Nintendo should just make a handheld console

Instead of always being last place in the console race, they should only do what they are good at which is portable systems. Instead of WiiU or 3DS, just have the tablet. The tablet would act as a console in that you can connect controllers to it and stream the action to a television. Everything would be downloadable or made on cartridges and Nintendo's online system would need to be revamped to make the user experience better.

So they would basically be squeezing the WiiU into the Gamepad and releasing ALL their rehashes on ONE system. No more buying the same Mario Kart, Super Mario, Zelda, Pokemon or Donkey Kong two different times for two different systems. One console-handheld hybrid that can stream games to a TV and habdle four players.

Whatcha think? Genius?

Less cash in that, and Nintendo needs that. But it's a neat idea.

I think your avatar and username is genius. That's what I think.

:o Thanks @outworld222! I like your avatar too; gets better the longer I look at it, unlike the Nintendo 3DS screen with 3D on. Ugh.

Yeah this quite an old idea people have been hoping for. I think it will happen next gen, or the one after. Some indications is that they've tried to have relations with their handheld and home console with the GBA and GCN via the link cable, and the Wii U using a portable gamepad. Further, Nintendo have placed their handheld and home console teams into the same building so the teams can work closely together with assets, etc.

Instead of them splitting their resources among two systems, they will probably benefit from it being one platform. Nintendo systems can often have large droughts, and this occurs when they focus too much on one of their platforms.

There are drawbacks though. Nintendo prefer to make money off hardware instead of software - thus this new "unified platform" may half their potential. There are other potential drawbacks, but I don't think I will go into that here. Overall though, I think they should go for it.

It makes sense at first glance, but....

We learned with the Vita that a lot of game styles that work on consoles just don't work as well on handhelds. There are certain experiences you want on a TV and others you want on a little screen.

The problem with a hybrid is that the developer can't know which experience the end user is going to get. Game design is significantly different between handhelds and consoles. They need to choose one or the other and focus on it to make it work well.

My guess is that most developers would default to the handheld style of game design, since that's primarily what a hybrid would be. I wouldn't want Nintendo to give up their bigger console-style design.

not going to happen

Nintendo makes a ton of money selling software. If they do what you proposed, they would lose quite a bit of their software sales since they would only have one platform.

@4myAmuzumament:

They're not always in last place(in terms of sales). Wii was #1, GC was #3(ahead of Dreamcast), N64 was #2(ahead of Saturn), SNES was #1, and NES was #1. It's good for Nintendo to have multiple revenue streams. If the console doesn't do well and the handheld is a success, it can be used to help profits and vice versa. If you combine the two, have just one system, and it tanks, you've got a serious problem.

This is a good point, too. Having strong software on both platforms helps Nintendo. If the console/handheld hybrid were to fail, Nintendo would suffer a good bit from lost software profits, on top of hardware.

@4myAmuzumament: Depends entirely on the game and the power of the hardware. If I have to expect Mario games on the garbage level of MSMB or 3DLand and easy Zelda games like Minish Cap or Hourglass than no. Even with the advancements made Nintendo's handheld games are still too far weak for them to live off of. They'd need to make something as powerful as Vita so you can have home console quality games

Nah. Nintendo always owns the Handheld Market, mainly cause of Pokemon. So they can always afford to have a home console, its like their side project. The handheld brings in the money while the experiment and screw up (Wii U) with home consoles.

The Wii U graphics are fine for the games they are making I don't see any issue on the power. The issue is it's price. If from the get go they made the Wii U with a normal controller like the classic controller they have now and cut the price by $100. Based the system with that controller and made the touch pad one a additional extra for $100 they would be number one in the console market. Because the quality of the games is just amazing.

Maybe. Sony has some deep pockets with the 3rd party developers and these guys produce some high polished quality games as well. Nintendo would probably be 2nd best or would probably still be in last because people favor more powerful consoles. I would guarantee that they wouldn't be struggling anywhere near how they are now if they did come out with a normal controller though with some 3rd party support.

yes they should.

yea the vita tv is doing really well in japan.

Man Nintendo should have been done that. If they can make a system with Ps3 PS Vita graphics and put those games on DS carts they would be fine. Coolyfett thinks this is what the Fusion system is about, but Nintendo needs to do it now and compete with the PS4 and Xbox One. They need to cut their loses with the Wii U and put more focus on the 3DS in transition for their hybrid system. Cmon Nintendo give Playstation some competition!!!

i honestly think thats the last thing they should do, most people i know the gimmicky novelty wears off before too long, nintendo needs to stop doing stuff like that, release a regular console with a regular controller. it doesnt even have to be the most powerful these are consoles anyway. if your after the best graphics get a pc.

nintendo cant abandon the wii u that would destroy peoples faith in them. they need to support wii u with good first party titles, try and get the big 3rd parties on board, and maybe with that repair there relationship with other 3rd partys.

Actually, the reason why most Vita games don't seem to "work" is because of the mentality that developers have. "No one wants to play a console experience on a handheld," so they dumb a game down, structure it for burst play, etc. Golden Abyss is a perfect example. If only they treated it as a full-fledged Uncharted (which the Vita clearly has the power to do), it could have been much better, but instead it was gimmicked out to showcase all the system's superfluous control inputs.

If the Vita's shown us anything it's that playing your console games on the go is something that's quite doable (see: remote play). This is an area that Nintendo should have gone in. One of my first thoughts when I got my Wii U was, "I would love to be able to remote play my Wii U with my tablet controller." THAT would have been genius.

@JustPlainLucas: Good points, but I don't think developers are entirely wrong in assuming that handheld games should be designed differently from console games. They might have handled it wrong with Uncharted on the Vita, but that doesn't mean that a full-fledged Uncharted game would've been the right call there. People would have complained that they wish they could just play it on their PS4.. and that $60 is too expensive for a Vita game. And good luck to Naughty Dog with making their money back on that kind of project.

Also, a console/handheld hybrid would have to be physically huge, let's be honest. All the advantages of a handheld are entirely wiped out. It would have to be bigger and more expensive in addition to the development confusion I talked about before.

I just don't think it's a good idea. Remote play through a dedicated console makes more sense to me, whether it be through a separate handheld like the Vita or through a stripped-down streaming screen like a WiiU Gamepad or an Nvidia Shield-esque device.

No, no they shouldn't

They would lose money on software.

@4myAmuzumament: You are a visionary!

This thread is old. Moderators, please lock it.

Normally necrobumping threads is annoying but I think this one is pretty appropriate.