Nintendo NX announcement today!

[downburst82]

SPLATOON!!!! Thats all I needed

Looks super cool I will absolutely be getting one at release (as long as Splatoon is a launch title) It will be the first time ive bought a console at launch since Nintendo 64.

 

[coreysMonster]

Good graphics and nice screen? My iPhone/iPad can do that.
Take anywhere? My iPhone/iPad can do that.
Switch in and out and talk to my friends? My iPhone/iPad can do that.
Explore other content totally unrelated to Nintendo? My iPhone/iPad can do that.

And yet the 3DS sold dozens of millions of units. Imagine a 3DS on steroids, unencumbered by the silly 3D gimmick, that you can also plug into your TV and play with friends on.

Your iPhone or iPad have one fatal flaw: They can't play Nintendo games (at least not modern ones). And ultimately, that's what sells Nintendo's consoles.

 

[Axayacatl]

I just think it's too early to call a flop based on what we know. But then again, I'm also talking out of my ass here.

I think you are reading out of your ass as well.

I didn't call it a flop.

I wrote that my concern for Nintendo is that they will lose the content game because they tried to play the hardware game.

Just think about how tough the game industry is getting right now. You can play games on your new Apple TV and also get access to tons of content. You guys are all saying that is not relevant to Nintendo's future?

The Nintendo 3DS was immensely successful, agree. Tens of millions of units sold. It was a very strong product in 2011 and 2012.

They are releasing the new system precisely because it is a well known fact that 3DS sales have plummeted lately.

It is natural for the sales of an old product to die down, and it is natural to replace them with something better. Nothing new there. Product cycle.

All I am saying is that my concern for Nintendo is that the hardware game has changed pretty drastically over the last four years.

I know because both Sony and Microsoft are actively re-freshing their consoles to re-fresh demand.

Original and memorable games is what Nintendo does best. I agree it is their ticket to success.

The smartphone comparison is actually very relevant. If not, ask small camera makers how they are doing. And ask yourself which has been the fastest growing platform for games of any kind.

Finally, coreysMonster, you wrote that one cannot play Nintendo games on the iPhone/iPad, but Nintendo just famously released Mario for the iPhone....

Please do not put words in my mouth. None of my multiple personalities is calling this new console a flop. None of them is wishing Nintendo to do poorly.

And I will destroy anybody here at Mario Kart 64 with Yoshi. Any map.

 

[Don Vito]

 

[Axayacatl]

. And sure, your phone/tablet can produce nice graphics, but it's got nowhere near the processing power to run a videogame as large as Zelda, or the Skyrim remake.

OK, admittedly I sort of assumed that the latest Apple tablet could play a game like Zelda but that is probably unrealistic. I can see how loading massive maps and free-roam worlds would likely strain the 1GB, 2GB of RAM even in a state of the art iPad. I'm wondering about the screen quality as well. In that regard I do think Apple can make top screens for relatively cheap, but maybe Nintendo has something awesome cooked up for that. My personal experience following Nintendo is that it hasn't been the case for a long time and that they get away with it because of the games. But now it seems that they are going down both paths. That's why I'm thinking aloud about how this could play out. Granted, PS2 was a massive success and it didn't have the best hardware as far as I understand such things.

It really looks awesome though, and I love it that you can detach the controllers and share them to play Mario Kart.

 

[Alberto7]

I didn't call it a flop.

My bad. I actually ended up mixing up part of your post with Don Vito's right before yours.

I do share with you my worry for Nintendo's future though, as I'm not entirely sure what their strategy is in order to stay relevant, or how successful it'll be. If anything, I think it's cool that they're staying out of the hardware wars and just doing their own thing. Originality is a trait I appreciate... even if that, admittedly, means hell for third (and even first) party developers.

Funnily enough though, I was talking with my roommate about the Switch today (he loves the Nintendo from the 90's-early 2000's, but, as a computer engineer and game developer, hates their new model... which I understand), and he told me about the Nvidia Shield... which is oddly similar to the Switch, and it weirded me out. I honestly thought this was a concept Nintendo decided to initiate, and not just take from one of their hardware suppliers. The comments on this article are actually pretty interesting to read:

http://www.theverge.com/2016/10/20/...ts-from-the-nvidia-shield-for-its-new-console

And I will destroy anybody here at Mario Kart 64 with Yoshi. Any map.

Bring it bud, I'll race ya.

 

[MFB]

And yet the 3DS sold dozens of millions of units. Imagine a 3DS on steroids, unencumbered by the silly 3D gimmick, that you can also plug into your TV and play with friends on.

The 3DS could at least fold onto itself and fit in a pocket, this is a full on tablet that you'd be walking around with. People didn't care about the 3D aspect of the 3DS, it's just that that's what they thought people wanted and made all the new games for - even if people turned the 3D of it off entirely, so they HAD to own one if they wanted to play stuff.

Also coming with that steroids territory is that this will get hot running that kind of power. We've got phones whos battery blows up, and phones that heat up just from playing a game designed for it; imagine running Skyrim on this thing with it on your lap and you feel it heat up like a laptop.

And ultimately, that's what sells Nintendo's consoles.

Sure did wonders for the WiiU.

 

[Bloody_Inferno]

Nintendo's been the patron saint of gimmicky hardware for donkey years. Sometimes it works like the Zapper, Wii and DS/3DS, and sometimes it crashes and burns to crap like the Power Glove, Robo, Super Scope, Virtua Boy and Wii U. And the new hardware would be difficult for most or all third party developers, but that's typical Nintendo history for you: it's always practically a shotgun relationship between them. Putting Skyrim footage does show some hope that Nintendo will play nice more often.

One thing that Nintendo does well is they consistently release a console that's dedicated centrally to games, and not a gaming based PC like how Sony and Microsoft are on a race to being obsolete first. All the hardware gimmicks are all still based centrally on gaming, be it alone or multiplayer. Switch continues that business model. If anything the Switch has just widened the space on where and how many friends you can fall out of or how many strangers you can turn to sworn enemies when playing the new upcoming Mario Kart with animosity.

And of course Nintendo will always have their dedicated fanbase to fall back on. Always waiting to rely on bringing the new versions of the usual nostalgia bait franchises to haemorrhage money. Though Mario, Zelda and Pokemon are doing the heavy lifting, refining the solid templates and milking it dry, just keep Team Ninja away from Metroid, and they don't smear their dormant properties into the dirt like Star Fox, Kid Icarus and... well Metroid again.

But cynical as I may sound, having said that, I really want to play the new Zelda game.

 

[cwhitey2]

I like this.

I haven't bought a Nintendo product in over 10 years, but I think that will change.

 

[Edika]

Even though I find the idea intriguing and the option of having a powerful handheld/docked console to play games everywhere, it seems I'm the only one that found that ad distasteful. Taking your dog on a walk and can't stand being out in the open without having your head glued on a screen? Being called to a social get together and the addition you bring is stopping people from interacting to see what you're doing in a small screen? Playing Mario cart before going to an actual cart? Playing virtual basketball just after playing actual basketball? Maybe a decade ago I'd find it more appealing but now it just weird-ed me out.

I'm not dissing the product itself but how Nintendo chooses to advertise it by the way.

 

[narad]

Sometimes it works like the Zapper, Wii and DS/3DS, and sometimes it crashes and burns to crap like the Power Glove, Robo, Super Scope, Virtua Boy and Wii U

My super scope did not crash and burn! Battleclash, man!!?

 

[bostjan]

I loved the zapper, but it needed more games other than duck hunt and gunsmoke. I loved the power pad, but it needed more games than super track and field. I think R.O.B. could have been better, albeit not great, with good supporting software. Same with Virtual Boy and Wii U.

Nintendo needs to follow through with a killer app for each gimmick. If they never made duck hunt, no one would have given a .... about the zapper, and if not for Wii Sports, who knows how the Wii would have fared.

In hindsight, there should have been something like RoboCop or The Punisher with the zapper. Before you get carried away and say anything about FPS and the NES, there were contemporary games that kept the player stationary and worked perfectly fine for shooters, and with the zapper, you have no control of movement anyway. Imagine how much fun Contra's base levels would be if they used the zapper - there should have been a game like that.

The Wii Fit Board needed a first person mario game, where you could run and go on your toes to jump. I think it could have been a hit. Wii Fit mini games were great, but got old after a while, and Punch Out used the balance board, but the trick was that it was just flat out more difficult to play that way.

My issue with the Switch is that it's maybe something that would have been a novel and successful idea around the time the Wii U was developed. Now, it's probably just too late. Tablets are everywhere - you can buy a decent one for $50 or a good one for $150, so why would I buy a Nintendo that is essentially a tablet with a controller and a dock (which I guarantee you'll be able to get off brand controllers and docks for tablets within weeks of this thing debuting) for $250+?

 

[Ralyks]

I'm definitely intrigued by this.
That said, I'm still buying a Wii U when they get cheap if Mario Maker doesn't get ported over.

 

[StevenC]

They are releasing the new system precisely because it is a well known fact that 3DS sales have plummeted lately.

Worth noting, 3DS/2DS sales jumped recently. The reason for that is because you can play watered down Nintendo experiences on your smartphone that are evidently making people interested in the real deal.

 

[narad]

Worth noting, 3DS/2DS sales jumped recently. The reason for that is because you can play watered down Nintendo experiences on your smartphone that are evidently making people interested in the real deal.

i.e., Pokemon?

 

[StevenC]

i.e., Pokemon?

Yes. And every Pokemon game jumped hugely in sales with the release of Pokemon Go. Plus the new Pokemon game coming out next month, which always brings a surge in hardware movement, because there are always new young Pokemon fans.

 

[Ralyks]

Since the major gimmick is how it's portable, id love to see a full blown tradition Pokémon game on the Switch. That would absolutely get me back into Pokémon. I was hard core from the beginning up until Yellow came to America, then just completely fell off and haven't played since.

 

[splinter8451]

Surprised this was not posted yet.

I am most hype about From Software... possibility of portable Souls games?

 

[Señor Voorhees]

'Tis nothing like a tablet in the standard sense. Tablets are good for crummy little games where precise control is irrelevant due to lack of physical buttons. You can still have fun with games on tablets, but trying to play any kind of shooter or platformer is unreasonably difficult. There's also more to rendering games than just the processor. The GPUs in tablets weren't built with gaming in mind. Standard tablets, like an iPad, were designed to be the jack of all trades and master of none.

Essentially, as someone else I think mentioned, an iPad is super convenient and can do a lot of stuff, but stuff designed to do a specific task will always win out. They can browse the internet, but a computer can do it better. They can play games, but handhelds, consoles, and computers will do it better. You can record music on them, but a proper daw and software will do it better. You can take pictures, record videos, and/or edit the pics/videos, but actual cameras will always be better. It's convenient to have a little bit of everything at your finger tips, but something like this is actually very very cool, but it'll never beat having something tailor made for a task. Sure cheaper products, like cheaper digital cameras, will be hurt. I find it hard to believe that somebody would choose a phone or a tablet over a DSLR... Hell, Playstation and Xbox are still thriving despite tablet gaming, so clearly there's a market for higher quality games. You better believe I'd absolutely rather play Skyrim quality games with physical buttons on my plane rides or boring commutes instead of clunky tablet nonsense. Tablet games are good for killing time when taking a dump at work... This looks like it's way more than that, and I can personally say I'm actually interested in this console... Haven't been interested in ANYTHING nintendo since the gamecube. It really does just come down to can they deliver what's promised? With so many great names on board with them now, I desperately it's even half as cool as it looks. I'll definitely be looking out to see what people think of them once people get their hands on them, because this is just such a cool concept.

Hope this doesn't come off as offensive or anything. That's totally not my intent. I just think that legit gaming consoles and tablets/phones are two completely different ball games. The physical buttons on the console is reason enough to prefer the Switch over an iPad. Playing oldschool doom on the iPhone was fun and relatively doable, but good god was it way more difficult than it needed to be.

 

[tacotiklah]

I saw it and was disappointed. Nintendo seems to think that even their flagship consoles need to be portable.

They used to make awesome consoles, but now it seems like they're trying too hard to be niche. Or maybe the kiddie games they put out just don't need as much processing power or something. But I really wish they'd release an actual console that would give a PC a run for its money in terms of gaming quality. If they did that, Sony and Microsoft would be sweating bullets for sure. Nintendo definitely has the high ground on portable gaming, and maybe that's why they're working so hard to corner that market. But I feel it's time for them to come back to the home console market and take that sh*t over again. :/