The state of the NX

Okay so we all know the kind of situation Nintendo is in right now, and saying they are stuck between a rock and a hard place is putting it lightly.

We also know the NX reveal will happen next year and whether it comes out next year or 2017 remains to be seen.

How powerful will you want the NX to be? At least as powerful as the xb1 / ps4 or significantly more powerful?

Then next we take a look at price. If it's just as powerful as the xb1/ ps4 then Nintendo can get away with competing price wise which is a huge important factor people sometimes don't take into consideration.

If it's significantly more powerful and costs around $450-$500 (keep in mind Nintendo usually never sell their console at a loss) will it be enough to warrant a purchase if you already own an xb1 or ps4? Especially if there are no guarantees that it will receive major 3rd party support.

If it does release at a price to compete with Sony and MS (meaning the specs are similar power wise) then MS & Sony can at least do price cuts by 2017 to undermine the NX, if Nintendo goes all out balls to the wall and releases a $500 system the other two can still do price cuts so it's kinda like no win situation either way.

If Nintendo gave you an invite and asked to give them one piece of advice considering their next direction and option what would you tell them?

i think as far as nintendo goes, i think it will stay conservative in the power department. i think it will cost around $500 when it launches. still early days though, you never know.

@tushar172787: the question is do you think that would be a smart move to have it cost that much?

If you just bought a Wii U recently would you wanna spend that much on the NX?

A Solution might be to make the NX backwards compatible with the Wii U so people that just bought the Wii U can keep their games & still be able to keep playing them on NX but implementing BC will probably just add more to the price of the NX... Will it be worth it?

I think if Nintendo decides to make a powerful system and implement BC just to keep consumer faith high then they'll have no choice but to take a loss on each system sold but will that hurt them in the long run since they don't have as much money as Sony or MS

Since we usually always get Nintendo home consoles every 5 years i will go ahead and guess Nintendo will make another 1080p console as powerful as PS4 and Xbox One. Launch a new system with a Pro Control for $199. 2017, here we come.

if nintendo makes the console much more powerful than either the xbox one and ps4 to justify the cost, then sure, why not? also, nintendo needs to have a flow of games coming including 3rd party ones to justify the price. also, the wii u lasted is looking to last just 4 years with loads less games than xbox/ps and they need to assure consumers that NX will have great support with loads of games for atleast 5-6 years coming, not a day one purchase for me, but if they implement all of these, then i'll definitely buy it.

@mesome713: if they did that then wouldn't that just put them in a Wii U type situation all over again if say MS & Sony release their next systems by 2019 - 2020?

What if the ps5 and xb2 have like 16gb Ram and more powerful gpu plus cpu then wouldn't the NX be left behind all over again if Nintendo tries to make the NX similar to current gen consoles just to keep price affordable?

@tushar172787: Danggg, 5-6 years?, i dont even think the almighty DS lasted that long and i think that was the longest lasting console.

What if i told you that there are people out there that don't care about the price they want the most powerful console that runs third party games and they don't want a PC.

So for these people ps4/xb1 price cuts wouldn't sway anyone they want 60 fps 1080p and if nintendo delivers and the consumers go to it and the third party come to it price cutting is not gonna do anything ppl will choose the best version to play games on

its already rough playing on the ps4/xb1 with all the DRM and downloads if nintendo the games just run and are beefy im in

I dont think they care what Sony and Microsoft do, i dont think they ever have. And i could care less about multiplats etc, i just want my Nintendo games. So i want Nintendo to make a cheap console that is easy to develop for, that way i get more games, yes i know, im greedy, but fack it, i love Nintendo.

@tushar172787: don't forget though that not even Sony coming after what was arguably the most successful home console of all time with the ps2 were able to convince people to buy PS3 with the high price tag it launched at.

Heck even Recently we have another example with MS having to take out kinect just to slash price down.

For whatever reason console gamers are cut from a different cloth than PC gamers and price is a high selling point for the average joe out there....

$500 for a Nintendo console no matter how powerful the spec might be sounds like a recipe for disaster if you want my honest opinion.

considering the nintendo only has first-party games than loads more from ms/sony, it needs to have a good library to justify it.

@demon-returns: yep that's true. i wonder how that'll turn out.

@tushar172787: True, i agree, i was just wondering why it had to last 5-6 years, thats a pretty long time.

@ProtossX: haha I think you're underestimating just how much of factor price plays into people's decision when it comes purchasing things.

Do you think for a second that the Wii would've sold as much as it did to the casuals even with the novelty motion controls it had if it came out at say like $400 - $500 price range?

Did you not see just how much Nintendo scrambled to slash price on the 3DS just months after it came out because the price was too high?

Again I understand what you're saying about some people not minding to pay premium price for the best specs but I'll choose to side with what history has shown me when it comes to that my friend.

I think for it to make sense to release a new console this quickly, needs to be a system that can last 7-8 years and compete with early next gen systems. So at launch, probably a 500-600 price point and power wise it would need to be 5-6x as powerful as xboxone and ps4.

It's Ninendo though, so I doubt that happens.

with how gimpy the technology is in xb1 and ps4 at there outrageous price point a 500 dollar nintendo system that beats the crap out of those would be welcome in this marketplace

sony and microsoft gimped on the power of both machine this could be an easy win for nintendo with how outrageously bad sony and microsoft went in on these new specs right now the only place to really play games is on pc ninty could deliver that pc experience on the tv screen since sony and microsoft refused to and not only that they refused to offer a fair price they overcharging from day one the market is not being kept in check ninty need to see this

@hatecalledlove: that would be so cool and awesome to see because it would turn the whole gaming industry upside down but it may also be the end of Nintendo as we know it doing that. Because if that doesn't work then ohhhhh boy. But a lot of people are saying this might be nintendos last chance anyway at righting the ship so I guess why not go out swinging wildly haha

On a more serious note... That to me sounds like one of those last ditch efforts because again price plays a major role in people's decision especially considering most people just either recently bought the Wii U or PS4 or XB1 or a combination of the 3 I doubt they'd spend that much on a console this soon....

@ProtossX: you know I can't really argue against what you're saying because you bring some valid points to the table..... So my counter is

If the console releases at 2016 or even 2017 at the very latest..... Just how much more powerful than the ps4 will it be at $500? Will that be enough to give the system powerful cpu, gpu, ram to make it stand out from what the PS4 & XB1 can currently do?

And also again - will 3rd parties even bother with the system? The last Nintendo console they properly supported was the GameCube and that was almost some 15 years ago!!!!

7-8 years, wtf? Average console has a life of 5 years. Lets not try to break genius book world records now. Nvm, i see what you mean, make it so powerful that it would match PS5 and Xbox Two.

If you want to call it that, that was the start of multiplats, and Nintendo didnt get many. Also third party still stayed clear of Gamecube even though it was most powerful. PS2 was the weakest by a mile and still got all the games cause competition was weak, Nintendo games were so good on Gamecube that Third Party was scared they wouldnt sell good. The third party that did come to Nintendo was in gengre Nintendo didnt make games for, like survival horror and rpgs. Its was still a great time, and we did have a few great Third Party games. I remember Soulcalibur IV with Zelda in it, it was awesome. Gamecube had awesome Exclusives though then from third party, i give you that. But i think they had to pay good money for that.

@mesome713: @mesome713:

Xbox 360 went from 2005-2013 or 8 years, PS3 went from 2006-2013 or 7 years. Hence my statement make the system x5-6 more powerful then the one and ps4. Make the jump between systems large so it can last that long similar to the PS3 and 360 and the power jump compared to previous gen.

@hatecalledlove: O dang, you are right on that, i didnt notice last gen lasted so long, thats amazing.

NX has to be more powerful than current consoles with competitive price to be appealing .... Maybe then will get some 3rd party support which is what killing Nintendo consoles faster than competition since N64.

Then again they have all the time to focus on major releases along with consoles release to lure in the fans easily. A new mario and Zelda alone can do the trick.

@AzatiS: Funny you say competition is killing Nintendo but their stock continues to rise ever since N64. That dont sound like killing to me. Sound like Nintendo been killing that profit ever since N64.

I don't see much changing to fit the above unless leadership is replaced. We're not all of a sudden going to see a complete shifting of core philosophy with NX. Nintendo's not going to just turn into a hugely competitive, hi-tech, hi-priced monster that's going to step in with the heavyweights to duke it out. That company is long gone under Iwata. Instead, it will be an evolution of their existing direction in how they're conducting themselves.

My prediction: the NX won't be as powerful as PS4 or One, and the cost will reflect as much (probably less than the U). Obviously it'll have some gimmick or feature to separate itself from the others, and it will use a heavily streamlined development structure that will enable the sharing of resources between all platform development (mobile, handheld, console), to expedite resource allocation and schedule of output. Accounts will finally be implemented in support of this. This is not hard to guess, as Iwata's explicitly elaborated in numerous investor briefings about these steps which are already underway. I highly doubt third parties are going to become relevant ever again for Nintendo, and if they do, it'll remain very marginal and complimentary, and not a core pillar of their strategy. They are going to remain putting out "Nintendoboxes".

It's obvious that right now, Nintendo's taking steps to insulate its business from being dependent on outside factors. That is what their transition to next-gen will focus on and I would be surprised at anything else. They are going to build up their walls, and strengthen from within. Not open them up, and strengthen from without. That's MS's and Sony's strategy.

Fanboy , you generalize my points ... stick to my point and stop avoiding it with general craps....

Since N64 2 things happening to Nintendo consoles.

1) Subpar 3rd party support ... sometimes you cant even call it subpar ..just non existant

2) Which leads to the fact that since N64 up to Wii U , Nintendo consoles DYING first than competitors which further translates to subpar support = games overall at some point in their life ... aka = life span is shorter than competition overall with consoles being in serious life support till next gen OR even worse , consoles considered dead .

If you calling that a success toward competition ... you wouldnt have the need to own more than 2 platforms , as you do..And right there is where your hypocrisy shines

Total sales

N64 32.9M subpar 3rd party support AND died first than competition ( PS1 )

GC 21.7M tried to make the difference but again it ended up with subpar overall 3rd party support and died first than PS2

Wii 101 M despite its success in sales , it ended up with subpar 3rd party support and died first than competition ( X360 AND Ps3 )

Wii U 9,5M++ ( you know what is happening and what is the future... if not , check above )

Facts speaking for themselfs , you like it or not. You call this successful , i call it BS

@AzatiS: Who said Nintendo is competing? Nintendo profit continues to rise, so again i ask, how the heck is it dying? N64, profit, Gamecube, Profit, Wii, Profit, Wii U, profit. Wake up mate, that hate will be your downfall.

Also, Wii U software sales are doing epic, did you not hear about that great selling game that released a few weeks ago called Splatoon? Profit!

This is where Nintendo fails. They don't have as much third party support so they become a companion console to one of the other two. And if money is tight they become the one that gets missed no matter the cost. What they need to work on is third party deals....though that is party the fault of their install base not supporting the games. I don't know how they can work around that.

You see , you generalize again my facts and points. Because you cant deny nor numbers or what happened in the past.

So , now since youll waiting NX for quite long ... go buy a PS4 or PC or X1 to have something to play with like an hypocrite you are and let Wii U collect some dust till Zelda or Xeno get a release.

N64 32M

GC 21M

Wii U not even 10M .

Omg those profits ! Like no other .. If it wasnt handheld gaming and some great AAA 1st party games ... There wouldnt be any Nintendo consoles as we speak. Period

Best case for me would be if NX was some sort of Nintendo branded Steam, available on branded NX consoles and on regular PCs. That's almost certainly not going to happen though. The WiiU is about 360/PS3 level, so I guess NX will have to match PS4/Xbone.

So fucking what, this isn't an investement website, it's a games website, and their game consoles continue to fall.

the problem was that wii u had almost the same power as the xbox 360 and ps3. and not just the hardware, it needs more games coming than it is now.

Lol, why you not show Wii numbers? Again, all them consoles were sold at profit. I got a PC mate, im a Blizzard, Vlave, Nintendo fan. 3 Kings shall rule them all ;)

Dude....you're angry again. Relax. Nintendo doesn't need to be PC by the way in the same way Sony isn't and MS has some of their own IPs that aren't. Console gamers do exist in large enough numbers.

Nintendo software is doing great also and making mad profit. Not only that, the quality, omg, that polish, dem games so good. Cant wait for more from this so called "dying" company who is making more money than the rest could dream. Such sad times indeed.

The future looks less bright though, the Wii and DS was great achievements for Nintendo. The 3DS and WiiU not even close to replicating that success, and the WiiU has disappointed a lot of the Nintendo diehards, and convinced none of the casuals/neutrals the Wii convinced.

In the same timeframe the 3DS vs DS has sold 52 mil vs 96 mill not only that but the 3DS looks to be at the end of its life while the DS still had a lot of momentum and sold 150mil total.

The Wii U vs Wii 9.2 mil vs 50.39 mil in the same timeframe, the Wii had momentum to hit 100mil, something the WiiU does not have.

Them kind of drops with increased competition from smartphones in the handheld market, plus Sony and Microsoft owning the console market, Nintendo really need to come up with something special to convince even the diehards to jump on board with the NX.

@APiranhaAteMyVa: Wii might have been a success console wise, but for most of Nintendo's development studios it was not. Out of 100 million Wii owners only bout 1 million bought Kirby Epic Yarn, Kirby Return to Dreamland suffered a similar fate. That my friend is no success. Just cause you got a 100 million buying your console does not mean they will buy your games. Nintendo could care less about hardware sales, its all about software sales and Wii U software sales are doing epic ;)

Also DS didnt have as much competition from the mobile market as 3DS, but them 3DS software games are selling better then ever ;)

Trust me mate, you cant stop Nintendo and Nintendo fans love for them, people been trying to stop Nintendo since the 1800s.

@mesome713:

Hardware, software and then attach rate at the end, declined all around. 3DS is slightly outdated as they have sold 52mil as of January this year, but I bet the attach rate is equally pitiful.

@APiranhaAteMyVa: wow you bring up some very great interesting points and those numbers are very eye opening indeed.

If 100 million people bought the Wii and the Wii U is struggling to 10 million whatvrhe heck happened to the other 90million? It just goes to show that the Wii was truly an a anomaly that no one could explain. You look at the GameCube and N64 numbers & you would think that the Wii U would at the very least do similar numbers. This tells me that they have lost customers over the years. And the success of the Wii was probably a combination of things.

About 10 million Nintendo die hard fans bought the Wii, a lot of 360 only and PS3 only diehard fans bought the Wii as a companion "fun" console, and then the rest of the numbers were made up by so called causals who were content playing Wii Sports.... I can't tell you how many girls I have dated that have the Wii with only 2-3 games that they never even played after the initial purchase.

@mesome713: I think that while it's true Nintendo might not be suffering that much in the software selling department in comparison to their hardware I also can't help but notice that when you compare similar franchises across the Wii and the Wii U there are some eye opening numbers.

A game like Mario Kart Wii sold more than the Wii U console itself :-O

Also games like Mario Galaxy and Smash sold more on the Wii than their current counterparts. And Zelda remains to be seen since it's not yet, and I don't know how DKC Returns sold in comparisons to Tropical Freeze.

This is why Hardware are numbers are also good for a company. If Hardware numbers are low then that means less people buying your software

Thats total software mate, not total Nintendo developed software.

Compare it to Mario kart 8 though, and then compare those numbers to total Wii Us, then get back to me.

@APiranhaAteMyVa: I think the Wii could be described as a perfect storm of things just coming together for Nintendo at just the right time! Price, novelty motion controls, nostalgia from people who skipped the GameCube in favor of PS2/ Xbox etc. but that's their saying - can lighting strike the same place twice? What are the probability? Nintendo is finding out this gen I guess

It's like in sports when that one team nobody expects to win the championship because they had a very horrible season comes out of nowhere and surprises everyone.

I bet you even if Nintendo was to be completely honest, they themselves will tell you that if you had told them the Wii would do to on to sell like wild fire they would've probably slapped the shit out of your face.

@mesome713: so you're telling me that Nintendo is completely happy with just the way things are going for them now?

Look I get that you probably love Nintendo with all your heart just going by how much they can do no wrong to you BUT it's actually people like you that might hurt them more than help them because you'll just continue to reinforce their bad behaviors by making up excuses. It's like that parent that always comes up with excuses for their kids until by the time reality really hits one day it's too late because their kids are dead and then they are left scratching their heads asking what happened? Where did things go wrong.....

The Wii U is like a wounded animal right now dying a slow death and we all can see that, including Nintendo itself hence why they are trying to quickly put it out of its misery.

Sorry mate, i just try to tell it like it is. I do love Nintendo. But people seem to just not understand how somethings work. I love to debate, ive been debating for quite some time, i find it fun and educational.

I think Wii U is doing fine, could it be better?, sure, is it dead like people say?, hell no, not even close and i guess thats what hurts people, they dont understand how a company who only sells 10 million consoles can make so much money off them 10 million customers. If games start selling bad, then Nintendo is in bad shape. It doesnt matter about the console.

i tell you again, 100 million customers and only 1 million copies of Kirby game, thats a facking disgace. Where were those 100 million customers when Kirby needed them most? Out buying Guitar Hero, Just Dance, Rock Band, Lego Games, and all that other stuff other than Nintendo games.

Wii U is for hardcore Nintendo fans, Nintendo stated since the beginning that Wii U would cater hardcore fans and not casual, why though? Why would Nintendo turn their back on 100 million customers??? Cause casuals dont buy Nintendo software, sure they helped us out some, but not much. Nintendo is thinking for the future, not short term profit. Nintendo aint going no where, they will continue to support the Wii U until its 5 years cycle is over just like every other Nintendo console.

Believe it or not, we go thru this shat every few years

Ultimately Nintendo will have to match or just slightly surpass the current consoles, and make sure a new one hits the market at the same time or just slightly after the other two.

The more important Things however will be what the console IS, they need to make the archetecture relatively similar to that we see in the PC or console twins, for easy porting. 3rd party will jump on just about anything which does not require a ton of Work.

So having that alone will make a console with the 3rd party games (the majority that any gamer play anyways) and Nintendos exclusives, which are vastly superior to the other two.

It is not that simple ofcourse, Nintendo has some of the worst relations with the rest of the industry, that needs to be fixed before all else.

Ideally Nintendo would aim for a console with a 5 year lifespan (I am guessing that the x1 and PS4 will last around 7 years, mostly based on sales, it is the consumers that make that prediction come true, if it happens). Which would settile for 1080p and 60 fps in all games, including 3rd party games. Fix the bad relations meaning that most 3rd party will have an easy time, and Little loss in the porting Work. So to me it would not have to be incredibly powerful, especially since hardware evolves so fast that the most powerful this year will be hopelessly outdated next year. A fools arrend.

Controlwise? While I like the way Nintendo plays with controls, they should atleast have a base line before they try anything else, they will need a standard controller (they can put R&D into an aditional controller if they want). But the uniform hardware needed for 3rd party also extends to some basic controller inputs, meaning that they need a typical controller (Not saying much since my Wii U came with a pro controller, and so did many others).

Now the above is what is needed, what would make it crush the other two would be further evolution of the above.

If we say that Nintendo will require 2 controllers base, in the package from the offset, it would already have some advantage, but if that other controller was its own handheld from the getgo, it could make Nintendo in a position where it could crush opposition fairly easily.

Basicly have the second controller, Work not as the wii U gamepad, but have its own internal Graphics and processing unit/storage/ram. So it would Work on its own as a handheld, but use the same ecosystem of the actual console (crossbuy, crossplay). It would lessen the workload of the typical Dev somewhat. It would require that that hybrid, would use something internally that would be rather powerful. and it would still require easy porting. It would also be rather expensive.

So if they did the above, I would be on, even at a pricetag of 600$ (Ironically a Wii U + a 3ds would land you in the area of 500$ at current pricetag, so this could not be impossible).

Added bonus ofcourse, if the handheld part of the console, could also be bought stand alone, since it is in its own right a dedicated handheld.

If they do the above, Nintendo might do abnormally well on the next console, but it would require consumers to cought up atleast 500$ likely closer to 600.

I just don;t care what its tech is like. Buying a game system just to play Nintendo games is NOT worth it anymore. The entire idea is just absurd to me.

Mate, dont fall for that, them same people who tell you Nintendo cant get Third Party support on Wii U cause Nintendo is evil and hurt Third Party feelings, thats the biggest BS ive ever heard. Them same people who tell you Capcom got no love for Wii U dont say shat when they find out Capcom makes Monster Hunter for Nintendo. Same people tell you SquareEnix got no love for Wii U but yet release damn near 4 games a year on 3DS. Reason third party dont make games for Wii U is cause they scared of competition, why make games on Nintendo and compete with the best game creators in the world when you can make games for other systems and be the best games on them. Only reason they create for 3DS is because its cheap and lacks competition.

But i guarantee you buy a console to play very select games. Just like Nintendo fans buy Nintendo console to play Nintendo games, yall buy yalls console to buy yalls games. Yall act like yall buy every single game third party makes, thats BS, yall buy select games just like us. Yeah we buy a lot of Nintendo games, we will even buy ones we never even tried just cause we love Nintendo.. Ill have a total of about 20-30 Wii U games when its all said and done and i bet yall will buy about the same amount, just different games. Consoles are cheap, its the games that cost big money.

hmmm how are the games?

Dead on arrival.