better".

"New technology, if it's good enough, will sell whenever."

So are you saying Wii U wasn't new, or good enough? Vita was new tech that most people would argue is better than 3DS but it didnt' sell. That's a pretty wide net your casting there.

@Danrenfroe2016 It's not Ninty's fault entirely...

@rjejr The Vita was new tech, and that tech was better than the 3DS, but the games available at launch paled in comparison to what the 3DS, at a cheaper price, was offering. The Wii U, in spite of its good library now, had a weak launch line-up for what is effectively an underpowered console, (depending on where you live) cost too much for just the basic bundle with no games, and was suffering from third-party developers like EA both abandoning it and launching puerile attacks online.

For the UK (and most of Europe), Gamescom would be the big one, which is mainly the reason why it's the biggest convention in terms of attendance figures.

"it's worth noting Nintendo has been cultivating its own means of connecting with fans. So it has scope for communicating the NX in the lead-up to launch, outside of major traditional industry showings."

So in other words, the NX (with a proper name) will be revealed in a Nintendo direct?

The more I think about it, the more I realize that I'll have much more cash to purchase a new console (or whatever it is) and games (Zelda) in March than I would at Christmas after buying gifts. Got no problem with the launch window, I'd kinda like to hear some price points creep into the picture though.

@DiscoGentleman I completely agree and always thought that! The term hardcore gamer seems to mean 'mature' where as I consider a hardcore gamer more the type of gamer that is dedicated to all things gaming-you lives and breaths it rather than just playing the latest instalment of Call of Duty... You're kinda right in the fact is Wii U users must be considered pretty hardcore for backing such a niche, failure of a console... 😜

Makes sense. Nintendo wasn't ready for the Wii U, and the Wii U wasn't ready for the world. They need more time so that they won't release another failure.

It seems to me that March would be a great time to launch a console in the U.S. Tax season, baby!

At first I thought Nintendo was crazy for releasing in March, but I'm starting to think otherwise. Considering the Wii U's drought at the beginning, I think Nintendo learned their lesson and are coming back at it with a strategy.

The die hard fans are going to buy the console anyway, so the timing doesn't really matter. Those looking for it for a holiday gift are going to want something to play on it; and those who aren't interested at all are most likely only going to be compelled if there's a game that they're interested in.

Almost no console launches with a good set of games. It takes time for developers to come on board and some of that is just the publishers keeping an eye on the console and seeing if it's worth it. This extra time throughout the year will build some hype and really get things going.

I don't think it's necessarily the silver bullet, but at least it's a strategy. Now my big hope is they get the marketing right... I still have friends that ask "oh, that's the Wii tablet thing, right?"

As for E3, I think Nintendo has sort of lost interest in it in general. Once upon a time it was the way to get their news out there, but there's so many better channels now (youtube, ND, etc.), but I think they still have pride in their Twilight Princess announcement and want to top that. It might help if they approached it saying "The Legend of Zelda team will be at E3 2016 to present a playable version." Rather than "Nintendo just wants to show this one project."

Nintendo was dominant with the NES/SNES, declined with the N64 and even more with the Gamecube, exploded with the Wii and bombed with the Wii U.
MS had a decent but not great start with Xbox, did great with the Xbox 360 and not so much with Xone.
Sony was the most consistent of all; PS1 a success, PS2 even bigger, PS3 late success, based on momentum from previous gens and PS4 so far very successful.
A few observations from these successes in my opinion. First two Nintendo systems had good hardware and great first and third party support.
Xbox 360 did everything right; great online capabilities, good hardware and easy to develop for, great software, both first and third party.
Sony was both efficient and lucky. The PS1 had good hardware, but it was the laser disc and piracy that made it a success. PS2 almost the same, good hardware but piracy and DVD playback made it successful. The PS4 became such a success mostly cause of the big mistakes made by MS at Xone launch and due to a combination of capable hardware ,a decent price, huge third party support and online capabilities ,although it had no good exclusives to show for a long time.
The Wii I believe was a unique case of easy to understand, fun hardware and software at a very nice price.
What all those success stories have in common that still apply to modern gaming are:
Capable hardware, easy to develop for - get major third party support that lasts as long as your console.
Online capabilities,enough storage ,attractive price. They all seem pretty obvious ,but I fear not for Nintendo.
I absolutely love Nintendo,I would probably buy - and love - their new whatever console , cause they never let me down with their games.But it is not me or most people in this site that they need to convince .I don't live in a cave ,I game on a fast PC and play mostly every genre and know what gamers play and what they think.Nintendo NEEDS to compete with MS / Sony in their field ,it is their customers - or potential customers , they need to win back.They buy consoles, they buy software.The Wii crowd moved on and even if they gamble,Wii style,again, I don't know if they can endure another failure.On top of that,those customers don't buy software.I really hope Nintendo knows all that,or make another miracle and turn the world upside down once again.

I think they know they'll get close to 3 million sales (a figure I just plucked out of thin air) before their first holiday period just from all the die hards. Another Xmas launch with terrible post Xmas sales would put them back in Wii U territory.

To be honest, I think they're in trouble either way. Their only hope is to launch with Mario Kart and a killer app that everyone wants but I suspect they're pinning a great deal of hope on NX Zelda. Having said that, the Wii and DS came around at a time when most of the industry had written them off. Their marketing was fantastic back then but has been dreadful since they stopped the Redknapp family MK Wii adverts.

"just switched off Wii U's life support", that's jumping the gun. Paper Mario Colour Splash is yet to be released, unless it makes the jump to NX because of a delay?!

IS everybody forgetting about this game?

So....I only buy Nintendo systems to play Nintendo exclusives only....I mean I'd it could also play witcher 3 and ffxv I might be more happier but if not I'll just buy a PlayStation too.

@Whopper744 I don't see how, if Star Fox sales are hurting it's due to it's divisive controls, not the Wii U shutting down. And the only thing this news is hurting is selling more Wii U's, the games will sell just fine (or as fine as they have considering the Wii U's install base). People who own a Wii U will still want to play the games that are still coming.

It is dissapointing that they won't show anything else but Zelda at E3, but if it means they will do their own reveal event (and hype it well) it will catch a lot more buzz than if they simply announced at E3. Plus, if Microsoft and Sony announce something about PS4k or Xbox 1.5 specs or characteristics, they will have the info to adjust their own stuff (price or release bundles for example).

@GN004Nadleeh I've only ever bought Nintendo console for Nintendo games, most of the popular titles on Sony/MS consoles don't appeal to me, sure there are a few that do, but not enough to buy in.

Third party ports are not going to make the NX the best selling console, it's just not going to happen, Nintendo needs third parties creating games for the NX not porting to it.

@GN004Nadleeh
and Dark Souls and grey FPS games and Dirt Rally and Doom and Diablo and whatever they play with the great first party Nintendo games as icing on the cake.

I am sure that Nintendo will have a pre-E3 Direct to show fans what they have planned for the holiday season. 3DS will be the focus of that presentation and that is the right thing to do. Those are the games that need to sell well this holiday in order for Nintendo to meet its financial targets.

As for the NX launch timing, I actually prefer that new systems not launch in the holiday period. It reduces the need to have a huge shipment of systems ready for launch and hopefully reduces the number of faulty hardware units that end up in the hands of consumers. It also ensures that casual buyers who are shopping for Christmas presents do not have to compete with die-hard fans for limited hardware units. By the time the holiday season comes around the early adopters will all have their systems and Nintendo can focus on selling to the masses. It also gives them time to have second wave software ready for the system's first holiday season.

If Nintendo have a great software line-up then it will not matter what time of year they launch. The system will sell just fine.

@RoomB31
exclusives and ports both.In order for that to happen,they need to establish a large install base.What they need is to not lack in any comparison - at least by a big margin - ever again.

@Spoony_Tech Well, with 1 exception (you know which) I am done with any software purchases on this system. I will however, play it for as long as I am able. When all is said and done, getting my money's worth out of my investment will depend on, not when they stop selling at retail, but when they turn off our online. I am not all gung ho on the NX, as much as I love consoles. I will have to make a very good informed decision as to which next gen console I will be buying into...After this one, Nintendo has potentially lost my console loyalty. The NX better be very impressive.

I remember being furious with Nintendo for how they handled the end of the GameCube's commercial life. I did not mind that Twilight Princess became a dual platform release. I did not mind that the overall GameCube line-up was thin for the last 12 months. I had a handful of games that I was looking forward to and I expected them to keep me busy for months after the Wii launched. That list included Twilight Princess, Lego Star Wars 2, Kirby's Return to Dream Land and Super Paper Mario. Obviously, the last two never released on GameCube. They were quietly shifted to the Wii instead. I was so angry that I swore I would never buy another Nintendo system if that was how they treated their loyal fans who stuck with a system to the bitter end. However, a few years later I finally caved in and bought the Wii. After that I bought the 3DS. Those two systems provided me with so many great games that all was forgiven.

So ... I get why Wii U fans are ticked. They invested good money in the system and now Nintendo is abandoning it early and shifting resources to the next system. I am not surprised that some people are swearing to never buy another Nintendo system. However, I suspect that many of them will eventually come back for one simple reason: Nintendo makes the best video games in the world. Once the NX is established and great games are rolling in people will realize that they really want to play those games.

@Nintendian Uh...where the fronk are you from?! In NA the SNES obliterated the Genesis in-terms of sales and the same is true in Japan, with the exception of the Genesis being third behind the Super Famicom and the TG-16.

@the-madprofessor "Gamescon"

I knew there was a big game show in Germany, but I didn't know when it was or what it was called. A quick Google check tells me that's probably the one I was thinking of. Well that and "Cologne" rang a bell.

Would seem weird to me though to skip 1 big trade show E3 in June then unveil at another one GC in August if they want all the attention focused on them. Haven't had a Spaceworld or Nintendo World in a few years, maybe it's time?

Who knows, maybe NX will blow everybodys mind and all of this will be forgotten?

@Spoony_Tech
That's just it, though; think about everything from Sony and Microsoft that is rumored to be coming to E3 this year.
If PSNeo/VR and XBone Slim get announced, those announcements would eat into the hype of any hardware Nintendo could announce at the same time.
Separating themselves from that in order to do their own show, where they don't have to share spotlight or hype, allows them a better chance at success with the announcement.
E3 is big, but it's not so big that skipping it means they can't draw a crowd afterwards.

I mean, think about it: This is the NX.
A system people haven't been able to shut up about for TWO STRAIGHT YEARS.
Do you really think everyone's suddenly going to lose interest in its official unveiling just because it's not happening at E3?XD
Nintendo's not going to have any issues drawing a crowd for the NX's unveiling, despite E3 not being the stage for it.

There's too much curiosity surrounding it for them to be incapable of drawing a crowd.

@DiscoGentleman I think hardcore fanbase in video games are the people who chug mountain dew and inhale cheetos.

@BensonUii "I think Nintendo knows what they are doing"

Why? What makes you say that? All the bad decisions they've made over the past years, and they just lost Iwata, the head of the company, but people keep having faith in Nitneod that they know what they are doing.

If they were doing so well would they have gone ahead and come up with this nearly complete HQ overall?

https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2016/04/shake-up_to_nintendo_board_brings_new_job_titles_for_reggie_fils-aime_and_satoru_shibata

That looks like a company in turmoil to me, not a company that is sailing along.

Do you know what they call somebody who graduates medical school with a D average? Doctor.

@TruenoGT I hope that means they won't shut down the Wii U servers at all. There's also very little point in making Mario Kart 9 or another Smash Bros. unless there is a cool new gimmick. Graphically it will be the same HD etc. If they release them as ports, then it's fine for everyone to be on the same servers, maybe the NX with little bit enhanced graphics etc.

@rjejr that "overhaul" seems like a very technical meaningless corporate governance/legal change with no effects at all.

@rjejr

"Having to launch in March b/c either the hardware or software isn't ready is one thing, but trying to make it sound like launching in March is better than launching hardware and games right before the holidays is something else. The holidays do matter, and trying to make it sound like it doesn't is just delusional. Nobody can say - holiday's don't matter - they do. Go look at any console ever launched and see where most of the sales are. Oct, Nov Dec. Yes, launch month is always good, early adopters have you covered, but Dec is a better 2nd month than April."

See, that's just it; yes, the holidays matter, but if a system isn't going to be ready for the holidays, the holidays logically cannot be the better choice for it.
Whether or not launching in the holidays or in March is better, is a case-by-case thing.
If Nintendo launched the NX this holiday, it wouldn't have had the time Nintendo wants to build up the kind of hype and software line-up it'll need to succeed.

And before you say "E3 could have provided that hype", I disagree; having to deal with hardware and software reveals from Sony and Microsoft would have stolen a lot of the NX's thunder. An event later avoids that issue.

So you see, it's not that the holidays never matter.
It's just that, in this particular case, March does, indeed, matter more than the holidays, for the NX's success.
A holiday launch would not help Nintendo as much as a March launch this time.

I'm sure the holidays next year will be a big time for the NX and Nintendo, as usual, but for now, March is the big date that Nintendo has to worry and prepare for.

@smashbrolink Yes, I already know people that have jumped ship yo go to the other systems because of this. Because of their lack of any information people won't wait and Nintendo could be forgotten by many for not showing something at E3. Zelda isn't enough to hold peoples interest and in the long run another 10 million ps4ones will be sold (or more) before we even hear what their system is. If they just gave us a date of when they would show something it would shut a lot of people up.

@Neko_Ichigofan In EU, Nintendo has always been the enemy to the general public. SEGA won until Sony took over of which after that it was always Sony vs Microsoft.

Not sure I agree with analysts completely but having a lot of original games at launch shouldn't hurt the NX much. Then again, what do I know? I actually like Wii U...

I'm still buying all Wii U games I can. Last night I got both Bayonetta games. Most of then digitally.

Next week I'm going after Pikmin 3 and Wonderful 101 which I never got in time.

@Spoony_Tech Here's the thing, though; even those ship jumpers are going to have their ear to the ground when the NX announcement comes.
No one's going to "forget" about Nintendo just because they aren't at E3.
E3 isn't that omnipotent a stage.
And ship jumpers are just as fickle as any other kind of gamer; if the NX turns out to be great, they'll be back.

@IronMan28 Agreed, plus this "taking off of life support" bs is totally inaccurate. There's what? 300+ indie games plus 4-5 retail titles releasing this year? That's hardly life support if you aren't averse to downloading digital titles and boy are there some awesome ones coming out this year! YIIK, Soul Saga, Earthlock: Festival of Magic, Chromophore: The Two Brothers: Director's Cut, Axiom Verge, Freedom Planet 2, Yooka & Laylee, Bloodstained, Poncho, Churbles, Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE, Paper Mario: Color Splash, Zelda U and much more! Natsume Inc has also confirmed that they'll be releasing a bunch of their DS and Wii titles on the Wii U Virtual Console this year and Square Enix is rumored to be releasing their GBA and DS Final Fantasy titles and possibly a few of their other GBA and DS games on the service over the course of the next year! So there will be a ton of new content for those of you willing to utilize the eShop, but in-terms of retail presence the Wii U is on its last leg.

Every Nintendo system has traditionally had first party titles dry up once the next console is announced. It is just in the early consoles, there was a healthy and large group of third parties that would continue to develop on the console. Even the Gamecube got a final trickle of games like Madden '08 after the Nintendo support died.

With the Wii U however, there never was a healthy third party market. So instead of having a final year of third party titles, we end up with little more than Virtual Console, Nindies and a whimper of the last of First Party too far in development to be worth the port over followed by silence.

It is a sad end to what have been one of my favorite consoles. Yet I have a healthy game backlog on it and there are still a few I plan on picking up. Not to mention all the games that I will go back to eventually to replay (and possibly pick up DLC for).

@smashbrolink There may be good reasons for missing E3, and there may be good reasons for missing the holiday, but by missing both they may be giving gamers too many good reasons to miss NX.

And they haven't come back yet, they've been jumping ship since the NES. Unless you think the 101m Wii owners were actual Ntinedo gamers returning and not just casuals buying a thing called "Wii Sports".

NES 63
SNES 49
N64 33
Gamecube 22
Wii 101
Wii U 13

There's been about a 30% drop off EVERY gen except Wii. Nobody ever comes back.

@Spoony_Tech I think you and I are having the same conversation with the same guy.

@BensonUii Nope, not a thing, only what I've see happening the last few years. A lot of lieing and backtracking and missing dates. And I've seen nothing recently to make me think they can turn it around.

Well they can turn the company around - drop the home console to focus on handhelds, or drop handhelds and focus on mobile, or drop mobile and focus on the PS4.

Go look at those hardware numbers I've posted above. I've seen nothing to make me think NX - if a home console - won't continue that trend. I hope NX has a portable component, or NX Home and NXDS play the same games for once price. There are things they can do to be successful, but nothing I've seen over the past few years makes me believe they will. I can hope, but I'm not betting on it.

And I'm probably not waiting around to find out.

@Darkwario1 NX hasn't been delayed. It's release date has been announced. You can't release something before it's ready. If they turn around and say NX will come out later than March 2017, then you can say it's been delayed.

@rjejr I feel your frustration. I really thought that Nintendo was going to show NX at E3. The only explanation to me for missing E3 and the holiday season is that it's just not ready. While they probably have 80% or more of what the NX is nailed down, they're probably still trying to iron out that last 10-20%. Things like additional features (blu-ray or not?), apps (Netflix, Amazon, live voice chat, even when not in a game?), internet infrastructure, etc. and I assume from this course of action that they want to show it when it's 100% complete. Nothing else makes sense.

And for the record, no one graduates from medical school with a D average because there are no D's, at least in the US system. Anything below a C is a fail. And at my school, at least, you could pass a class with a 70% and get a C but you still needed at least a 75% overall average for all classes in order to graduate. Sorry, just don't want the NintendoLife faithful thinking there are a lot of "D doctors" running around out there. However, "D is for Degree" definitely applies to undergrad.

there is absolutely a way nintendo could make this happen, but i'm not convinced they're going to. that's the problem... their latest moves have me struggling with confidence in their model...

Give me a monster hunter 4 or generations on Wii u to pass the time!

@DoctorWily "apps (Netflix, Amazon, live voice chat, even when not in a game?"

I think Sony is still working that out on PS4 and that's been out for 2 years.

And if they haven't figured that stuff out yet, how can they so calmly claim - "March 2017"? They didn't say NX in 2017, they said March. It must be close to nailed down. Close enough to show next month. The Gamepad design changed from the first time they showed it. Things change. And if games aren't ready to be shown in June 2016 how can they be ready to be released in MArch 2017? They've been working on Zelda U since at least June 2014. And Pikmin 4 Miyamoto said was close to done.

I'm sure they have their reasons, I just hope they are very good ones.

And NX must be mostly along, apparent they've been working on Zelda U and Zelda NX "in tandem" for years.

https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2016/04/feature_a_summary_of_nintendos_key_announcements_on_nx_e3_and_mobile

None of it makes any sense to me. And the more Nintneod says the lees sense it makes.

@BensonUii Well there are glimmers of hope. There is a lot of good they still could do. But it's 1 step forward, seventeen steps back with them.

@rjejr You keep fighting the good fight here. I got to go to work. 😉

@TruenoGT Yes, I remember the Gamespy stuff, (memory jog) i dont have much faith in Nintendo right now... Recently its like Nintendo is doing the least amount or work necessary to complete the game or project.

Mario Kart 8: No battle arenas.

Hyrule Warriors: No online

Star Fox Zero: don't get me started

Eshop: still light years behind current day tech.

Its like Nintendo is happy with just "Good enough"

The Wii era reeked of "Good enough"

I want something "Great"

@the-madprofessor Still left me cold to Nintendo...

I read on this thread a lot of stories of how people felt screwed or at least mildly upset when Nintendo makes stupid decisions...

I really hope the NX is a beast. But I am eager to hear about the PS and Xbox updates at E-3.

I have never owned a Sony or Xbox, but I think I will need to soon as I feel so let down with both Wii and Wii U.

@rjejr Wow... Eye opening. And your exactly right about the Wii Sports... Five miles and Facebook sale groups are chock full of old Wii's,

@Mario-Man-Child

Please expand what you mean by "more games like Star Fox Zero"

@geox30 Bingo! I want to play these games...

For Nintendo: Are we going to have to jump ship to Sony?

Until Nintendo Answers this question with a solid answer, a shiney new playstation 4 neo is looking like the way to go.

@Rei Its scary huh?

@Mario-Man-Child I probably will, I need to be a two console guy... I need to get my fill of doom and dirt and such...

"In terms of Nintendo not debuting NX at a highly-visible event as E3, it's worth noting Nintendo has been cultivating its own means of connecting with fans. So it has scope for communicating the NX in the lead-up to launch, outside of major traditional industry showings."

Is he talking about Directs? Yes, they connect with Nintendo fans, but they don't connect with mainstream gamers which is what E3 could've helped with.

@Whopper744 I totally forgot about that game! Why aren't they showing that at E3 as well - it is being diverted to NX as well?

Honestly Nintendo has a MASSIVE uphill battle and to deny otherwise is completely foolish.. how are they going to be competitive with on-line infrastructure, something nintendo has been beyond weak with.. I honestly can't figure out what Nintendo has up their sleeves but they seem extremely bullish regarding the NX. I can only hope that the software output from first party are bigger and better games because they made a lot of smaller games that never justified that $60 price tag..

@Dakt Wii 2011 was "saved" for a nice backlog at least, Wii U is dying a dishonorable death.

@Danrenfroe2016

That's how I felt too. It seems like that's their MO, "new system comes out, stop supporting the previous system immediately". I liked the fact that Sony still supports the PS3, even years after the PS4 release. Don't get me wrong, I have always preferred Nintendo over other systems, but it'd be nice to show support for a couple of years of the older systems.

For anyone who, like myself, owns a PS/Xbox, Wii U is about as good as it gets really. NX will have a similar 1st party lineup as most all Nintendo consoles have. The only difference could be 3rd party support- games we would already be able to play anyways. Of course the 1st party library could improve a little (need Metroid) but Wii U also had top exclusives that past Ninty consoles haven't had, so it kind of balanced out.

Which brings me to the point- Nintendo consoles truly are only worth their weight in exclusives (unless you don't game on PS/Xbox). So for all the lacking 3rd party games on Wii U it really didn't make any difference for us. NX could have all the 3rd party games in the world... but it's "net appeal" to us won't be any more than Wii U was.

Basically what I'm saying is (unless you only game Nintendo), if you enjoyed Wii U you're gonna love NX. If you hated Wii U you're probably not gonna like NX either. Cause at the end of the day, the only value it really brings is the exclusive lineup, which will be somewhere in the ballpark of the Wii U's and every other past Nintendo console's (hopefully a few missing franchises will return but, one or two missing franchises doesn't make a library turn from crap to excellent or visa versa).

@BensonUii Armchair analysts don't understand business.

I'm just hoping they don't reveal NX via Nintendo Direct... That would only preach to the choir, and some news outlets. BUT if they go to Tokyo Game Show or bring back their Space World to unveil the NX and allow people to see it, touch it and play it, they will get all the media attention AND a much larger number of people will see it rather than the mostly shrinking fan base that watch the Directs.....
Directs cater to Nintendo fans, the NX shouldn't be shown only to us, it needs to be shown to the world at an actually real world event, not online only....

I was expecting a 2017 release for the NX all this time, so I was actually surprised to find out that it's coming so soon.

But the absolute lack of information from Nintendo lately is worrying, especially considering how soon the NX will be here. NX is releasing in 10 months and we have no idea what it is, we only know one first-party game coming to it, and we still don't actually know anything about that game. If they take too long to reveal their system (and the games for it), consumers won't have enough time to make the decision to buy it at launch.

There are too many factors that could make or break this console that we don't know yet- the specs, the pricing, the software, and the traditional Nintendo gimmick, so giving Nintendo fans the cold shoulder through E3 and beyond concerns me.

Do they not have any NX games releasing within the next year, other than Zelda? That's their latest 'thing', right? To only announce games that are expected to be released within a year? After E3, it'll be 9 months until launch and we still won't know anything about it. When are they actually going to drop that bomb?

@rjejr I'm not saying that a holiday launch isn't "better" for a company. It always has been and probably always will be, but if the console and games aren't ready, they aren't ready. Do you really want them to launch it half-assed then end up tanking in sales? Losing customer confidence? Not having the games that consumers are expecting? The Wii U was a hard sell right after the Wii as people didn't know if it was an upgraded Wii or something entirely different. THAT hurt sales in the beginning with the console and it's performance hasn't been that stellar ever since. Nintendo is probably making a very good move holding off until the first quarter of next year. All I have to say, though, is I HOPE they "wow" the crowd with it in March.

Please understand. Ss/dd.

@Neko_Ichigofan I live in the town of Ages, here the Genesis's games made SNES looks like a baby's console.

@MarioPhD Contrary to what most people thought, Nintendo never lose any money with N64. Sony sold a lot of PS and PS2 but they were losing money. It cost over $1000 to make PS2 when launched and they sold it at a debut price of $700. Every console Sony sold, they lose a few hundred bucks.

The nx needs to be backwards compatible with 3ds games if it is it will sell like crazy playing those games on a big screen would be great also adds alot of games to play when the system is released!

@rjejr If you're going to go the "descending sales" route, then Sony isn't much better off; sales have been dropping since the PS2, with Vita taking up one of the worst of Sony's spots.

Just because they're having drops doesn't mean they can't recover.
And E3/holidays aren't a requirement for that recovery; a strong launch line-up with lots of exclusives, great advertisement, a solid amount of power without anything turning gamers off about it in terms of what it looks like or is named as, and strong third party and network features, are what will push the system forward.
Not when or where it is announced/launched.

Perhaps they are not showing NX at E3 because they don't want to give their competitors time to copy cat whatever features or concept the NX is

People keep saying that few extra months is somehow going to give more time for games to be made... But for significant titles, especially the ones which will move launch units, the final few months are supposed to be your polish months, not your critical error fixing and fundamental structure building months. A Nov/Dec 2016 launch would not be like the US Sega Saturn launch, which was launched almost 6 months ahead of time without informing anyone. And it's not like the online infrastructure of the Wii or Wii U was fully ready at their launch dates, either...

There must be something else going on behind the scenes that is prohibiting a launch for this year. It's not advantageous to give away momentum to the competition. (Such as PS4 Neo, in this case)

I'm fine with the NX launching in March 2017 but I think it would give it more publicity if it was shown at E3 also.

I left console gaming. The Wii brought me back. Unlike many, I sort of "automatically" followed to the Wii u. Although I also think the Wii u is a great system. But financially, as much as I hope to stick with Nintendo, my favorite games are both from indy studios. They are both on the Wii U, and sold well on eshop. However, their support has been much better on Sony and Microsoft. I will wait to see the NX, but then, I will follow the games to my next console, not the other way. Right now, NX is actually at the top of its hype train. Launching at a premium price next year against sony_micrsoft with the same with the same power and just one featute better (play same software on the big screen and on te go) is again to little too late. Wii u may be my final Ninty hardware . We'll see. But they can't afford a failure. They are one failure away from being Sega. But with their games, they may end up being a better Sega.

@memoryman3 I...really hope you're joking...

@whodatninja E3 isn't what would make a console's sales today. They should first connect with a more global audience than just videogame players. They don't need a console that sells correctly but one that sells very well since the WiiU was never a success and the 3DS was a relative success but has now reached (sadly) its life limit.

@Smug43 They will improve their online multiplayer services by making it payed. -_-

When I first read the headline, all I saw was "voice support" and "NX". With that I thought "cool, NX is going to have voice chat".

Guess I should have read it properly but I really hope NX does have voice chat (and I mean proper voice chat) because Nintendo need to bring themselves up to scratch with their competitors.

@Schmitzy I don't think Nintendo will end up being a failure with the NX. However, if they do fail with their hardware then we'll probably all end up playing Nintendo games on Playstation or XBox instead.

@Dakt Thanks for the warning regarding Xenoblade Chronicles X. I haven't got around to playing it just yet but now you mentioned the online I need to be getting started

What would really be a surprise for everyone at E3 is if they showed a real quick video of a bunch of games (all together in a real quick video) and then just had the NX logo after...curtains close and that's it...that'll get the hype train going even more.

Although I don't agree with having no info on the NX at E3, I think the system should do pretty good. The thing that they shouldn't do, is have 3rd party games released that have been 4-6 months already released on the other consoles. The 3rd Parties need brand new games to release with the console, and if there is a lot of games that release with the console, it'll show that there will be support and that nintendo is ready to join the herd for console domination.

The thing that stunk with the Wii U's launch, was the lack of really good games. There were games from 3rd parties that were released almost a year ago on the other systems...and they were full price again while the other's dropped...then the exclusives were not that grand (besides New Super Mario Bros U)...then it was a long waiting period for the great games to arrive. The 3DS was lackluster too when it arrived...and it was almost a year later before games were released that were worth it...plus, the 3DS's virtual store wasn't even available for 6-8 months when it arrived here in the US.

I wish nintendo well with this console...they need it and deserve it. I know I'm saving up the money for it, rather than the Playstation VR, but it's all going to come down to how well nintendo delivers it.

@wazlon Certainly hope you are right. I want to get use out of my Wii U system until sometime in 2018... maybe later. I am leary and worried they are gonna shut down miiverse.

If the NX sells like crazy from the starting line, I will consider that over others. If it starts slow and fails to gain support from my "indies" well then I won't invest.

Remember how they announced the Wii u like 2 years in advance? Everyone was disappointed with it before it even came out ... the mystery builds hype and we won't have 2 years to complain about it. Def the right choice

@DiscoGentleman It's not that the remianing Wii U fans aren't hardcore - they have to be hard by now, because they're the ones that've stuck with Nintendo despite the lack of support.

The point is that for that same fanbase on, well, this gen, the PS4 , there's no "despite." The support is there, both from third-party and first-party, to draw whatever-you-care-to-call-them gamers in, instead of pushing them away. So while there are still extremely hardcore fans left on the Wii U, most of them have gone where the tides pull.

Personally, I take more of an issue with calling the Wii fanbase the "mainstream" gamers.

@DiscoGentleman This.
"Hardcore" and "Casual" must be among the stupidest and most nonsensical categorizations ever. Let's analyze the two terms a little better: the former implies that the gamer is invested in playing, it's their passion; the latter implies that the person only plays games sporadically, without bothering reading reviews, keeping informed on the industry in general, etc..
The majority of people I know who own a console actually belong to the second category (meaning they don't play that often and only buy FIFA, Far Cry, COD, Lego games and the likes) AND they own a Playstation or XBox; how's that possible? They even go as far as saying that Nintendo isn't for them because of course Nintendo doesn't, they wanna play the "mature" games.
And here we get to a crucial point: these people, who don't have gaming culture at all, are called "hardcore" because of the games they play, the "mature" ones, and not because of genuine passion and investment.
But that could make sense if the categorizations of the games themselves weren't as biased as the categorizations pf the gamers. Why do call such titles as COD and the likes "mature"? Because they have 18+ written all over them? Because they use blood, abusive language etc to look and sound cooler?
To me mature does not mean soaked in blood, it means it has a grown-up way of dealing with its characters, situations and themes. The Expendables has blood, explosions and big guns, but it is not mature at all; actually, its narration is pretty childish.
Another, very different example of childish narrative might be Dragon Ball, for instance. What kind of motivations, characterizations or growth do the characters have? None.
It's just "I'm the evil guy so I'm gonna blow up your planet for no reason but of course you'll kick my arse hard but not before I've kicked yours to the point you'll be almost dead but, OF COURSE, you'll have some last resort technique/transformation that will let you win easily despite being half dead a second ago. Well, I guess that's life.". Rinse. Repeat.
For the same reason, to me Bioshock is mature because of how it narrates the facts and explores the characters' motivations, while COD is the most childish thing ever; it really seems designed to appeal the most immature kids out there. Seriously, who would play a game like COD if not 12 years old trying to look cool?
"Mature" really is a stupid way of calling a thing the opposite of what it actaully is, just like "hardcore".

So the conclusion to this line of reasoning is: "hardcore" gamers play "mature" titles. This means shifting the focus in defining the gamer from actual investment to the themes presented in the games they play. So a title is called "mature" without taking into account its quality, its way of narrating a story nor anything else; the game simply is called by its surface and ends up becoming, in a way, its own surface. And a gamer is called hardcore not because of their passion, nor the large variety of games they enjoy, nor their knowledge in this filed, but simply based on the aesthetics of the games they play.
That's why I tend to prefer Nintnedo and colourful games in general: they usually know their value and don't need to disguise under a coat of grittiness to attract immature brats who want to act like they're cool and grown-up.

TL;DR
So, what the current industry is trying to push is these definitions.
Hardcore gamer: person who plays "mature titles", regardless of their actual investment in gaming; this often means they only play advertised titles and doesn't keep informed on the gaming world.
Mature title: game containing blood, sex, abusive language and/or drugs, which by itself is quite often a kiddie game in the way it deals with its themes and narrations.

So the bottom line in all of this is that we have two definitions that actually have it backwards. Yay.

@smashbrolink That metric refers to a consistent (except for the Wii anomaly) drop in Nintendo home console sales with every generation. Whereas Sony has fluctuated, rising, falling, then rising again.

"While the Wii U has some fantastic games, it never enjoyed the third-party support necessary to draw in the masses."

Nintendos entire problem for its last 3 system releases. The handhelds seem to be nintendos only supported systems.

He clearly says missing the holiday period IS a mistake. Just that launching without great software support would be a bigger mistake.

So the takeaway should be shame on management at Nintendo for not having things on schedule and missing the holiday release period.

Maybe they're just waiting for square enix to finish DQ XI? Along with the new Zelda, that could be a pretty solid launch.

I know the Wii U sold pretty bad( I think it's sitting slightly over 13 Mil.). I wonder with the success of the Amiibo , great dlc if the U is profitable at all in the long run or at least breaking even?

@rjejr
personally I feel your view on E3 is a little skewed only because not all americans know about E3 and if they do, those americans are already into video games in the first place.

Personally after seeing E3 events on and off for decades, I'm tired of it and feel it will eventually run it's course sometime in the near future.

Also, I believe nintendo is purposely trying to alienate themselves ,whether this is a good move or not only time will tell, from the MS/PS pack. I personally like the idea but hey I'm in the minority here obviously.

@MadAussieBloke
lol

Oh please! Retailers, developers, and media were also "excited" about the Wii U 5 years ago when it was announced. You can still find articles online on "...things to get excited..." about "the New Wii U Controller" (the New Yorker), or how "With the Wii U Nintendo is an entertainment Company Again" (CNET). Even GameStop CEO Paul Reines was "very excited about Wii U" and how they thought the Wii U will be a "...significant part of the holiday season."

The real reason all these companies are happy is because Nintendo was finnaly forced into dropping the Wii U and I'm sure these companies are hoping for Nintendo to be the same as the other two consoles in order to adopt the cheap cookie cutter devoleptment technique and save them money.

Mark my words, if the NX is different to develop for as the Wii and Wii U were, all these support will be dropped in no time.

@Danrenfroe2016 It seems that everyone forgot that the Nintendo WiFi Network wasn't shut down by Nintendo. History lesson: when the Wii launched, Nintendo didn't know how to run a full blown online service, so they went with a third party, GameSpy. GameSpy went under and anything that used it (that included many Xbox and PlayStation games) ceased to work. At that point companies had two choices: by and maintain servers for old games, or just let them die. It wasn't financially feasible for Nintendo to dedicate so many resources for Wii/DS games. Not to mention Nintendo's self-hosted online network was nowhere near ready for that kind of load at the time.

Plus, like any old great games, there are always fan serviced servers available for Wii/DS games.

@aj_fowl yes. But Nintendo did not do anything about getting them back up, they did not care they just wanted everyone to buy a Wii U, even though they were absolutely zero games for it, and thus we start all over again with the reason Nintendo has been so bad lately as they can't get any third parties. 🙀🙀

Wii U's life support is having the eShop online.

Shutting that off would truly be killing the system.

If I was an investor,I would want to see what my hard errand cash is doing.in my opinion that's what Nintendo is doing, instead of E3 this year their preparing for next year now, will they be successful?.that's what I'm hoping for.=/

@arrmixer "because not all americans know about E3"

Well of course not all Americans know about E3. The 87 million people who bought a Wii but not a Wii U probably don't don't. But if you ask 1,000 random Americans to name a video game show more will almost certainly say E3 than Gamescon or TGS or any of the other shows outside of the US. NY Toy Fair might get a few votes, or CES.

"I believe nintendo is purposely trying to alienate themselves"

That's as good a guess as any. When NX was launched last year I considered the possibility it would be mostly a retro Nitneodo machine with only a few new games. I don't feel that way any more but Nintnedo could certainly try to go it alone. Really, if NX was only a Home console I'd say it may be all first and 2nd party. But 3DS does get a lot of 3rd party support, there are a lot Squenix JRPG, Level 5 has all of those Yokai Watch games that are huge in Japan, and Monster Hunter is huge everywhere. So I think NX will have a portbale component and Ntineod will continue to get 3rd party support.

Maybe not the 3rd party support that people here would like, no EA, no COD, no AAA games like Batman, GTA or MGS, but Monster Hunter is still pretty big, and there are a few decent indies on the eShop. So Nintnod may not alienate itself from everybody, just the big name games PS4 and X1 get.

@Spoony_Tech You went to work when I decided to lay low for the weekend. 48 hours later and I have a very full inbox. Do you think it would be bad form to just ignore them all?

@BensonUii "it's not really my problem how Nintendo approaches E3 and how they market the NX in the end."

Well it could become your problem if you only buy Ntineod hardware. Other 3rd party companies making games that release this holiday may have made those games for NX, but no NX for the holiday, no point in making those games avaible on NX. So you loose out on playin those games.

And no NX this holiday means some potential NX purchasers this holiday are going to jump ship. Ninnteod isn't the only videogame company around. They aren't even the only Japanese video game company. Now I'm not one of those people saying N X was "delayed", b/c it wasn't, but a lot of people, way more than most, I'd say 2/3 to 3/4 judging by the comments, did think it would launch in time for the holiday. But it isn't. And what games are coming out for Wii U this holiday. Not Zelda U. Maybe Paper MArio. What else? Only Zelda U will be playable at E3. So for people who like to gt a lot of videogames for the holiday what are they supposed to do? Play nothing, or buy a PS4 or X1? Ad if they buy 1 of those for the holiday, will they buy an NX in March, or holiday 2017, or holiday 2018, or never? And if NX doens't sell, it's games library WILL suffer, so your gaming will suffer. You have to wait to play Zelda U until 2017 b/c they want to release it w/ Zelda NX. Pikmin 4 probably would have been a Wii U game, but you'll need a NX to play it now. So maybe you won't be affected in NX does well, but if it fails and dies like Dreamcast, there may be a lot of game sou never get to play.

So you don't have to care, but that doesn't mean your gaming won't be affected.

@Danrenfroe2016 I had to google "5 miles", thanks for that, it could come in handy. Not to sell my Wii, I mean in general, that wasn't meant as a Ntinedo dig. I insult them enough as it is, I don't need to do so subtly.

@polaris1966 "Do you really want them to launch it half-assed then end up tanking in sales?"

No, what I would like is for the guy to come out and say holiday sales do matter, but they are launching in March anyway. He kind of tried to make it sound like the holidays don't matter, and that's just ingenuous.

But I ask you this, how much difference is 4 months really going to make? They've been working on NX games for how long now? Do you really think they wouldn't have any games ready in Nov but all of a sudden they'll have a ton in March?

If they have to launch in March then they have to launch in March, but no matter how good the line-up is it's still going to hurt them.

@smashbrolink "with Vita taking up one of the worst of Sony's spots."

Yes, and Sony isn't launching a Vita sequel in March either. Do you know when Sony is launching a Vita sequel? Never, they are likely done with the dedicated handheld market.

http://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/sony-not-releasing-playstation-vita-2/

Nintneod is staying in the home market expecting people to come back, but I'm not sure why they would. OK, I can think of lots of reasons, but I'm not sure any of them are feasible or realistic.

"sales have been dropping since the PS2"

Sales had to drop after PS2, that 155m number was insane. And they also ROSE after the 102m for PS1. And PS4 is kicking butt at 40m after only 2 years, and with NX in March 2017 - if - probably just gave PS4 a whole lot more sales.

And PS3 was bad for Sony, at 83m. That's about 70more mil than Wii U. And 20 more mil than NES. So even Sony's worst home selling console is almost as good as Ntinedo's all time best the 100m Wii.

And that's why Sony will probably have a PS5. I'm not so sure Nintendo has another home console after NX. Heck, I'm not even sure NX is a home console. Well I'm pretty sure, but they have't said yet now have they?

@rjejr Yeah, well Sony's "worst selling home console" also had 7 or 8 years on the market.
Measured at an equal life span time frame to the Wii, it didn't do that hot, either, so that's not much to brag about.
And considering how Sony might be putting out a mid-gen system soon that has a strong chance of decreasing sales of the PS5 due to shortening the leap in power/graphics, I'm not sure that they'll be releasing the PS5 within the next 5 years, anyways.
If the PSNeo is as powerful as rumored, they'd be shooting themselves in the foot to release the PS5 that soon.

But on the flip side, if it's real, and it's NOT that powerful, then it basically makes the "upgrade" pointless unless you're one of those rich people that are buying it just for PSVR and 4K TV's, which is definitely going to be a minority given how young and still-viable the original PS4 still is.

@rjejr To be honest, 4 months won't make much of a difference, and I do agree with you that a holiday launch would have been more advantageous, however, I don't know exactly how long they've been working (those developers that received kits) on games for this system. I still believe the delay was, at least in part, to "firm up" their software release. This all depends on if they do the "cookie cutter" productions of the same titles they've been cranking out for years for each new system. Perhaps they are going some unknown route with games..perhaps the hardware requires some extra finesse (they have rumored the system will be at least as powerful as the Xbox One) to make games for it.

There could be a million reasons, and the bottom line is they've already decided to launch in March, NOT the holidays, so speculation on the WHY might never be known by anyone here. Time will tell how much of their bottom line will be affected by the decision to hold off on the holiday launch.

@smashbrolink "also had 7 or 8 years on the market."

The reason it had that many years on the market was game support. It isn't Sony's fault that the Wii U is basically getting no game support after 4 years.

And all the bad Sony has done that you'd like to point out doesn't mean Nintendo has done well.

Sony home console sales do go up and down, but they still sell well every gen. Nintendo lost over 85% from Wii to Wii U. If Sony ever lost 85% from 1 gen to the next I'm sure they'd consider getting out. Sony did lose nearly 50% from PS2 to PS3, and I think b/c of that they came back strong w/ PS4, dropping the camera at the last minute and undercutting MS at price. But they also did a lot of stupid stuff along the way - Wonderbook, $500 24" 3D display. But they seem to have hit all the right notes w/ PS4. I'm not sure about PS4k neo yet, and I personally don't like VR, but Sony seems intent on keeping it going.

With Nitneod I see a secret company in a transparent world who doesn't like to lose money or spend any money on marketing or advertising, and doens't like to give away any of it's games in sales - there is no Ntineod equivalent of those Nindie Humble bundle sales. I think it would take a huge turn around on their part to make the NX successful. It could happen, but 20 horses could have 1 the Kentucky Derby, but only 1 of them did. I wouldn't bet on a Ninnteod home console NX. Portable w/ TV out, and I think they have a good shot, they are very good with portables in spite of all the mobile competition. But not enough people seem to want what they are selling on home consoles.

@polaris1966 From what I've read I think it's hardware more than software. Either AMD screwed up or Macronix coudlnt' get it done or they couldn't make enough in time for the holiday. That and the President of the company died less than a year ago which I'd bet left them somewhat in disarray. How could any company not be in disarray after that? I'm sure their long range plan 5 years ago had NX in Nov 2017 but they were only forced to push it up after Wii U came up DOA. (Nintendo barely outselling Dreamcast makes it DOA in my book.) So it's almost less of a delay and more of an emergency early launch from a company without a president.

How it turns out, well you like said only time will really tell. Certainly doesn't bode well launching a home console mid-gen. MS launched X1 alongside PS4 and it can't be doing all that well or MS would tell out how well it was doing. Probably outselling Wii U, but even at 20m that still makes it only half of PS4's 40m, so Nintnedo isn't the only company having problems keeping up with the PS system this gen.

So next March they launch a new home console, maybe. Maybe in March, maybe a Home console. That's 2 strikes against them right there as after all of their game delays I can't be the only one thinking March 2017 is a concern. And since they aren't showing it at E3, we don't even know how long we'll have to wait before we find out what it is. Just feels like Ntineod is walking themselves off into irrelevancy. And it's going to take a lot to become relevant again. And relevant to whom? The 13.5 mil faithful Wii U owners, or the 85 mil non-Wii U owning owning Wii owners? The longer they wait to get anybody on board, the less likely it seems they'll get anyone on board. They can, but they are going to have to work very hard at it, and working hard at it is not what Ntinedo does. Barely showing up at E3 this year is not a good start to winning people over.

@rjejr You make very good valid points. I was not impressed with what Nintendo is doing for the E3 show this year. Showing one game? That's it? They could at least highlight some upcoming 3DS titles and some Wii U titles (being a steadfast 3DS owner, I would appreciate some closer looks at the upcoming games through the year).

You certainly aren't the only one concerned with a March launch. I agree, it doesn't bode well for the overall outlook, which promotes more doubt within the Nintendo community of fans, such as myself, wondering what will befall the big N for this year's sales alone. My main concern, to be frank, is the 3DS keeping alive and well with some more game releases to keep me interested. Not that my backlog isn't 10 miles long now....

Here we go again. Talking to some longtime gamer friends I have I mentioned the NX to them and they Reply what's that? Is Nintendo going to leave gamers confused again like the Wii-U? I hope they will at least attempt an advertising campaign similar to the original Wii. Maybe even do the nationwide showings like they did with the Wii. My son, me and a couple friends attended a Wii Showing at the Mandalay Bay. It was actually a Grand event kind of like Nintendos own private E3

@polaris1966 "Showing one game? That's it?"

I still don't think they can only show 1 game. I'm not inspired enough to hope for NX or anything like that, but they said Zelda U would be the only playable game, and the 1 hour live Treehouse will be all about Zelda. (Probably mostly boring back story and developer interviews.) But if they are going to be at E3 with a booth for 3 days surely there will be a monitor somewhere with a reel of trailers. There seems to always be a "Nindie" reel at E3. Do they really want to throw all of the small devs under the bus and not promote their Wii U and 3DS games at E3? Minecraft Wii U releases on disc a few days after E3. (Not that MS is small.) And I think AC:HHD did so well, and those cards are selling so well, I'm expecting a sequel or something similar. New 3DS needs some NFC love. And Paper Mario Color Splash needs a longer trailer if it is releasing in 2016, and I think Ntinteod said it was. A release date would be nice as well.

So I'm not expecting any big new announcements, but surely some smaller stuff like Pocket Jockey. Nintendo has already buried Wii U this holiday w/ Zelda U in 2017, it has to show some 3DS games for Christmas. 3 days and 1 game does not compute. Playable is one thing, trailers and dates are another.

@rjejr "There's been about a 30% drop off EVERY gen except Wii. Nobody ever comes back."

I personally think that's not true if Nintendo can garner consistent third-party support from bigger publishers and Indies alike. While it's unlikely they learned their lesson with Wii U, hopefully they'll take a few pages from Sony and MS's respective books to get the support they need. Wii U probably wouldn't have struggled nearly as badly as it has with a larger variety of third-party choices.

@IronMan28 "can garner consistent third-party support"

But that's the problem isn't it. Why would devs come back? NX is mid gen, even if it is the same base PC hardware as PS4 and X1, why make games for it, most people who want to play those games will already have a PS4 or X1 by the time NX releases. X1 has already surpassed Wii U, PS4 is almost 4x, w/ Uncharted 4 tomorrow and FFXV Sept 30th. Those consoles won' tsit on store shelves waiting for NX in March.

There was a brief moment when I was holding out on my PS4 purchase hoping for NX in Nov w/ FFXV available. Then I could wait for PS4K Neo in the future. But I'm not waiting until March. That's 10 months away and I have no games to play on Wii U. It's sad really.

I do think Ninteod can make it look like those fans came back, make a portable w/ TV out. Or a home console w/ a portable component. Have 13.5mil Wii U owners plus 55mil 3DS owners buy NX, that's 68.5m, so it looks like the home console is a success, even if it's mostly the handheld crowd buying in to the home console.

But make a straight up NX home console w/ the same specs and games as the other 2, the hardware won't sell, and the games won't sell. It's too late for this gen and too early for the next. But I can be a believer in "1 system to rule them all". Not sure how to make it work or make it affordable, but if Ntineod can do it, then, and only then, they have a chance.

@rjejr They REALLY need to highlight some of the 3DS games this E3 that are coming up. I am an avid 3DS supporter and would like to see some footage on, let's say, Dragon Quest VII and VIII. The trailer for Pokemon Sun & Moon was just released...and I personally want MORE information on these latest two Pokemon games.

@polaris1966 The Pokemon trailer looked great, and it's a new game, been a few years since one of those, so they should highlight that. Is Pokmon ever at E3 though? I kind of feel like they are always off doing their own thing, magazines and tvs shows in Japan.

MP:FF is out in Aug + Sept (depending on region) surely they have to show that off. I mean surely they must?

1 of my 87 comments in this thread was a thought that maybe when Ntineod said only Zelda would be playable "at" E3 what they would do is unleash a wave of home demos for games shown. Last year they had 6 or 8 of the indies w/ a 15% discount. Would be cool if Nintneod moved away from that stupid Best Buy only for 2 hour demo model and just everything to our Wii U and 3DS instead.

I know people aren't thrilled w/ MP:FF, but a free demo might be nice for all those people at E3 to play w/ each other while they were there.

I'm usually never happy w/ what Ninteod actually does, but I keep hoping anyway.

@rjejr Well, I can't say what they're going to do, but I can say with some certainty that if they don't do more than just show off Zelda for however many days it is, they will have some truly disgruntled fans, both at E3 and watching it (like myself...I'll tune into the highlights but won't bother if Zelda is all they do).

Being too much of a "traditionalist", Metroid Prime: Federation Force holds zero interest for me. That, and not enough friends who enjoy the video game hobby (at last count, 1 including myself) to play with.

So bottom line for E3 this year, it sounds to be less than stellar for Nintendo all in all, but I suppose we could be pleasantly surprised...right?

@polaris1966 "but I suppose we could be pleasantly surprised...right?"

Fingers crossed.

@rjejr I won't hit your post point for point, but you're kind of getting at what I am. Personally, I think they can do well with a unique device, but they still need the same level of third-party support (or at least genre variety) as Sony and MS to get fans back.

@rjejr
"Nintendo lost over 85% from Wii to Wii U. If Sony ever lost 85% from 1 gen to the next I'm sure they'd consider getting out"
That's an immense exaggeration, especially in light of the fact that Nintendo has its fingers in many more profit pies, thanks to its IP's, than Sony does, whereas not too long back Sony made the statement that had the PS4 not sold, it really would have made them consider stopping console development.

Also, unlike Sony, Nintendo has stayed in the black financially all the way up until the Wii U, which despite going into the red for a bit, is still going to end with having made them more money than it lost for them.
The PS3 took the majority of its extended life-span to accomplish that.

Also, "But not enough people seem to want what they are selling on home consoles."
I don't honestly believe that most gamers actually know what they really want out of Nintendo anymore, and even fewer of them have any valid opinion on what's best for Nintendo.
Hell, there are still quite a few ijits out there that have the conceited notion that the PS4 and XBone fanbases, which have spent the past 4 or more YEARS dissing Nintendo's games as children's games that they'd never purchase over the latest AAA third party multiplat, are somehow capable of giving Nintendo more money than Nintendo would make by making a great system that everyone wants to buy, instead.

When it comes to figuring out what people want out of Nintendo's home consoles, though, I think, personally, that the key lies in exclusives and power.
Multiplats, at some point, will become important to the NX, but I don't feel that it will be the most important thing during the opening year of the system's life, because many of those multiplats are already going to have their reservations firmly planted on other consoles, with no way for the NX to win them over even if it ends up getting 12M during year 1.
Exclusives, however, especially ones from third parties, could easily become a "lead in" for those early multiplats to become a powerful selling force.
Imagine, if you will, that EA, Ubisoft, and Square Enix come out with three big must-have exclusives year one for the NX.
Exclusives that third party lovers look at and say "Damn, I need an NX now."
Once they want the system for those three games, they'll start looking into the library.
And THEN, they'll see the multiplats, and they'll think to themselves, "Hey, so I can get those three games, plus the multiplats I have been wanting, all at once? The total package has sold me; I'm getting an NX!"
It would work a lot better than if third parties only made multiplats, which would cause those same people to think "But I'm already getting those on my PS4/XBone/PC. No need to pay for an NX, then!"

So, to reiterate, yeah; exclusives and power.
Those should be the top two considerations for the NX, if Nintendo wants it to sell well.

PS: For the record, however, I loath admitting to the latter stipulation.
There have been plenty of less-powerful systems in the past that have gone on to produce some of the best gaming experiences of their generations, so I'm honestly sick and appalled by this obsession that today's gamers seem to have over power and graphics.
It literally makes me want to break down and cry over how pathetically shallow and petty the gaming community I've been a part of since I was three has become, sometimes...

@smashbrolink "That's an immense exaggeration"

I'm really not sure what you mean by that. If Sony themselves said they would get out of the home console market if PS4 didn't sell well, then I'm not exaggerating at all, that's what I said Sony would do. And Sony has said no new handheld b/c the Vita didn't sell well.

As for "exclusives", well 2 years ago Nintendo's Wii U had what I think was the winning trifecta of exclusives - Hyrule Warrriors, Bayonetta 2 and SSB - and the Wii U should have outsold the other 2 newly launched consoles, but Nintendo didn't market them nearly enough. And those aren't kid games, gamers wanted B2 and whined about it, and those "Warriors" games sell well on Sony consoles. And SSB is played the world over at tournaments. So Wii U had the exclusives, but it didn't have FIFA or Madden or COD, the 3 games it needs to I think even be considered a "home videogame console" in many's peoples eyes. W/o those 3 games to some gamers Wii U is just an overpriced Ouya.

I'm not sure what Nintneod can do to get gamers back. Or the casuals back. Or anybody else back. Seems like there have always been 2 home consoles - Atari vs Colecovision, Nintneod vs Sega, Sony vs MS. Time marches on. Nintnedo does own the handheld market though, if NX gets a portable it can compete w/ mobile devices, and TV out gives it an advantage. But I don't think NX can go toe-to-toe w/ PS4 and X1, or PS5 and X2. A home console that's portable or a portable w/ TV out. Of course they may still not get any main AAA 3rd party support, but the 3DS does fine with what it does get.

As far as games the Wii U can still get steam on... Aside from Zelda, there is one title Im reminded of... And I backed it on its Kickstarter... Yooka Laylee. Yeah, it will release on other consoles, but being the spiritual successor to Banjo Kazooie, its something intriguing for us Nintendo fans from the late 90s. Also, its interesting to note that its a game that's not from Nintendo, but will step in from outside with a grand anticipated release in October.

@DiscoGentleman People that don't play solely kids' games. People that play Bloodborne, Dark Souls III, Uncharted 4...

@DiscoGentleman Not sure what point. I'm basing this off your original comment, by the way, where you're saying "hardcore means dedicated!!".
No, in this case it means "people that play adult games". It doesn't matter it's that's not the correct the definition in your opinion.