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Nintendo NX to be Fully Portable, Cart based


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According to Eurogamer, the NX will be a fully portable platform using a cart medium. The console can be docked at home for play on a large TV. Following the trend started with Wii, NX will not seek graphical parity with MS and Sony consoles. The move to a portable console will consolidate Nintendo's portable and home hardware and software businesses. Links below:

 

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2016-07-26-nx-is-a-portable-console-with-detachable-controllers

 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2016/07/26/new-leak-says-the-nintendo-nx-is-a-less-powerful-entirely-portable-console/#31881e2063f1

 

Interestingly, the leak coincides with Nintendo's quarterly financial report in which they post a loss, despite Pokemon's success - which is benifitting app developer Niantic. Wii U sales for the quarter are abysmal- but still better than lifetime sales for my beloved Jaguar. Is the timing of the leaked NX info mere coincidence? You decide.

 

http://www.cnet.com/news/pokemon-no-go-nintendo-suffers-net-loss-of-234-million

Edited by atarilbc
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According to Eurogamer, the NX will be a fully portable platform using a cart medium. The console can be docked at home for play on a large TV. Following the trend started with Wii, NX will not seek graphical parity with MS and Sony consoles. The move to a portable console will consolidate Nintendo's portable and home hardware and software businesses. Links below:

 

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2016-07-26-nx-is-a-portable-console-with-detachable-controllers

 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2016/07/26/new-leak-says-the-nintendo-nx-is-a-less-powerful-entirely-portable-console/#31881e2063f1

 

Interestingly, the leak coincides with Nintendo's quarterly financial report in which they post a loss, despite Pokemon's success - which is benifitting app developer Niantic. Wii U sales for the quarter are abysmal- but still better than lifetime sales for my beloved Jaguar. Is the timing of the leaked NX info mere coincidence? You decide.

 

http://www.cnet.com/news/pokemon-no-go-nintendo-suffers-net-loss-of-234-million

Nintendo doesn't make a penny off of Pokemon Go's sales.  They got a flat fee for licensing the game for Niantic, but whether it succeeds or fails, it doesn't affect them.

 

Sounds like Nintendo is taking cues from knock off handheld clones by making a portable system you can plug in to your TV.

 

Does this mean the NX will more closely resemble a 3DS than a Wii or N64?   I'd guess so, probably more like the NEO-GEO Gold system that came out a few years ago.   If they aren't trying to compete with the big 2 (and lets face it, Nintendo hasn't competed with them graphic-wise in many years) then they are free to make this thing as small (or large) as they want.

 

I think Nintendo kicks much butt at making portable systems.   They've dominated the market since there has been a market.  Making a portable that can be hooked up to the TV is neat.   I'm hoping the base is solid enough for stable controllers, and I hope those controllers are like Gamecube.

Edited by Rowsdower70

"For you - Rowsdower from the 70 - have been appointed Omnivisioner of the Game Grid."  ~ Atari Adventure Square

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They've dominated the market since there has been a market.  Making a portable that can be hooked up to the TV is neat.

This.

 

IMHO, this is a good move. Why dilute first party development efforts and finite marketing dollars with two platforms when technology now allows for HD portable and home gaming on one device? And if people never hook it up to the TV - which they will - I'm not sure the Big N would care if they can sustain the success of the DS and 3DS.

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It's a "circle the wagons" move.  Come on back to the market they dominate.  My opinion is a little darker.  I think we've lost a player in the home console market...and that is not a good thing.  On the other hand...maybe this is the end of the differences between home and portable consoles...it always has been that portables are stripped down/less powerful than the big brother consoles. 

 

In the end, it always comes down to the games.  And hopefully, Nintendo continues to shine here. 

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It's a "circle the wagons" move.  Come on back to the market they dominate.  My opinion is a little darker.  I think we've lost a player in the home console market...and that is not a good thing.  On the other hand...maybe this is the end of the differences between home and portable consoles...it always has been that portables are stripped down/less powerful than the big brother consoles. 

 

In the end, it always comes down to the games.  And hopefully, Nintendo continues to shine here. 

I see your point.  It's similar to Apple giving up the fight in home computers and doubling down on gadgets I suppose.

"For you - Rowsdower from the 70 - have been appointed Omnivisioner of the Game Grid."  ~ Atari Adventure Square

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Ubisoft has "surprises" yet to be announced for Nintendo NX according to this article. "Nintendo has the power to reinvent the way families are playing" I hope that's true! More from the article on NintendoLife:

 

http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2016/08/ubisoft_has_surprises_yet_to_be_announced_for_nintendo_nx

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I don't know how I feel about this.

 

If NX is a straight portable, then that will render the 3DS obsolete essentially overnight.

 

Considering I only managed to get on the 3DS bandwagon this year, the impending end of my new favorite handheld is not something I view lightly.

 

Another thing. Breath of the Wild did not, to me at least, seem to be tailored to a portable type of play, like, say, Link's Awakening was.

I have a definite idea of what I expect from a portable game, and Breath of the Wild looks like more of a home console game. So I still think the NX must have a significant home aspect.

"I'd buy that for a dollar!" -Smash T.V.

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I don't know how I feel about this.

If NX is a straight portable, then that will render the 3DS obsolete essentially overnight.

The 3DS is aging and Nintendo is ready with new technology. Remember Game Boy Color was only around for about 3 years before Game Boy Advance set a new standard which was also replaced by DS within a few short years.

 

The NX won't be a "straight portable" though, Nintendo is indicating that it will be more than a handheld and different from a console.

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I know it's ageing... I'm just not very happy about it.

I've only ever had one console/handheld while it was still a commercially viable product prior to 3DS, and that was the PSP. Everything else I've owned I've been quite late to the party. The Wii, for instance. I didn't get mine till a full year after all wifi support was cut.

 

When the NX comes out, the 3DS will be a dead man walking, and I doubt its awesome web features will be left online for too awful long.

 

That, and, I feel like the really quite incredible New Nintendo 3DS will be sadly shafted as a result.

It might still be 5 year old tech at its core, but I believe it's enough of an upgrade over the original 3DS to deserve a life span longer than it's gonna get in the long run.

"I'd buy that for a dollar!" -Smash T.V.

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Trying to make smartphone gamers into games purchasers is going to be a herculean task.  Mobile gaming does have a fourth of the total industry base, but considering just how many devices are out there, that's kind of weak.  Moreover, these people, while they play, have shown an unwillingness to pay for software, which is why we see so much adware and so many cynical micro-transaction games based on luring a few hardcore whales to make up for the masses of free players.  Nintendo getting these people to even consider buying games on a semi-regular basis, either in e-shop or on cartridge, would be quite the coup, but I don't see it happening.

 

At best, Nintendo is simply replacing the 3DS with something that has a TV player in the box.  As Don said, Nintendo is bowing out of the home market.  I'm not sure how I like less competition in the home space...

Edited by RawSteelUT
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Less competition=worse deal for the consumer in the long run. In terms of prices, innovation etc, there's simply not the wow factor in gaming any more as it is and i've seen a steady decline as Sega exited the hardware market and talented studio after talented studio closed..sad times to be a gamer for those of us who've been game for past 35 years :-(

Indeed.

 

Though I wonder how much Nintendo's really been considered a competitor post-2009, when the Wii hype died down.  It's really been Microsoft and Sony for quite a while...

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where's the "Cart based" part of this NX???...... oops Switch....... :o  wait a minute - i get it!!! They did a bait and "switch" on us!!! :lol:  

Brian Matherne - owner/curator of "The MOST comprehensive list of Atari VCS/2600 homebrews ever compiled." http://tiny.cc/Atari2600Homebrew

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I don't think they are bowing out of the home market, but taking a new approach. I'm sure there will be a fair amount of users who will us it mostly with their TV. But at the same time, the home market has changed with more and more people watch TV shows and movies on portable devices.

 

Rarely has Nintendo targeted teen gamers and those into high specs so in a sense, the core PS/XB audience and core Nintendo audience has typically been different. And it's hard to argue with their success. Whereas other top of the line console actually lost money depending on software, theirs make money.

 

And don't fret Lee. Nintendo has a history of supporting systems for 2-3 years after a new system comes out. The 3DS should stay strong through 2018 into 2019. But, sadly, at some point the 3DS will be put out to pasture.

The No Swear Gamer on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChtJuo040EOCTVziObIgVcg

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I don't think they are bowing out of the home market, but taking a new approach. I'm sure there will be a fair amount of users who will us it mostly with their TV. But at the same time, the home market has changed with more and more people watch TV shows and movies on portable devices.

 

Rarely has Nintendo targeted teen gamers and those into high specs so in a sense, the core PS/XB audience and core Nintendo audience has typically been different. And it's hard to argue with their success. Whereas other top of the line console actually lost money depending on software, theirs make money.

 

And don't fret Lee. Nintendo has a history of supporting systems for 2-3 years after a new system comes out. The 3DS should stay strong through 2018 into 2019. But, sadly, at some point the 3DS will be put out to pasture.

I understand and appreciate the optimism, but I don't see it.  That card system for games is going to preclude the big games that have become the norm for much of the market.  Sure, they'll get downgraded CoD versions maybe, less maps and the like, but outside of Nintendo's core demo, how many people are really going to use this thing for home console play as opposed to a home console?

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I applaud Nintendo for not going the way of Sony and Microsoft.

 

Is the Switch not quite what I hoped for? Sure.

 

However, there is one big factor about it that I like: The Switch is boldly daring. It's nothing like the cookie-cutter Xbox, and if Nintendo can leverage that fact to their advantage, they might have something awesome here.

"I'd buy that for a dollar!" -Smash T.V.

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