This topic is locked from further discussion.
Hello! I've written a list of 15 things I want to see from the Nintendo NX which you can look at here:
http://robsretroreviews.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/15-things-i-want-from-new-nintendo.html
But I'm interested in what features you would like to see? Things like backwards compatibility and different controller support. What is the feature that you would most like to see out of all the ones you can think of?
Some of your rationale is agreeable. Some not so much. What ever this console turns out to be, it needs to attract the gaming market by the balls. A few half assed titles won't cut it nor will making gamers wait for months or between many months for quality releases. People like devices that do many things. That's just how it goes contrary to what Nintendo believes. The things you can do on the X1 (besides gaming, as you are gaming, in addition to gaming) make for a fun box. If you want one thing Nintendo needs to do it would be grasping reality and understanding what people want and that would be a console that feels fresh rather than something from years back.
I just want a gaming console that has plenty of games and doesn't force any gimmicks onto people. An optional VR device would be acceptable, though.
Besides that, I'm hoping that Nintendo is busy developing new first party games. Zelda and Starfox are nice, but Nintendo needs to develop something completely new. A Gundam style robot shooter perhaps?
Nice write-up. I agree with most of it because of what we know of the NX.
But if I could start from the beginning, I'd want Nintendo to make an absolute minimalist no-frills console that can launch for $199 US. As long as it's marketed as a companion console instead of some replacement/competition to Sony/Microsoft consoles, people could buy one on impulse just for one particular Nintendo game they really want.
It's not a graphical powerhouse, but it doesn't need to be. It's just cheap enough that you bought it because it was payday today and Metroid was announced. That's all it took.
The condition of Nintendo right now is like Rocky from Rocky III right before Apollo helps him get hungry again. Nintendo needs to get back to its roots and use the fundamentals it had which allowed it to become such a big player in the market. A little bit of change with a lot of what made them great would work wonders.
@Rob__Page: Nice write-up! I like your ideas and do not have many disagreements with your list; and you make a lot of good points. I will share some of my ideas in more detail later, but some quick thoughts for now are as follows. I love the Wii and Wii U, and I have a little anxiety about their controllers (Wii Remotes and Gamepad) and games not being supported in the future. So suffice it to say that backwards compatibility is very important to me as well. Maybe if the NX is sold with a Pro Controller for the masses the Wii Remotes and Gamepads can be sold separately and still be supported.
I am kinda burnout with the console power argument; and I feel that trying to find fulfillment of one's dreams in that mythical fantasy land called "Ultra-Powerful Console" will only lead to disappointment like "finding the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow".
I love Miiverse and Amiibo and think they should stay. Miiverse makes Nintendo consoles distinctive and unifies the gaming community.
I like Indie companies and I like the AAA Publishers for games like Skylanders, Rapala Fishing; Need for Speed, Monopoly; Castlevania; Rayman, Beyond Good and Evil; and Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. These games seem to be at home on Nintendo consoles, but you are right in that we buy Nintendo consoles to play Nintendo games primarily. In addition, I would like to see Atari games on Nintendo's consoles-maybe this isn't possible for some reason? I am more into Wii Sports Club sports games, but what about the more detailed sports games from some these publishers for sports fans? But I do get what you are saying that the AAA Publisher games can be played elsewhere.
I was just thinking about this today, but specifically pertaining to Miiverse. Unfortunately, what makes Miiverse so great is the ability to draw things. And if NX doesn't have a touch interface controller, Miiverse won't be possibly. Regardless, if they can manage to integrate something like Miiverse and drawings into the next system (e.g NX is backwards compatible with the game pad) then that'd be awesome.
Thanks for commenting everyone! I'm going to reply to some of your points, because it's interesting hearing what you all think!
@Solaryellow: Yeah, Nintendo are normally a step behind in some regards, but ahead in others. What would be great is if, like you said, they had a grasp on what people actually want and embracing new technology and hardware and using that to create something fresh. The NX will probably be more than a simple gaming machine, which I'm fine with, but I really hope the emphasis stays on gaming as opposed to being a media centre.
@SuperClocks: Absolutely, more first party titles would be great, but I hope they don't create so many new titles that they become rushed and unfinished products. Although not that many new IPs came out in the Wii U's life span, all the ones that did were good. I would rather have few good games than a plethora of mediocre ones. But yeah, more first party titles would be awesome!
@elheber: Thank you! You have a very good point. But to be honest that's already pretty much what the Wii U is (apart from the part about Metroid...). To me, Nintendo always seem to do a good job of not really competing with Microsoft or Sony but rather co-existing with them. But yeah I agree with you about keeping it minimal and cheap (the price point is something I didn't even mention in my blog, that would have been a good subject to talk about too!). We don't need or want anything too fancy, keep it cheap, announce good games and they are onto a winner really (at least so long as they don't make any marketing errors).
@Collie_Lover: Thank you :) Yeah, backwards compatibility is a huge thing for the NX, but it's also going to be a pain because making it compatible with Wii U and Wii games alone forces the NX to need to support about 50 different controllers. So yeah, make one primary NX controller (for simplicity's sake) and have all previous controllers to be optional! The 'power wars' is becoming more and more irrelevant these days just because I think people are kinda sick of hearing about it, I completely agree with you on that. So long as the games look good and play well, who cares about the consoles hardware? Well, apparently a lot of people... But still! You're right about Miiverse, part of what makes it so great is that it separates the experience you get socialising on the Wii U from it's competitors! Plus for some reason it always just feels friendly on there! It's 100% safe to say that Amiibo figures aren't going anywhere, they will be here for the NXs lifespan and will probably be here beyond that too! Yeah, perhaps I was a bit harsh in saying outright don't bother with AAA devs, but what I meant by this is that it shouldn't be made into a big thing where the NX is marketed as being a Nintendo console that will also have all the new third party games too. They made that mistake with the Wii U and now it's mostly unsupported by those AAA devs it made a big deal about to begin with. Yeah! I'm sure that on the original Wii store you could access a lot more games on non-Nintendo consoles... Like the Sega Megadrive (or Genesis) and the Neo Geo. I don't remember if you could get Atari games though... But either way! They should have more than just Nintendo games on the store for sure.
@trugs26: My assumption is that the NX controller will either feature a second screen (like the Wii U's) or it will be backwards compatible with the Gamepad. If it doesn't do that then it's not only Miiverse that will be affected, it's backwards compatibility as a whole that will be affected. Most Wii U games use the Gamepad to do something you wouldn't otherwise be able to do with a standard controller, so none of those games would be playable unless they were modified and re-released for the NX, but then you're paying for a game you already own on the Wii U which would be slightly pointless if the only thing that was changed is to make it work with a standard controller.
@Rob__Page: You have a very good point. But to be honest that's already pretty much what the Wii U is (apart from the part about Metroid...). To me, Nintendo always seem to do a good job of not really competing with Microsoft or Sony but rather co-existing with them.
I don't believe that's the case. The Wii U wasn't a minimalist console and it wasn't cheap enough to be an impulse purchase and a companion console. If it was designed for and shipped with a gyro-equipped U Pro controller, then yes it could be considered minimalist. And if it launched at $249 or cheaper, then it could be considered to be a cheap companion console to set on top of your PS4/XBO. But it wasn't.
So you and I will have to disagree on the Wii U being a minimalist companion console or not.
Nintendo doesn't need to go the full on route of a media center like the X1 and PS4 but it needs to step into the now. People enjoy using their box as a one fit all whether watching movies on BD, using apps, connecting socially, etc.., Nintendo started off well with some of these features on the Wii like the MP3 Channel, Nintendo Channel, etc.., yet now with a more capable console it seems to falter in comparison. Can't we do better than a handful of apps? No similar app to the Nintendo Channel of old? It's 2016 and you can not even play a basic DVD. This company needs to start seriously gauging the climate of what people want and what people expect.
What I hope is that NX is more of a service that can also be used on your PC. Sure, some core titles might be only available for the NX console itself but overall it should be fun to use.
@Solaryellow: Agreed. My PS4 is for games, movies, and with PSvue it's our cable box too.
I'd like to see NX do something similar but I don't expect much.
I just want games.
@Rob__Page:
Response to Rob's 15 Things Wanted from the NX:
1 Trophies
The way you describe trophies sounds good, and I wouldn't mind if Nintendo implemented them the way you describe or in their own way. If Nintendo doesn't have a trophy system for the NX it wont be a problem for me either. But I think Nintendo is very capable of designing a unique user-friendly system if they wanted.
2 8th gen hardware
I still play NES, SNES and Wii games alongside Wii U video games with equal pleasure. I really do appreciate the Wii U HD games and all around advancements in gameplay, but power is not a top priority for me. I would prefer that Nintendo balance power with price/value to keep the cost of the console down to lets say $200-300 and games $20-40 each. Games done at 720p, 60fps look good and play exceptionally well, but I will accept higher resolutions if gameplay is not compromised. If it is easier and less expensive to develop racing games at 1080p and not compromise frames per second then I am ok with 1080p, and lower resolution on everything else.
3 More Social
I don't have Youtube, Twitch, Twitter, or Facebook accounts so implementation of these ideas is not a selling point for me; but I am not opposed to them as long as they are not mandatory, do not interfere with gaming, or make anything overly complicated. I mostly game offline and don't know if I would use voice chat, but I am not opposed to it. I agree that Miiverse should absolutely be retained. You made some nice points about Miiverse being a safe place for Nintendo fans to socialize.
4 Keep the second screen on the controller
The second screen has been great with the Wii U for all of the reasons you listed and more. I don't know what Nintendo's statements meant previously when they said they would be moving away from the Wii and Wii U brands. Did it mean moving away from the names or did it mean moving away from the controllers? I would like to see all of these controllers retained: Wii U Gamepad (or the NX replacement), Wii U Pro Controller (or the NX replacement), Wii Remote Plus and Nun chuck, and Wii Classic Controller. These controllers are all needed to play games that we already have access to now such as NES, SNES, Wii and Wii U games. If there is a NX controller with a second screen that is superior to the Wii U Gamepad then I am ok with that, but don't want to give up the other controllers I mentioned because of games that I already own in physical and digital formats. The Wii Remotes are also needed for Wii Sports Club, Wii Play, and certain shooting games which are more fun with the Wii Remotes than regular controllers. Like trugs26 said above the Gamepad makes Miiverse more interesting because of the community artwork. The variety of controllers are needed for the variety of games that are already out for backwards compatibility. How are we going to play games/apps like Splatoon, Super Mario Maker, Xenoblade Chronicles X, Art Academy, and Zombi U without the Gamepad?
5 Don’t make us repurchase games we already own
I agree.
6 Better line-up of launch games
I would be happy with a Super Mario Bros. game, Mario Kart, Donkey Kong, Super Smash Bros., Pikmin, or Splatoon as a launch bundle.
7 Backwards compatible
Strongly agree.
8 No pay for online
Strongly agree.
9 Don’t bother with AAA publishers
I agree with the sentiment, and you were not too harsh with the statement. (I just know Sony and Microsoft are going to collude to screw Nintendo over again. Third party's are welcome by me, but I don't need them to enjoy gaming on a Nintendo console as my only console). I do like action, arcade, side-scrollers, and platformers that other companies make; but I personally don't really care about the AAA open world Mature rated games the other companies make.
10 Do bother with Indie developers
Strongly agree.
11 3DS/Wii U hybrid
I don't know how this would work, but there are 3DS games that might be fun to play on the TV.
12 Don’t make it a media center
I agree.
13 More new IPs
I agree.
14 Amiibo
It would be neat to have games that use Amiibo like Disney Infinity or Skylanders where the characters were all walking around like characters in animal crossing and you could design your own home or property. For other uses maybe you could change the standard Mii attire to Amiibo suits like in Mario Kart 8 if you had the Amiibo.
15 Don’t make it too different from pre-existing consoles
Right, I don't want VR either.
Some NX ideas I would add:
Put a weather app back in
Put a variety of clock widgets in
Put a Globe and World Map back in
Maybe have the option to change backgrounds (or colors) and screen savers on the main menu
Hope there is some kind of Quality of Life concept implemented
Should have a backlit Mario logo on the console like Alienware boxes
Hope there will be a Nintendo Sports like game even if it doesn't use motion control
Try to acquire more old arcade games for digital download like: “Ataxx” Leland 1990, “Centipede” Atari 1980 or “Millipede” Atari 1982, “Choplifter” Sega 1985, “Crossbow” Exidy 1983, “Gauntlet” Atari 1985 or "Gauntlet II" Atari 1986, “Joust” Williams Electronics, Inc. 1982, “Q*bert” Gotlieb 1982, and “Rastan” Taito 1987.
Make or acquire a variety of on-rails shooters.
BC is a complicated issue in the sense that there needs to be a place where you stop BCing all the way back to the gamecube. I think at some point you should have to pay for old games on newer systems.
I would love to be able to have my save files in the cloud. After experiencing quite a few devastating console malfunctions and mishaps, knowing I didn't lose countless hours of my life if I need to repurchase the console would be great. As I got older, I realized that the time I have to play is far more precious than the money it requires me to play. Having it on the NX would be really neat.
1. Keep the console family friendly for both younger audience and adults that can play together with their loved ones.
2. Integrate better, faster network system with one account that can seamlessly be attached to all of your needs.
3. Get away from Friends Codes, make it simple and easy to play with others - co-op and online, all games should be synced to the cloud and transferable.
4. At this point it could be difficult due to competition but try to keep the online fees off or at minimum.
5. This is a personal suggestion - I love the gamepad, improve it, make is little smaller with better screen and resolution.
6. Add trophies/achievement support.
7. Keep it backwards compatible with Wii and Wii U games.
8. Add Facebook, Twitter, Twitch, Youtube and keep up with every day social media.
8. Make the system with solid foundation so every developer can take advantage of its uniqueness and power.
That's all i can think of right now.
@Rob__Page:
[point9] Don't Bother With Other AAA PublishersMost AAA publishers don't seem to do very well when supporting Nintendo consoles (there are some exceptions, such as Capcom and Bandai Namco). At the start of the Wii U's life, quite a lot of attention was put on the fact that AAA games were now being released on a Nintendo console on a bigger scale than ever before.This didn't last long, and before you knew it games like Watchdogs were getting the Wii U versions canceled, and games that were going to be exclusive (Rayman Legends) were then made multiplatform. Why this is could have something to do with these developers not liking the fact that extra work was required to make games compatible with the Gamepad and probably didn't like the Wii U being less powerful than the other eighth gen consoles. Also, the Wii U not selling as much as anticipated probably left a lot of developers wondering whether it was worth putting the games on what was seen as a failing system at the time.But really. The whole point in getting a Nintendo console is to play Nintendo games. In present day the Wii U easily has the best exclusive line up of games out of the three big consoles (Xbox One, PS4 and Wii U) and that's entirely because of the Nintendo made exclusive games, or games developed specifically for the Wii U (like Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate). Sure it would be nice to have other AAA games, but this shouldn't be a focus.
[point 10] Do Bother With Indie DevelopersFollowing on from my last point, what should be a focus is indie games. Very often, indie games fit in with Nintendo's ethos towards making games, this is probably due to the fact that most indie developers grew up with Nintendo and as such the games being created by these indie studios now mirror those games they loved as children. Games like Runbow, New 'n' Tasty, Shovel Knight (which even has an Amiibo), Stealth inc, A Hat in Time, Mutant Mudds, etc. These are games that not only reflect the same image and style as Nintendo games but they also appeal to the same audiences as Nintendo games, so if anything, the focus that was put on third party games at the Wii U's launch should be put on indie games for the NX's launch.Also. Where's Spelunky on Wii U?
I think it is peculiar the timing of your original post and your list on the "15 Things I Want From the New Nintendo Console: Codename NX | List" given the recent news from Nintendo that the NX will launch March 2017 (when many people thought it would be holiday 2016). Nintendo said that they needed to make sure there were games for the NX. http://kotaku.com/nintendo-new-nx-console-will-be-out-march-2017-1773312629
I wonder if there is a problem with 3rd party support again? I agree with you even more now that Nintendo should make the focus of the NX games to be Nintendo games. The focus of Nintendo's advertisements should be Nintendo games. I would like to see Nintendo continue to get support from Bandai Namco, Disney Interactive, Indie Games, Shin'en, and Monolithsoft in addition to the ones you listed.
Does Nintendo need to have a console more powerful than the PS4 if 3rd party is not a priority? Must the games be at the highest resolution if the development times and costs are too great, and if most Nintendo fans prefer gameplay over graphics anyway? Maybe the cost of the console and games can be kept in the 3DS price range. Maybe there would be no need to delay the NX if Nintendo was not trying to exceed the power level of the PS4 (assuming that they might be).
@Collie_Lover: Yeah, the reason I actually made that blog post go live when it did was in case some big information was released that contradicted with things on it!
I may do another post on my blog about this new information in the near future, but there are things that worry me slightly about it like the mentions of "a brand-new concept".
I don't know if there's any problem with 3rd party support or whether the delay in the NX's release is because of them maybe not wanting to rush the release titles for the NX? There's so many reasons as to why the release date may have been pushed back that it's very difficult to say what the reason could be.
The focus of Nintendo when marketing the NX should be almost 100% on first party games. Third party games that are exclusives are fine too of course, but they can't use the fact that they have third party titles that aren't exclusives as a selling point. It's not a selling point if every other console does the exact same thing. I'm not even of the opinion that Nintendo outright shouldn't have third party games on their system, I just don't think it should be a focus.
Very very good point about the NX graphical capabilities. When I put that on my list of things I would like to see, that was one of the points that isn't too important really. Like you say, if the graphics were kept to the Wii U's standard they would still look really good and the console would have the benefit of being cheaper. I don't really think that the reason the NX might have been delayed is because of them trying to compete with the power of the PS4. If they were going to do that, my assumption would be that they had that plan from the start of the NX's development. Making the system more powerful at this point in the NX's development would affect all the games currently being developed for it and would potentially make the NX less reliable and prone to breaking (because of the unplanned graphics upgrades). If that's the reason for the delay then the whole system would seem like a bit of a rushed product. Although the system would be cheaper if the graphics were not competing with any other system, it also wouldn't appeal to a new audience. This could be irrelevant because Nintendo want to just keep their current audience, but if they wanted to expand the audience, coming out and saying "Our console is more powerful than the PS4" would get people that aren't usually Nintendo consumers interested. It all depends on their business strategy.
If I was to speculate on why the NX was delayed, I would say they are planning on releasing more games as release titles than expected in order to get people to buy it. Hopefully it's not that they have added a last minute graphics upgrade and need to change the games to reflect the graphical potential of the NX.
But yeah! That's my opinion on the whole thing. I'm not too upset that the NX may have been delayed, after all, logically the longer something spends in development the better it should be (at least in theory... *Looks at Duke Nukem: Forever and Aliens: Colonial Marines*).
Thanks to everyone else who has commented! There's quite a lot of comments, so I'm not going to reply to all of them, but I'll reply to a few others!
@sadpolar7: It seems we disagree! I'm one of the few people (it seems) who actually likes the Gamepad. I will say though, considering The Legend of Zelda: Wii U is now on NX, I would assume a similar thing to the Gamepad will be used. I could be wrong obviously because Twilight Princess on Gamecube had a vastly different control method to it's Wii counterpart. I will say though, that if the Gamepad is used properly and not as a gimmick but rather as something that expands the gameplay, it is a fantastic controller. It's just a shame there aren't too many examples of this. Monster Hunter 3: Ultimate and TLoZ: Wind Waker HD and Twlilight Princess HD are the ones that spring to mind.
@shadowchronicle: Hmm, I actually think I disagree with that. If you own the game on a disc, you should own it and be able to play it forever. It shouldn't really be expected that you need to buy the game that you already own again. I know obviously you can still play a game you own on a Gamecube (if we're talking about Gamecube games), but you should also be able to play it on newer systems and have the option of buying Gamecube games digitally too (that way you can pick up some games you missed out on that are expensive on disc now, or buy the games digitally just because you don't mind not having a disc). I'll admit it is a long shot that the NX will be able to play Gamecube discs, but it would be nice and it would be a good selling point.
@Rob__Page: I may do another post on my blog about this new information in the near future, but there are things that worry me slightly about it like the mentions of "a brand-new concept".
Hmm, I didn't pick up on that. I will have to read the article again.
@Rob__Page: I don't really think that the reason the NX might have been delayed is because of them trying to compete with the power of the PS4. If they were going to do that, my assumption would be that they had that plan from the start of the NX's development. Making the system more powerful at this point in the NX's development would affect all the games currently being developed for it and would potentially make the NX less reliable and prone to breaking (because of the unplanned graphics upgrades). If that's the reason for the delay then the whole system would seem like a bit of a rushed product.
and
@Rob__Page: If I was to speculate on why the NX was delayed, I would say they are planning on releasing more games as release titles than expected in order to get people to buy it. Hopefully it's not that they have added a last minute graphics upgrade and need to change the games to reflect the graphical potential of the NX.
Good points. This is what worries me: that Nintendo might be changing the NX in response to the 4K console plans. 4K seems like extreme vanity or a business strategy to outspend Nintendo for 3rd party support. There are rumors that 3rd party support does not want the hassle of 4k; and that 1080p, 60fps is too time consuming and costly as it is. But, if Microsoft and Sony said to 3rd parties their new consoles were 4K, would 3rd parties refuse to program for 4K? There does not seem to be a good gaming reason for gamers for 4K.
I feel like Nintendo runs the risk of making a powerful console that is too expensive for Nintendo fans, and will be rejected by 3rd party fans who would rather play the AAA games on a Sony or Microsoft console.
I guess I am not too upset that the NX is not going to release until next year, but I am disappointed that we don't know what it looks like and how much it costs. I don't really care about the specs because Nintendo makes great games.
@Rob__Page: The problem is the NX is a console that you expect to buy to play NX games. Its unfair to the console developer to expect the NX to play GC games and be at a reasonable price especially if you traded in your GC just to buy an NX. That has always been an expected flaw of consoles.
If you want backwards compatibility you should be paying the price of the GC + the NX because that is two consoles, not one. While not the cheapest option tit is the one that makes sense for both sides.
I'm interested in NX due to the Zelda announcement and not owning a Wii-U. Here's what the NX has to be for me to buy.
- Traditional controller as main controller.
- As powerful as PS4 or better.
- Games, Games and more Games. Don't put the system out and have 3-6 month gaps in software.
- Up to 4 player couch coop on one system.
- Some kind of physical media for games.
- No more than $400 at launch.
Hit those marks and I'll buy as a family gift the following Christmas.
Games, Nintendo needs to come out the gate swinging with the first party software. They have to drive sales with the first party initially, so that they 3rd party will see it as a system worth investing in. And on that point, the system has to have the specs to handle games that will be on the PS4 and X1--if possible, while remaining cost effective, go beyond their capabilities.
Please Log In to post.
Log in to comment