Given all the recent discussion about the Nintendo NX, one thing that has become clear is that people's expectations of it vary a great deal.
With the recent news of production apparently getting in gear, I thought it might be fun for us to do a thread where we each post just what we expect the NX to be, what form it'll take, and the kind of titles we expect to see on it. That way we can look back on this in 2016 and reflect on likely how wrong we all were
So, what are you expecting from the Nintendo NX? What form do you expect the hardware to take? And what titles do you expect at launch, and major hitters during the console's lifespan? What else do you think we'll see?
Probably best to try and keep answers terse (rather than writing pages), and considering the relative lack of info we've received so far, I don't think we can rule out much, so no-one can really be "wrong".
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What are you expecting from the Nintendo NX? What form do you expect the hardware to take?
Personally, I'm expecting NX to be a new console platform that merges handheld and home consoles into a single package. Either it's a home console and a handheld that can run the same software, or, more likely, it's a handheld with a docking station, or something along the lines of the PSVita TV mini-console. Due to this, I'm expecting it to be a lower hardware spec than the PS4; somewhere between the WiiU and the PS4 in raw power. The increases in spec will be mainly focused on those things which make life easier for developers, such as increased memory. The machine will feature day-one support for engines such as Unity and Unreal.
What titles do you expect at launch, and major hitters during the console's lifespan?
I expect the machine will maintain hardware parity with the WiiU (allowing Nintendo to port WiiU, Wii and GameCube titles with relative ease), though I don't think WiiU/Wii games will run on it natively. I think it'll launch with ports of WiiU Zelda, some of the WiiU's major games like SSB, as well as an HD version of Super Mario Galaxy 1&2. I think it'll be home to a renewed, expanded Virtual Console, managed with MiiVerse communities and something resembling achievements. I expect an early major game to be a AAA Metroid title, based on the reaction to the 3DS spinoff (which will either be the start of a new Metroid series, or the last ever game if it doesn't sell extremely well).
What else do you think we'll see?
Under the lead of their new CEO, I think Nintendo will aggressively pursue 3rd party small developers, with easy access to dev-kits, preferential treatment and a philosophically more inclusive approach. This will include things like announcing their games with firm release dates earlier in advance, so 3rd parties don't have the usual worry of going up against Zelda. I think the console will ultimately echo the Nintendo of the Gamecube/GBA era, with a "gamer-first" approach, abandoning the "family console" approach of the Wii/WiiU. Basically, I think those machines went "wider" and I think the NX will be "deeper", in that it'll really try to pull in the Nintendo core audience and get them to spend - it's attach rate, not console sales that will be their game. This is mainly because they were forced to go that way with the 3DS, and it's been moderately successful.
With the recent news of production apparently getting in gear, I thought it might be fun for us to do a thread where we each post just what we expect the NX to be, what form it'll take, and the kind of titles we expect to see on it. That way we can look back on this in 2016 and reflect on likely how wrong we all were
So, what are you expecting from the Nintendo NX? What form do you expect the hardware to take? And what titles do you expect at launch, and major hitters during the console's lifespan? What else do you think we'll see?
Probably best to try and keep answers terse (rather than writing pages), and considering the relative lack of info we've received so far, I don't think we can rule out much, so no-one can really be "wrong".
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What are you expecting from the Nintendo NX? What form do you expect the hardware to take?
Personally, I'm expecting NX to be a new console platform that merges handheld and home consoles into a single package. Either it's a home console and a handheld that can run the same software, or, more likely, it's a handheld with a docking station, or something along the lines of the PSVita TV mini-console. Due to this, I'm expecting it to be a lower hardware spec than the PS4; somewhere between the WiiU and the PS4 in raw power. The increases in spec will be mainly focused on those things which make life easier for developers, such as increased memory. The machine will feature day-one support for engines such as Unity and Unreal.
What titles do you expect at launch, and major hitters during the console's lifespan?
I expect the machine will maintain hardware parity with the WiiU (allowing Nintendo to port WiiU, Wii and GameCube titles with relative ease), though I don't think WiiU/Wii games will run on it natively. I think it'll launch with ports of WiiU Zelda, some of the WiiU's major games like SSB, as well as an HD version of Super Mario Galaxy 1&2. I think it'll be home to a renewed, expanded Virtual Console, managed with MiiVerse communities and something resembling achievements. I expect an early major game to be a AAA Metroid title, based on the reaction to the 3DS spinoff (which will either be the start of a new Metroid series, or the last ever game if it doesn't sell extremely well).
What else do you think we'll see?
Under the lead of their new CEO, I think Nintendo will aggressively pursue 3rd party small developers, with easy access to dev-kits, preferential treatment and a philosophically more inclusive approach. This will include things like announcing their games with firm release dates earlier in advance, so 3rd parties don't have the usual worry of going up against Zelda. I think the console will ultimately echo the Nintendo of the Gamecube/GBA era, with a "gamer-first" approach, abandoning the "family console" approach of the Wii/WiiU. Basically, I think those machines went "wider" and I think the NX will be "deeper", in that it'll really try to pull in the Nintendo core audience and get them to spend - it's attach rate, not console sales that will be their game. This is mainly because they were forced to go that way with the 3DS, and it's been moderately successful.
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