The official Nintendo NX rumours and wild speculation thread

[ImpulsE69]

I didn't say sales mean something to you or I individually but you said they are failures. They're the most successful video game console launches of all time.

That's questionable. Maybe the numbers are higher than in the past, but remember gaming as a whole is exponentially bigger than it ever has been before AND there's more people on the planet.

Even with their largest numbers - it is already being shown that PC gaming has outgrown consoles the last 2 years for the first time in decades. The reason this is important is because ultimately, if 90% of the games are the same across the board, it will hurt console sales. Think about the Wii and how everyone dismisses its popularity based on it's console sales. What are attachment rates on One and PS4? - and they've sold a fraction of the number of systems.

There is not much many find 'great' about this gen. Even if you look through conversations on this board - the overall impression you get is long periods of hype, followed by short periods of 'oh this is cool', then followed by longer points of mediocrity, repeatedly. That may not stem from console generations, but more pointed to the games, because ultimately that's all anyone cares about. How many exclusives are system sellers? The ones that are claimed to be are extremely divided amongst owners.

It just isn't a cut and dry subject based on console sales.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Why buy a new console if I'm just going to play old games on it? That's why backwards compatibility doesn't interest me that much.

I hope Nintendo doesn't have backwards compatibility in the next console because that means PowerPC gets another shot it doesn't deserve. ARM or bust Nintendo, ARM or bust...

 

[cmdrdredd]

That's questionable. Maybe the numbers are higher than in the past, but remember gaming as a whole is exponentially bigger than it ever has been before AND there's more people on the planet.

Even with their largest numbers - it is already being shown that PC gaming has outgrown consoles the last 2 years for the first time in decades. The reason this is important is because ultimately, if 90% of the games are the same across the board, it will hurt console sales. Think about the Wii and how everyone dismisses its popularity based on it's console sales. What are attachment rates on One and PS4? - and they've sold a fraction of the number of systems.

There is not much many find 'great' about this gen. Even if you look through conversations on this board - the overall impression you get is long periods of hype, followed by short periods of 'oh this is cool', then followed by longer points of mediocrity, repeatedly. That may not stem from console generations, but more pointed to the games, because ultimately that's all anyone cares about. How many exclusives are system sellers? The ones that are claimed to be are extremely divided amongst owners.

It just isn't a cut and dry subject based on console sales.

None of what you said has anything to do with the point being made. You can't call it a failure when they are selling more than ever. Record sales already prevent it from being classified a failure.

There was a large span of time between launch and compelling exclusives throughout the history of consoles. From the PS1 on up it's the same every time. On an individual level a game will sell more on a console than on PC. PC gaming's growth (if you look at the articles that mention it) talk about MOBAs and F2P types of games drawing players. That's not a measurement I care about and I don't think it shows the whole picture. Look at Witcher 3 for example. In two weeks they sold 4 million copies. 1.3million were for PC. Console sales still outperformed PC sales in terms of units sold. The recent situation with Arkham Knight is worth mentioning too, how many refunds do you think Steam processed? In reality the major AAA releases are not selling as well on PC as they do on consoles.

None of this really matters for Nintendo though, they aren't playing ball on the same field anymore.

 

[preslove]

2016 debut and 20 mil production are probably false: http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertc...intendo-nx-launches-july-2016-seems-unlikely/

 

[ImpulsE69]

None of what you said has anything to do with the point being made. You can't call it a failure when they are selling more than ever. Record sales already prevent it from being classified a failure.

There was a large span of time between launch and compelling exclusives throughout the history of consoles. From the PS1 on up it's the same every time. On an individual level a game will sell more on a console than on PC. PC gaming's growth (if you look at the articles that mention it) talk about MOBAs and F2P types of games drawing players. That's not a measurement I care about and I don't think it shows the whole picture. Look at Witcher 3 for example. In two weeks they sold 4 million copies. 1.3million were for PC. Console sales still outperformed PC sales in terms of units sold. The recent situation with Arkham Knight is worth mentioning too, how many refunds do you think Steam processed? In reality the major AAA releases are not selling as well on PC as they do on consoles.

None of this really matters for Nintendo though, they aren't playing ball on the same field anymore.

Ah, sorry, I got stuck on your last sentence - which I've seen brought up many times. No, I would not say they are failures, but I am not so sure I would call the Wii U a failure either, only by comparison.

 

[Lil Frier]

I hope Nintendo doesn't have backwards compatibility in the next console because that means PowerPC gets another shot it doesn't deserve. ARM or bust Nintendo, ARM or bust...

What makes you say that? The 360 emulated x86 Xbox games with PowerPC at its core, and the Xbox One is now emulating PowerPC games on an x86 system. I'd imagine ARM could handle emulation, were Nintendo willing to do the work.

 

[Lil Frier]

That's some Atari 1983 level crazy mixed in with a healthy dose of late 90s Sega.

Nintend needs to come to terms with the painful truth that console gaming is dead in Japan. The Wii U is actually the best selling console there right now, which isn't saying much. Just over 2 million units shipped. Even the PS4 can't find ground there. The Japanese are obsessed with mobile gaming. Which is why big companies like Capcom, Konami, and Sega are ditching consoles like they're radioactive.

So Nintendo has to make a big decision in the coming year. Do they focus on Japan or focus on the global market? It's becoming clear you can't do both anymore. Even Sony knows that.

The first option involves a Nintendo who ditches TV top consoles entirely and puts their entire focus onto the 3DS, future handhelds, and mobile gaming.

The second option has them playing catch up to Sony and Microsoft. Rolling out proper online infrastructure, developing powerful hardware that's easy to port multi-plats to, bringing new studios on board, mending 30 years worth of strained relationships with third party publishers.

The first option is certainly a lot easier and requires little to no new investment. The second one could have huge rewards but it's a huge gamble too that requires a lot of blood, sweat, tears, and money.

I can see them going the way of the other big Japanese publishers. Fortunately they do have a creative person (Miyamoto) who has power to make decisions, and who the execs actually listen to. So maybe he'll convince them otherwise.

I wouldn't be surprised though if the NX is a new handheld or even a phone.

I don't think they know what they'd want to do. I think they could do both, in a way. However, it means going mobile in Japan and home console internationally. They'd do well to give up home console hardware, and do their major game releases on the competing platforms (I can't help but imagine that they'd publish on PlayStation over Xbox, given the geographical ties between the two). If they did that, it could allow them to continue to put out the high-end games they want without throwing R&D money into a flopping home console.

Meanwhile, they could turn their hardware efforts fully towards the handheld/mobile market. That, or they could pair with Sony (or Microsoft, but again, I assume the former), and get a Vita successor out there to run Sony and Nintendo mobile games. They could go so far as to make it a new Xperia Play (or whatever it was called), if they really desire to explore smartphone gaming.

 

[cmdrdredd]

What makes you say that? The 360 emulated x86 Xbox games with PowerPC at its core, and the Xbox One is now emulating PowerPC games on an x86 system. I'd imagine ARM could handle emulation, were Nintendo willing to do the work.

I guess it depends on what type of emulation you want. Full emulation might not be possible, but you might be able to get most games working mostly but maybe some effects would be missing or transitions don't work. Kind of like how emulators on PC work. They are only so accurate and not every game is 100%. This is probably why the Xbox isn't immediately going to get every game on the BC list and the 360 didn't have full xbox compatibility. Some games probably just wouldn't work, at least not to certain standards.

 

[Lil Frier]

True, but at the same time, Nintendo's eShop offerings have shown their ability to port things over quite well. They've been pretty slow with it, in some aspects (like getting N64 games onto the Wii U), but they could hire more developers to move that along faster (rather than having folks wait 3 months for one game from 15-20 years ago).

 

[mmntech]

I don't think they know what they'd want to do. I think they could do both, in a way. However, it means going mobile in Japan and home console internationally. They'd do well to give up home console hardware, and do their major game releases on the competing platforms (I can't help but imagine that they'd publish on PlayStation over Xbox, given the geographical ties between the two). If they did that, it could allow them to continue to put out the high-end games they want without throwing R&D money into a flopping home console.

Meanwhile, they could turn their hardware efforts fully towards the handheld/mobile market. That, or they could pair with Sony (or Microsoft, but again, I assume the former), and get a Vita successor out there to run Sony and Nintendo mobile games. They could go so far as to make it a new Xperia Play (or whatever it was called), if they really desire to explore smartphone gaming.

I think the ship has sailed on any partnerships with Sony, given their past history with Nintendo. The PlayStation could have been a Nintendo branded system had Hiroshi Yamauchi not tried to have his cake and eat it too. Yeah, that partnership with Phillips worked out so much better. 🙄

That said, they wouldn't partner with Xbox given how poorly the system has been received in Japan.

As for going multi-plat with console titles, I don't see that happening either. Nintendo has been pretty adamant about keeping their AAA games on their own hardware. Which is why I think it's all or nothing when it comes to TV top consoles.

I guess it depends on what type of emulation you want. Full emulation might not be possible, but you might be able to get most games working mostly but maybe some effects would be missing or transitions don't work. Kind of like how emulators on PC work. They are only so accurate and not every game is 100%. This is probably why the Xbox isn't immediately going to get every game on the BC list and the 360 didn't have full xbox compatibility. Some games probably just wouldn't work, at least not to certain standards.

I wonder what kind of voodoo they're doing to get those games working, as Jaguar isn't exactly a powerful CPU. I suppose using the same GPU technology helps but CPU emulation still requires a lot of horsepower.

 

[Fox5]

I think the ship has sailed on any partnerships with Sony, given their past history with Nintendo. The PlayStation could have been a Nintendo branded system had Hiroshi Yamauchi not tried to have his cake and eat it too. Yeah, that partnership with Phillips worked out so much better. 🙄

That said, they wouldn't partner with Xbox given how poorly the system has been received in Japan.

As for going multi-plat with console titles, I don't see that happening either. Nintendo has been pretty adamant about keeping their AAA games on their own hardware. Which is why I think it's all or nothing when it comes to TV top consoles.



I wonder what kind of voodoo they're doing to get those games working, as Jaguar isn't exactly a powerful CPU. I suppose using the same GPU technology helps but CPU emulation still requires a lot of horsepower.

Well, perhaps Xbox 360 games were compiled to .net intermediate code? That would make them possible to recompile.
Otherwise, it's likely they just have a much better emulator than is typical. Intel's cpus emulate powerful ARM processors on phones at a decent rate, so a few million dollars spent on an emulator combined with full specs could do a decent result.