The Nintendo "NX"

[indenton]

Does anyone have any ideas for features, specs?  What should Nintendo be focusing on to get this ball rolling again. 

[kamikazekeeg]

Does anyone have any ideas for features, specs?  What should Nintendo be focusing on to get this ball rolling again.

At least PS4 quality or close to that in specs and a proper online account service like what Sony and Xbox do with theirs.  You should be able to have your friends lists, you can jump between Wii U and 3DS no problem, there should be better online patching (It's such a pain in the ass to get Hyrule Warriors to properly patch).  Online is what they've always had a problem with and I don't think they can hold back on this any longer.  No gimmicky controller setup this time.  No waggle, no gamepad tablet, probably controller setup.  I say this while liking the gamepad, but it rarely feels necessary outside a few games that almost solely use this.  No sure if this is an option if Nintendo wants to keep it so they can still do touch screen gaming.

[pacpix]

I agree on the online stuff.  I was really hoping they would improve it for the Wii U, and they did, but it is not nearly as good as I was hoping.

[gf78]

Does anyone have any ideas for features, specs?  What should Nintendo be focusing on to get this ball rolling again.

I can tell you what my opinion is that Nintendo needs to implement on their next system.  Will Nintendo actually do what needs to be done?  Probably not going by their past history.  But here is my idea.

1)  Use common components just like the Xbox One and PlayStation 4.  If Nintendo wants to ensure that 3rd parties don't completely ignore their next system, they need to have the architecture be as similar to it's competition as possible.  It makes porting easy and 3rd parties will be much more willing to make a "Nintendo version" when there isn't a large financial investment involved.

2)  Standardize the online system.  Friends codes, games locked to a single piece of hardware...this is all crap!  Like PSN and Live, any device you purchase, you should be able to download a game you legitimately paid for to it!  Transferring purchases currently is a huge PITA.  When I buy a "NEW 3DS", I shouldn't have to go through a big rigamaroll standing on my head to get my digital copy of Zelda on it while simultaneously deleting it from my vanilla 3DS.  You bought it, you should be able to use it on at least 3 pieces of hardware you own and are logged into with your own account.

3)  Enable the damn Blu-Ray playback!  Nintendo is bound & determined to save a penny per console by not paying the royalties for movie playback.  Guess what Nintendo...you will spend pennies to make dollars by making your next system a viable option for movie viewing!

4)  Stop with the damn motion control gimmick being forced down our throats!  The Wii was a resounding success.  Was it because of the waggle-wand?  Yes.  Did it help Nintendo transition into the current generation?  Nope.  The reality is that the Wii was a fad.  It was all over television, grannies in nursing homes playing Wii bowling.  People who had no interest in games were buying the Wii....and not much else.  These grannies didn't support Nintendo by buying new software.  And motion control being rammed down gamers throats ran it's course several years ago.  This is evident by the low sales of the Wii U and the niche support for it on the PS3/4 and Xbox's Kinect.  In fact, it was such a turd for Microsoft, they unbundled it from the One.  Put a standard controller in the box and make it where every controller on the system is the same.  Not player 1 using a tablet controller and the others using waggle wands.

5)  For the love of all that is holy, do not name the system Wii-something!!!  I cannot stress this enough!

6)  Enable remote play ala Sony's method with the New 3DS.

7)  Make franchise collections as I've harped about before.

  Make commercials that don't completely suck.  The commercials for the New 3DS make me cringe.  They are literally as bad as the old Billy May's Oxy-Clean commercials or that douche advertising Sham-Wow.  I want to stab my own eyes out when I see Nintendo's commercials!   

[gartcat]

I hope they don't end up calling it the "New Wii U", but based on their past & present naming trends that seems like a fair bet.  It's impossible to speculate about what the actual hardware would be though.  Based on what they sort of did with a few games on the Gamecube/GBA, I always thought it would be great if you could use your 3DS (or New 3DSi XL2)  as an optional controller for the Wii U (or New Wii U Xtreme), since it's fairly close to the same thing as the Wii U touch screen controller.  I agree they should make the motion controls optional, if you really want that you could just buy a different controller & make the standard controller less expensive.   

[gf78]

ANYWAYS.  This isn't about Mario games lol  This is about Nintendo hardware.

I just don't like letting smart remarks pass, especially with a conflicting opinion of a very highly rated game like Mario Galaxy.  Not so much that I disagree, but just wanting an expansion on that opinion.  Interesting nonetheless.

I can tell you why I personally didn't care for it.  I like platformers to have areas to explore.  Mario Galaxy was bouncing from planetoid to planetoid.  Or should I say meteorite because they were absolutely tiny.  You never spent any significant amount of time exploring an area.  Running upside-down?  Not fun IMO.  It jacks up (ie reverses) the way the controls work.  The entire atmosphere that permeated the game was a turn-off to me.  I prefer games that are colorful and vibrant like most other Mario games.  It's the reason I prefer Jak & Daxter the Precursor Legacy to Jak II and Jak 3.  The blackness of space was just meh.  I absolutely loathe using a Wii remote and Nunchuck.  It's a clumsy control scheme to me and I always felt I wasn't in complete control.  Mario for me is all about running and precision jumping.  Trying to do this in a 3D setting is inherently more difficult, compounded upon with the aforementioned half-assed control setup. 

I also didn't like Super Mario 64 or Zelda Ocarina of Time, so take my opinion as you will.  I'm not one of those "I hate it because it's popular" guys.  I just didn't like that transition. 

[indenton]

ANYWAYS.  This isn't about Mario games lol  This is about Nintendo hardware.

I just don't like letting smart remarks pass, especially with a conflicting opinion of a very highly rated game like Mario Galaxy.  Not so much that I disagree, but just wanting an expansion on that opinion.  Interesting nonetheless.

I can tell you why I personally didn't care for it.  I like platformers to have areas to explore.  Mario Galaxy was bouncing from planetoid to planetoid.  Or should I say meteorite because they were absolutely tiny.  You never spent any significant amount of time exploring an area.  Running upside-down?  Not fun IMO.  It jacks up (ie reverses) the way the controls work.  The entire atmosphere that permeated the game was a turn-off to me.  I prefer games that are colorful and vibrant like most other Mario games.  It's the reason I prefer Jak & Daxter the Precursor Legacy to Jak II and Jak 3.  The blackness of space was just meh.  I absolutely loathe using a Wii remote and Nunchuck.  It's a clumsy control scheme to me and I always felt I wasn't in complete control.  Mario for me is all about running and precision jumping.  Trying to do this in a 3D setting is inherently more difficult, compounded upon with the aforementioned half-assed control setup. 

I also didn't like Super Mario 64 or Zelda Ocarina of Time, so take my opinion as you will.  I'm not one of those "I hate it because it's popular" guys.  I just didn't like that transition.

I imagine you would be looking forward to games like 'A Hat in Time' & this 'Project Ukulele'. 

[indenton]

So I think everyone is in agreement that this NX is gonna need some power behind it to keep any third-parties juiced up for development. 

Nintendo have always been able to overcome any console limitations and put any competition to shame on the fly.  They've understood the potential and limitations of there own hardware and embraced it to produce some of the best games consistently of the years.  Rest assured that Nintendo is doing everything in there power to shift the Wii U with its high quality games.  Third-party developers on the other hand have bigger plans.  They've gotten the grips with the PS4, Xbox One, PS Vita and they've been able to pull of some pretty impressive stuff recently.  Then we have the Wii U, what developer would willingly return to lower specs, or reduce specs to make a 'Wii U edition'. 

Just look at what's happening with Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty.  Alright we get it, the Wii U is forcing downgrades for multi-platform games, in the long run it's not a very good console at all.  Nintendo may be able to make some masterpieces for its consoles, but the third-parties will need some elbow room if they're gonna have a fighting chance competing with other platforms, or in this case catch up to its competitors to begin with.  Not every developer has mastered programming, they may not be able to adjust to foreign architecture or libraries.  Not everyone is Nintendo. 

Class dismissed

[gf78]

So I think everyone is in agreement that this NX is gonna need some power behind it to keep any third-parties juiced up for development. 

Nintendo have always been able to overcome any console limitations and put any competition to shame on the fly.  They've understood the potential and limitations of there own hardware and embraced it to produce some of the best games consistently of the years.  Rest assured that Nintendo is doing everything in there power to shift the Wii U with its high quality games.  Third-party developers on the other hand have bigger plans.  They've gotten the grips with the PS4, Xbox One, PS Vita and they've been able to pull of some pretty impressive stuff recently.  Then we have the Wii U, what developer would willingly return to lower specs, or reduce specs to make a 'Wii U edition'. 

Just look at what's happening with Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty.  Alright we get it, the Wii U is forcing downgrades for multi-platform games, in the long run it's not a very good console at all.  Nintendo may be able to make some masterpieces for its consoles, but the third-parties will need some elbow room if they're gonna have a fighting chance competing with other platforms, or in this case catch up to its competitors to begin with.  Not every developer has mastered programming, they may not be able to adjust to foreign architecture or libraries.  Not everyone is Nintendo. 

Class dismissed

Nintendo absolutely must build their next console with the architecture similar enough to the PS4 or Xbone that porting is easy as can be.  There are no incentives for 3rd parties to make games for Nintendo consoles.  They always sell less than they do on the competitions systems.  For Nintendo to have a fighting chance, they need to have their 1st party titles and a stable of 3rd party games equivalent to what the competition has. 

In all honesty-and I know this won't be a popular sentiment-Nintendo has consistently lost market share to it's competition each consecutive generation with the exception of the Wii.  The Wii U may highlight their problems with it's low sales figures, but this trend began with the SNES and has continued.

WORLDWIDE SALES FIGURES (CUMULATIVE TOTALS)

Famicom/NES:  62 million systems sold (rounded up)
Super Famicom/SNES:  49.1 million systems sold
N64:  33 million systems sold (rounded up)
Gamecube:  21.74 million systems sold
Wii:  101.5 million systems sold (rounded up)
Wii U:  9.2 million units sold so far...

The stark reality is that Nintendo started off strong because there literally was no legitimate competition.  Tonka marketed the Master System like crap and Atari blew their consumer good will long before not to mention the 7800 was crap.  Sega showed up with the Genesis/Mega Drive and stole half of Nintendo's market share.  PlayStation arrived and obliterated Nintendo's market share.  PS2 wiped the floor with everyone. 

If Nintendo wants to compete and remain relevant, they need to step their game up.  And I for one really hope they do.  A gaming world without Nintendo games is one I don't think I want to play in.   

[indenton]

If Nintendo wants to compete and remain relevant, they need to step their game up.  And I for one really hope they do.  A gaming world without Nintendo games is one I don't think I want to play in.   

So yeah, the Wii U had its problems, but their is still hope.  Nintendo is holding firm that they are still in the console market, maybe (emphasis on maybe) Nintendo have caught onto what should to be done with the NX. just don't mess this one up, give it a cool (not stupid) name while you're at it.  I don't wanna wee in front of you.  It ain't gonna be new when it's old, is it

In the meantime, the 3DS family is 'going merry' & we are due some pretty big titles for the Wii U later this year.  I believe that Xenoblade Chronicles X will be the game to finally put the console to the test.  I feel like this will be the closest to Next-gen (current gen??  What even is it anymore) that the Wii U will get. 

Can the Wii U handle pseudo next-gen?

[gf78]

Can the Wii U handle pseudo next-gen?

I think it can.  Next gen can't be pigeonholed into one specific term.  Are game graphics now only considered good if they are realistic?  I don't believe so.  Many of the games on the Wii U are gorgeous.  Bayonetta 2 looks like a really polished, end-of-life PS3 title.  Rayman Legends is on the 'bone and PS4 and it's considered "next gen." 

It's just an unfortunate reality that even though the Wii U can have great looking games and is capable of decent (though not as good graphically) ports of PS4 and 'bone titles, 3rd parties don't see it being worthwhile. 

Nintendo might as well face it that the sales of Wii were an anomaly.  They aren't going to magically reclaim those glory days.  They can either buckle down on their next console and fall in line with what the other two are doing, or they can continue to march to the beat of their own drum and see where they end up.  For all the "Nintendo apologists" you hear from, talking about how Nintendo is fine, they make money, they don't need to change, etc....it's obvious Nintendo themselves feel they need to change.  It's evident in their announcements.  It's evident by them deciding to entice mobile phone/tablet users to get into the Nintendo ecosystem with the hopes they buy a Nintendo system by making mobile apps. 

They are not making these changes because a bunch of armchair internet analysts are saying they need to do blah, blah, blah.  They are changing because they see the writing on the proverbial wall and realize that the business model they have so strictly adhered to is seeing depreciating returns. 

[indenton]

I think it can.  Next gen can't be pigeonholed into one specific term.  Are game graphics now only considered good if they are realistic?  I don't believe so.  Many of the games on the Wii U are gorgeous.  Bayonetta 2 looks like a really polished, end-of-life PS3 title.  Rayman Legends is on the 'bone and PS4 and it's considered "next gen." 

I truly believe that there's a huge difference between good graphics and good looks.  But despite that, the gameplay should be coming first every time.  I trust Nintendo understands this and it really shows with games like Zelda: Wind Waker. 

Another good example of this would be Minecraft.  In this case the visuals aren't too much anyway, but this opens the door for so much creativity as the entire would is made up of building blocks.  The sky's the limit

It's just an unfortunate reality that even though the Wii U can have great looking games and is capable of decent (though not as good graphically) ports of PS4 and 'bone titles, 3rd parties don't see it being worthwhile. 

The ironic thing is with your example of Rayman Legends as a Next-gen title is that the Wii U version received the highest average critic score.  For the record, I love Rayman Legends.  Suck it Rayman 2

They are not making these changes because a bunch of armchair internet analysts are saying they need to do blah, blah, blah.  They are changing because they see the writing on the proverbial wall and realize that the business model they have so strictly adhered to is seeing depreciating returns.

Is that a statement as to what we're doing right now???

Those analyst comments about the pending future of the Wii U are just priceless.  I relish in there pessimistic views and there complete ignorance that software is still being made, as well the performance of the 3DS family.  It does sound like they're making some changes for the future, but nothing like the predictions/assumptions made. 

[badATchaos]

Does anyone have any ideas for features, specs?  What should Nintendo be focusing on to get this ball rolling again.

They need to switch to x86. Being the only remaining console on Power PC is kind of a draw back for them at this point. They need to cater to developers and publisher as much as possible. Ultimately they need to have specs comparable to they're competitors. In the long run the system can't survive on first party games alone. Nintendo got lucky with the Wii and were able to just skate by to the end on the great success the system had early in it's life cycle. Gimmicks like motion control and touch screens only go so far and by forcing those features upon developers it makes their system unattractive to some because of the extra work they'd need to go through in-order to get their game to work on the system.

[indenton]

Very true, as much as some of us may adore Nintendo's IPs, they definitely need some people in the back and I don't think Indie developers will be enough.  Besides, it would still be cool to discover some obscure gem on the 'NX' which hasn't been drummed into our brains through some Nintendo Direct.  I find a lot of value in discovering some really cool game from a niche developer.  Give them the necessary resources and they can all help get the 'NX' out their. 

[evilnick]

Here are my quick 2 cents on this:

NX is a new console that will initially be released as a "third tier" the way the DS was.  If successful, the Wii U and/or the 3DS (if it is indeed the integrated console of legend) will be quietly and quickly retired within a year.

It will launch in November 2016, following the timetable of announcement-to-release of most recent Nintendo hardware, particularly the Wii U and 3DS, which had less than 18 months before announcement and release.

It will not carry the Wii moniker, which has been badly tarnished by the Wii U.

It will not have a GamePad-like controller, as the GamePad has largely failed to live up to it's promises, and has been quite frequently noted as a thorn in the side of the console actually preventing sales.

I would not be surprised if Zelda U became Zelda NX, or pulled a cross-platform release like Twilight Princess.

I also think it's extremely important to launch no later than 2016--and Iwata has made mention of "returning to Nintendo-like profits" by the end of the fiscal year ending March 2017, which likely indicates a 2016 release.  Primarily because the Wii U is already moving into it's end-of-cycle decline like the N64, GameCube, and Wii during their final two years on the market and the total lack of 3rd party support supports the hypothesis of "end of cycle" decline.

The big problem, however, is that the Steam Machines are launching this year, which means Nintendo will be launching in the face of three strong competitors, two of whom (PS4 and XBO) will be planted firmly in their peak years (2016~2018), which means it will be extremely difficult for Nintendo to even be noticed in this crowd, particularly when they are barely registering to consumers now as it is.