Nintendo Switch (formerly codenamed NX) and mobile gaming
primesuspect
Beepin n' BoopinDetroit, MI Icrontian
"As long as I can play Pokemon on my iPhone, I don't care what they do"
That was my co-worker upon the news that Nintendo has announced their next console, codenamed "NX".
Time to let the speculation begin!
We were discussing what the NX could be or look like. If I had to guess, I would summarize it as "multiplayer tablet" - tablet-style (or 2DS style) pads that are full consoles but can also be docked for your big-screen gaming. Whatever it is, it will definitely support at least four players.
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Wii U2? #Bono
Prediction: The actual name will be Nintendo Wii Nii
What I would like to see is something similar to the current Wii U controller, except that it goes in the opposite direction: the games are played and hosted on the controller and optionally displayed on the TV, Chromecast-style.
...and now that I think about it, if they were to do that with a New New 3DS XL I'd definitely buy one.
I find it telling they're confirming their next console less than 4 years after the Wii U.
Four years isn't that big of a deal for Nintendo...
NES: 1985
GB: 1989
SNES: 1991
N64: 1996
GBC: 1998
GBA: 2001
GCN: 2001
GSP: 2003
DS: 2004
Wii: 2006
3DS: 2011
WiiU: 2012
I dunno man, the Wii U is producing some of the best games I've played since high school (Mario Kart 8 zomg), and it's backwards-compatible with Wii which had a few killers itself, like New Super Mario Bros.
"NINTENDO SUCKS IT'S DYING"
Super Smash Bros
Pokemon
Mario
Zelda
Metroid
Those franchises alone an entire company can make. Nintendo stock is going up up up. Investors know. Nintendo on mobile is an ABSOLUTE GOLD MINE. Who gives a shit about the hardware.
Dear Nintendo, please give me a Wii U Metroid title. And enough time to finally finish Twilight Princess...
Now for my naysaying:
DeNA is a mobile platform developer and they have quite a portfolio of mobile games. However, the games all fit into the standard mobile tropes. My fear is that we'll just see mobile games with Nintendo characters, not Nintendo games on mobile, if that makes sense.
I've been watching NoA stock for years and it's been stagnant as fuck.
It's been going up today!
OH, holy shit, it really has.
Nintendo gets it. They are the only living room / mobile gaming company that does anything significant to differentiate themselves. As long as they maintain control of their ecosystem there will always be a place for them. People insisting they release games on Android and IOS don't have a clue on how Nintendo has thrived this long.
The only thing I can see that Nintendo could be doing better is to try to win back EA on the Wii U. That leaves a gaping hole in their third party offerings, but otherwise I'm pleased with how the Wii U has turned out. I'm sure anything they release will at least meet my expectations.
Pokemon Shuffle
Puzzle & Dragon: Super Mario Edition
for your consideration. May increase your fears or not.
These are Nintendo's current endeavors though and this new system is still relatively up in the air. So they may not hold any weight for this point at all.
I'm confident though that Nintendo would at least try to get some form of differentiation/innovation in this area.
We shall see, it's still pretty early.
I'm actually more excited about the membership thing. I liked the Club Nintendo feature and I'm wondering if this will be the replacement, and or what they might do with it.
Yes please!
Played Pokemon Shuffle a couple of days ago. Was entirely unimpressed, felt just like any other freemium title I wouldn't bother with on my phone, and after the tutorial's done, the gems get shoved right into your face.
Not necessarily a confidence-booster, but we'll just have to wait and see, I guess. Mobile gaming in the style of Android and iOS just isn't my thing in general, so I can't really speak for anyone's interest but my own.
Meh. I'm glad Nintendo's finally getting on the mobile train (five years too late), but it still won't make me actually want to play mobile games on my phone.
It's pretty much all garbage. Mario or not.
If they let me turn my 3DS into a phone (or similar) I will be pleased
I'm not sure I like the idea of the current Nintendo franchises on my phone, but that's mostly because of the control schemes needed to play them.
I do have the Final Fantasy games on my iPhone. I'm determined to play them all the way through in order. FF1 has been pretty good so far, but that extra dungeon is a PITA. The control scheme works for it, but that's because there isn't much that requires fast controls. I definitely wouldn't want to play Sonic on it.
It Begins! (sorta)
Earlier this week, The Pokemon Company and Nintendo announced Pokemon GO.
Pokemon GO will be a free Android/iOS app that is your standard Pokemon fare, capturing and battling, but using augmented reality. A bluetooth Pokeball device, called the Pokemon GO Plus, will alert you to nearby pokemon, events, and other trainers as you go about your day, and it's up to you to look for em.
The Pokemon Go Plus device.
While little actual gameplay was shown (only a couple seconds I believe), the teaser trailer exemplifies the finding, catching, trainer battles, and events.
It's scheduled for a 2016 release, with beta testing this winter.
Confirmed for March 2017.
No name revealed yet.
Will not be revealed at E3
New Zelda delayed til 2017. Will duel release for Wii U and NX
Whole thing is kinda cray cray. E3 is gonna be a bummer of a show for Nintendo.
Rumor is they are returning to some kind of blazing fast cartridge interface. I think we all agree that optical disks have worn out their welcome. On the PS4 some games when you factor in both the disk install time and the time to download the current update files you can spend an hour just preparing to play a game. Nintendo will eliminate this nonsense.
I've always been confused why they don't release games on SD
Yeah, I'm kind of bummed about this as a fanboy, but in the end it's actually better. PS4 VR is the monster this year for marketing, so a new console wouldn't do as well against it. With some breathing room in March, it has the spotlight all to itself. Plus, it's been revealed that the delay is so that they can have enough games at launch (per Nintendo interview) so that's a good positive.
I admire Nintendo for not rushing to be another E3 "me too." Patience is a virtue many corporations sorely lack. Ditto for discipline.
That said: the Wii U will probably go down as one of the most lackluster consoles in history.
Disagree. It had exclusives that were good for what they were... Unlike, say, the Sega Saturn or Genesis 32x
I wonder if the NX will perfect the second screen in console gaming, and if that will make us look more fondly back on the U.
I'll play Obi Wan here and say both @Primesuspect and @Thrax are right about the Wii U's legacy from certain points of view.
From the point of view of the business, I think @Thrax has a point. The console never met it's promise to Nintendo or investors. I don't think Nintendo did a good job at positioning it in the market after the massive success that was the original Wii console. It's a Wii, it's new, but it's different, but it's all kinds of different, it can play this, it can play that, use a second screen, don't, play with friends online, offline, don't... Plug in the Wii remote, a nun-chuck, a classic controller, a second screen, who knows, maybe you can play this game this way or that way, hey, we are flexible at Nintendo... and I think it confused potential customers. Honestly I think they would have been just as well from a marketing and sales standpoint to just make the Wii 2.0, beef up the hardware for HD games and for once stand pat with their design since nobody else was doing that right anyway. The second screen did add some neat tricks, but mostly it was a cumbersome controller that added less than motion did.
@primesuspect has the viewpoint of a life long Nintendo fan. I share that sentiment. If you look at it from that angle the Wii U did some amazing stuff to drive some old franchises forward. It offers the absolute best iteration of Mario Kart ever, It offers a better Smash Brothers experience that works nicely online, Splatoon for my money was the most innovative game of this entire console generation, that game went out and re invented what a shooter could be. Lego City Undercover was the best 3rd party exclusive nobody played. The Mii Verse is actually a cool community, it feels a bit more alive and random in a charming way that Xbox Live never approaches. It like all Nintendo devices valued the gaming experience ahead of anything else, it wasn't really a media hub (though it made a half ass attempt) it was a game console first and it had some pretty stellar content and a few neat tricks for those willing to invest in learning them. I think it gave Nintendo fans something to cheer about, but maybe that's the issue, Nintendo fans, our influence is shrinking as things change, and Nintendo has to work out a solution to that problem, cater to an entirely new generation of gamer that probably played their first video game on a phone touch screen and does not understand why kicking a turtle shell makes any sense at all.
I feel the WiiU has been a good console, and Cliff covers the topic pretty well. There is another viewpoint though and I feel it holds the main reason why it's commercial performance was "poor" if not "ok". That viewpoint is from the developers. There have been a couple reports from developers stating that due to various hardware and software related issues, it was a pain to develop some games for the WiiU. If a 3rd party publisher was wanting a wide release of a game onto Xbox, Playstation, PC, and WiiU, the other platforms have a much bigger and similar ceiling and wider hallways to port the game. The WiiU's ceiling is shorter, different, and the walls are closer by comparison. Developers may have to put in a lot more work to get the WiiU port running properly. Due dates, and questionable sales mean the effort could not be worth it. Titles that had a more open or younger audience, which in turn were more likely to have a style that fit the WiiU's capabilities, were more likely to do well (Skylanders, LEGO, all the indie stuff.)
I like my Wii. I love Nintendo. I like the way they kinda just do their own thing because they can, and often for for the sake of the game and customer rather then profit. The drawback to that is that their devices and infrastructure could be an entirely different beast then what the industry is used to working with resulting in mixed 3rd party support. I want to believe that they've learned well from their mistakes and the ever changing landscape of the industry. We shall see in time. I've heard rumors that bode well but rumors be rumors.
Called it.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2016-07-26-nx-is-a-portable-console-with-detachable-controllers