Should Nintendo make more powerful console "next gen" ?

Sure, they might consider it.

Yes , they should . And they should also keep its architecture similar to other consoles or PCs . Doing this will not only give them their unique exclusives (that never go to other platforms) but multiplatforms as well .

Considering how they keep missing third party support, yes.

Of course they should. Any console that doesn't do everything possible to ensure broad third party support at this point is almost certainly doomed to failure. Bringing out hardware that's at least close to the capabilities of MS's and PS's next platforms isn't a neat idea. It's mandatory.

Nah they need to double down on children and families and that category doesn't care about hardware power. Third party support isn't that important and can infact almost be a problem as that means a lot of violent games on the console. Nintendo messed up the messaging for the Wii-U (and the name). Their foundation is sound though and no one questions their ability to make world class quality games!

I don't know if having more powerful hardware would have Nintendo consoles magically seeing third parties flocking to them, as I've always figured it was more than graphics that kept devs at bay. If anything I feel that what is hurting the Wii U more in terms of hardware is not so much the fact that the Wii U is weaker, but that it is different (with the gamepad integration and all), along with the fact that NIntendo stayed close-lipped about it specifics of the hardware. that and Nintendo's history of history with third parties certainly doesn't help and still bites them in the ass to some extent. I mean, its not like the gamecube's third party was as strong as the competiton's, despite having a console that wasn't significantly weaker than its competitors.

Not that I'm saying Nintendo SHOULDN'T make more powerful systems or that I'm against it, by all means having more power is great (as long as it doesn't end up jacking up the price insanely). I just don't think hardware power is the only reason or even primary reason Nintendo consoles generally struggle.

I'd say Nintendo needs to rethink its hardware strategy in general, and not just hardware power.

It's not the hardware (perse) that hurt Nintendo.. It was the piss poor marketing, high price point, and lack of 3rd parties (due to Ninstupido's business practices). A more powerful system isn't going to help.

At this rate the only thing that would make 3rd party devs consider Nintendo (the big ones. Indies live and live well on Wii U) is if they went full fake PC like the others and then we'd have 3 identical consoles. It would be beyond idiotic. At least with this route they do stand out as different from the other 2. I get the feeling that even if they did go this route 3rd party publishers would still act like they don't exist.

No, it wouldn't help them. People will claim that if the new Nintendo console was more powerful than the ps4 they would buy all their games on it but that's a lie. They'll buy the system that their friends are on. They'll say that the online wasn't good enough for them. Or they didn't bribe for exclusive timed DLC they want and any number of excuses. And with the 'kiddie' image it won't be considered 'cool' anyway. Nintendo would just end up wasting the rest of their bank on developing a console that 'hardcore' gamers won't buy.

Was there already a discussion on this?

Nintendo IS a game company that needs to compete with other companies in the same business as them. The old mantra that Nintendo shouldn't compete because it might drive them to bankruptcy is now simply untrue. Nintendo is flush with cash after the success that was Wii but what have they done with all that money? Not really anything except create the abomination that is Wii U.

But its lack of 3rd parties because PC, PS4 and Xbox One are all same, easy to create but Wii U is like too weak and you have to change a whole developement to make games. Cheap price not helping Wii u. It´s totally weak hardware fault

Whatever we fans want, nintendo wont do.

Omg, the cancer....from this post.....seriously Smash Bros is already going to be 1080p anyway, Wii U isn't weak, PS4 is only 50% more powerful, and PS4 only beats Wii U in the realistic looks department. If Wii U was as strong as PS4 it wouldn't change anything. Smash would still look the same. Same art style and Super Mario 3D World and Zelda Wii U look better then anything on PS4 anyway.

@FreedomFreeLife: Wrong. Wii U doesn't get ports because 3rd party devs are lazy punks who don't learn how the system works. If they actually learned how the system works they would get great results. Companies like Monolith Soft, Nintendo EAD, and Shin'en all expose pathetic 3rd parties.

Pfft. lol I'm sorry, but NO ONE questions it? Last I checked, they still get questioned on that just like everyone else

If you've read what the Night Trap dev said about them before they flip-flopped, that is definitely the case.

if they want 3rd party support then its not a case of should. they must and it must also be built to make it trivial for 3rd parties to port it over. as in take the PS5 code, press a button on the wii3 dev kit and BOOM...wii3 build of same game. i know it wont ever be that easy of course but thats the holy grail. so no crazy hardware.

its not just power either. they need a robust online system also so 3rd parites can easily sell their wares and conduct their business (so supporting F2p, mini transactions, the usual one off purchase...etc).

i just dont think they should pursue 3rd parties....at least not the big ones. its not worth it. as i say, when it comes to nintendo and 3rd parties its a case of half completed ports arriving late to a platform where the audience is, at best, apathetic, is not outright hostile to the content. no one comes out a winner there.

making exclusive deals and funding smaller 3rd party efforts could be a more successful strategy, especially in types of games where nintendo themselves are weak. providing a platform that doesnt cost stupid money to get games delivered should then be the priority.

if they are not pursuing 3rd parties then they should build the hardware that is suitable for their planned development budgets.

i think nintendo should be taking a good hard look at nvidias mobile platforms. it would be an ideal base for helping nintendo set up their platform next gen. basically the handheld and console would have the same hardware. just the console would be a lot more powerful. so sharing content between the 2 devices would be a lot easier. one of the wastes nintendo currently has is that the 3DS and wii u have, basically, nothing in common. so porting games from one to the other is a complete pain.

i dont care my friend but probably yes

Noone with a clue ;)

No because the price point will end up being too high and they will run into the same problem they had to deal with both their handheld and console this gen.I think they will try to make a cheap console that is around PS4 or xb1 graphics for next gen since it should be easy to create a console that powerful next gen at an affordable price for their audience.

Maybe there was, but I don't remember. I think this type of topic was posted on SW multiple times in the last year or two.

Sure... They can do that in the 9th Gen.... But right now they can't do anything about it.

Besides since when did graphics matter so much to consolites ?

I think Nintendo needs to do what is best for them. If their next console is super powerful, then great for them. If it is a mild step up from the WiiU, then that's fine as well. Nintendo has never had the most powerful system, but that hasn't stopped them from having some great games. The graphics in some particular WiiU games look amazing to me. Mario Kart, Super Mario Bros, Super Mario 3D Land, Pikmin 3 and others all look great. They just aren't the photo realistic style like on the X1 and PS4.

The power of Nintendo platforms is a very small part of the problem. Nintendo consoles have a long history of poor 3rd party sales. Nintendo also has a nasty habit of not including hard drives as standard. Nintendo also has the worst online gaming. Add these 3 fact up and it's no wonder 3rd parties look the other way when it comes to selling games on Nintendo consoles.

So 3rd parties have less power,no hard drive,crappy online gaming support and bad sales. Call me crazy but if I was a 3rd party dev I would avoid Nintendo also.

The power of the hardware or lack of is caused by two things. One Nintendo does not want to be in the same market as Sony and MS. Two Nintendo likes to make a profit on hardware on day one. So a ps4 level console from Nintendo would cost more. Look at the price of the wii u for example. The ps4 is 5x times stronger than the wii u but cost only 100 bucks more. The wii u is a horrible value unless you happen to be a Nintendo fanatic.

@ShoTTyMcNaDeS: wasn't the snes more powerful than anything out at the time? It seemed like it when I was a kid at least.

Yes, make it more generic. That's what we need.

Maybe, but my point was to simply state that Nintendo has been doing this for a lot longer than either MS or Sony and regardless of the overall power of their consoles, they have had some of the best games ever created.

Look my first post. My first posts proves that Mario and Zelda already looks worse than PS4.

Smash Bros 1080p with PS2 graphics. 1080p means nothing when graphics is totally outdated.

PS4 is 50% more powerful than Xbox One, then how PS4 is 50% more powerful than Wii U? This means PS4 is twice more powerful than Wii U. No, smash would not look same. Then it would have more things, better art, graphics... but right now it´s all downgraded because Wii U graphics is too limited.

lol suddenly 3rd party devs are lazy, and yet they make most games on PC, PS4 and Xbox One, pushing graphics to the top. Wii U can´t even run newest PS4 games, this is so simple why they make no games on Wii U, or else they have to make 1080p game into 600p game, put high settings to lowest and off AA settings.

If you talk about same art style, then open your eyes:

Wii U:

Maybe they should become a 3rd party because Nintendo makes horrible consoles.

I just wish Nintendo could make a better UI and modern online services. It seems like when it comes to anything online they just take baby steps.

It is a reflection of Nintendo as a company refusing to keep up with the market.

It wont solve all their problems but it will help. Third party wont come on board, it wont get confidence back over night. But if they make it easy to get the games ported at the standard they were meant to be played, they will at least receive more support than they do now. It would also help if they made less games of a cartoony standard especially based in the mushroom kingdom. No one is saying they need to abandon this but they need to broaden their horizons more.

The defining genre of this age is arguably the western rpg. They don't have one on their system. They have few shooters too.

Yeah they should. That, plus ensure they get the heavy hitter third party games. They don't need everything but they should be getting the likes of Rockstar/Bioware/Bethesda/Valve/EA Sports etc games. Then they'd be a lot more credible as an actual stand alone system, rather than the "Hmmm maybe I'll get one to go with my PC/Xbox/PS" that they are now. I don't think that works so well for them.

@DocSanchez

No its not ! The defining Genre is the Shooter. Theres more of those than WRPGs, they are far more pervasive than all RPGs combined ! Okay maybe thats abit of an exageration....

Very much so. The time I spent on my 360 playing Elder Scrolls IV and V, Fallout 3 and New Vegas, Mass Effect Trilogy, Dragon Age Origins (And II I guess... sigh), Fable II and III, Diablo III, and more random lesser known ones like Alpha Protocol and Kingdoms of Amalur, would easily outweigh the entire amount of time I spent on Wii games.

They do have Zelda and some great JRPGs on Wii and (I assume eventually) WiiU but if they could combine that with Bioware, Bethesda, Blizzard RPGs too... Man!

Few multiplatform games are coming on Wii U because of weak hardware, but at the same time all multiplatform games flop. nINTENDO or gamers fault?

I think they should stay the course they've taken with the Wii-U and coincide their release of their new console with Sony and MS. Releasing early seems to only come back and bite them in the ass.

I for one think Nintendo should be the more economical choice. I also think that a ship sails or sinks on its 3rd party support so it should have more PC like architecture. It should be around $50-100 cheaper than Sony or MS. Sure, the hardware won't be as good, but you still should be able to play most multiplats on it.

Nintendo 90% chance has another console in them, but will it be their last and will Ninty go 3rd party for MS and Sony? Only time will tell.

Get out the way, people! #Original System Wars thread, coming through.

(Seriously though, give this subject a rest.)

Whereas I agree that the next Nintendo console if it exists should be more in line with the rest of the industry, the second set of screenshots, outside of maybe Rime, looks drab, soulless, lifeless. Yes, technical graphical design is great, but there is something to be said for impeccable artstyle, and no one beats Nintendo in that area.

Powerful console, fair price.

I wouldn't say that Nintendo needs here next system to be on par with Xbox One/PS4, Nintendo really needs to have there next system equip Blu-Ray drive in order to meet 3rd parties support at this rate, Blu-Ray discs holds lots of data and the Wii U does not have such is the reason why 3rd parties are not supporting it. Just like OhSnapitz stated, it was poorly advertise at E3 2011 and when launch, there were no killer app games at the time but as I said, Nintendo needs a Blu-Ray drive and more HD space in order to meet 3rd party demands. Remember power does not make you the better console, it's the games that deliver more fun.

Nintendo supports a 'proprietary disc format' that holds up to 25GB of data on a single layer, 50GB on a dual layer. It's a Blu Ray in all but name, it's not the reason third parties skipped on supporting Wii U.

But they have an equivalent to a Blu-Ray disc on the Wii U, so disc storage isn't the problem.

I didn't know that. Don't tell me you really think Nintendo next system should be powerful like Xbox One/PS4? I really think there doing fine now that the Exclusive games are coming out, they need to just continue to hype there games.

He believes that other thing now...

it won't work. Nintendo as a console manufacturer are in the same position as Sony with handhelds. They are in the wrong realm of perception.

They could make the best console ever made just like the Vita's the best handheld gaming device ever made and it will still fail.

No. Nintendo's actually trying to get people to buy a Wii U by supporting it. Sony gave up on the Vita.