Nintendo announce: Nintendo NX

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The slide shows 6 platforms. Tablet, phone and PC on the left which Nintendo don't produce. 3DS, Wii U and NX on the right. Nintendo have three devices on show - not Wii U + NX nor 3DS + NX. Ergo it's a third Nintendo pillar in likelihood, the way that diagram represents it. Of course, one image doesn't provide total clarity and there may be something else going on with NX, but it's a solid assumption at this point that NX is a third piece of hardware.

I still of the opinion thats its a portable VR device. No point in listing the Wii U along side it if its bascially a eventual replacement for the U.

A VR device thats a standalone gaming device and thats able to work in conjunction with the 3DS, Wii U, smartphone/tab and PC device makes a lot of sense. NX as a console, not so much, as it just turns the Wii U into a third wheel for Nintendo.

And no amount of spinning by Nintendo is going to make Wii U users all that happy especially as Nintendo will have no choice but to devote resources to properly support the device and that means the Wii U library will suffer in the future.
 
And the 3DS was compatible with DS titles, and the GBA was compatible with the original GameBoy Color cartridges, and Gameboy Color was obviously compatible with GameBoy.

In fact, the only console without backwards compatibility that Nintendo released during the last 18 years was the Gamecube.
They're completely obsessed with it.
And, arguably, it has served them well, at least as far as their handhelds are concerned. However, it is difficult to claim that the success of the Wii was very dependent on its backwards compatibility. Likewise, being backwards compatible with a hundred million Wii consoles, didn't seem to appreciably help bring those customers to the WiiU. So, if the NX is a stationary device, it would seem very possible that hardware BC would be dropped. If it is portable device however, the decision is likely tougher.
 
Yes, but Iwata said at the last Investor Q&A that they are designing NX taking into consideration the different play environments that are popular in the various regions. Ergo, consoles sell in the west while handhelds sell in Japan (and the west). Everything points to NX being a unified OS shared between an assortment of devices. The only question is, what device comes first?

Well, that's far from the only question...
 
Seems very unlikely that NX will be very expensive. Seems that Nintendo believes the Wii U's main issue was the price, and also the lack of compelling software at launch. It makes me wonder what Nintendo thinks the mass market price needs to be. $199? $249? It could be interesting in just what NX looks like. Could Nintendo be looking for a $199 console that is "competitive" with the PS4/X1, and launches with multiple high profile Nintendo titles. Perhaps something like a new Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime, F-Zero, and perhaps a sequel to Splatoon.
 
I think it will need to be below $200 if they're going for cheap. Next year, both PS4 and Xbone should be $299 or lower so unless NX is similarily powered to the other two, I don't think it can be priced within $50 of the competition.

There's always some magical gimmick it could have...
 
Could Nintendo be looking for a $199 console that is "competitive" with the PS4/X1, and launches with multiple high profile Nintendo titles.
One can not make a PS4 level console with lower price.
PS4 does not have any fat to remove. When PS4 will be on 14nm it'd stay on $299 for a long time.
New tech is not cheap. And Sony can make a lot more deals on components.

I think N should do a $199 console. Neither lower, nor higher. Also HDD is a big constant cost. N does not like this. And HDD is a must for PS4 level console.
 
I think N should do a $199 console. Neither lower, nor higher. Also HDD is a big constant cost. N does not like this. And HDD is a must for PS4 level console.
If Nintendo knock out another console with a performance gulf between it and the established competition that's the final nail in killing off any chance of significant third party support except with a few games. I can't see how support, demand sad sales will differ much from the Wii U.
 
If Nintendo knock out another console with a performance gulf between it and the established competition that's the final nail in killing off any chance of significant third party support except with a few games. I can't see how support, demand sad sales will differ much from the Wii U.
They won't even try. Now they want mobile shovelware on their platform as 3rd party.
 
I think NX maybe the last attempt as far as Nintendo as hardware manufacturer. I wouldn't have said this last year, but with the announcement that they are producing mobile software I think things have changed.

I expect Nintendo to make significant money in mobile. If their next handheld and home console sell less then 3DS/WiiU, I don't know how they can justify another investment in a hardware cycle so I think at that point they will consider going software only. Nintendo games are great because they're Nintendo games, not because they run on Nintendo hardware. They can continue to make great games on any platform.

However, if NX does take off, they're not going to abandon that, but at this point I'm really skeptical. Hey Iwata, I want to say "Wow" (in a good way) when I see it.
 
They'd be daft to go mobile only. There's 100 million+ conventional consoles out there to target in a generation, and Nintendo's key console franchises should sell just as well on other consoles (where there's no Nintendo console for fans to own).
 
I'm not saying go mobile only, but third party with a healthy mobile division should NX fail. I've never understood the resistance to the option of Nintendo going software only. Nintendo would have more resources to make more games if they didn't have to develop low-margin hardware.

Sega's downfall had nothing to do with the fact that they got out of the hardware business. They started making crappy games and paid for it. If Nintendo maintains quality, I think they wouldn't see the same fate as Sega. IMO, Nintendo has the potential to be the worlds biggest publisher in both mobile and traditional gaming.
 
One can not make a PS4 level console with lower price.
PS4 does not have any fat to remove. When PS4 will be on 14nm it'd stay on $299 for a long time.
New tech is not cheap. And Sony can make a lot more deals on components.
Hum with 16nm process as well as DDR4 mass availability around the corner, I would beg to differ. Actually even @28nm that should be possible using parts from different brands (say Nvidia IP, ARM CPU, DDR4 and lots of IFs ).
PS4 like the XB1 have some fat: 2GB (of RAM) that are more a luxe than a necessity, fat memory bus, fat GPU compared to its performances, hot/power hungry GPU and CPU compared to their performances. Fat is most likely inappropriate, I would say inefficiency compared to more modern designs.
Matching and exceeding the PS4 performances and performances both per Watts and mm2 is doable (even sticking to 28nm process)
Now PS4 level of performance does not mean much, the XB1 provides a similar experience and PC with lesser hardware too.

I think N should do a $199 console. Neither lower, nor higher. Also HDD is a big constant cost. N does not like this. And HDD is a must for PS4 level console.
199€ is great indeed as neither the PS4 or the XB1 prices are likely to go that low anytime soon. It would also surprises me if Nintendo includes a HDD in one of its console. Actually I wish Nintendo passes on providing people with a glorified PC, that market is addressed already. Not sure about what they could do for that price. Nvidia makes no discount on its stuff, the 199$ Shield Tv comes to mind. Intel...
Looking at the mobile side... A powerVR GT7900 at top speed could do the trick and deliver half the PS4 GPU performances.
The higher end of Mali is a different story, whereas Mali are good mobile product, they can't address the performances level Nintendo would search if it were to design a low-end system that would qualify to be part of this generation of consoles.

Anyway that is pointless as it seems Nintendo chose AMD. AMD GPU are at deficit in perf per Watts and perfs per mm2 against Nvidia GPUs, it is likely that within the performance they can reach PowerVR are also at an advantage. Cooling solution and providing more power does not come for free, so on a cheap device I would guess that the GPU will be at an increased disadvantage (lower clock speed) to meet TDP requirements.
x4 A17 with 4MB of L2 + x4 A7 with 512 KB of L2, GCN 1.2 GPU 8 CUs - 8 ROPs, True Audio, latest video engine, 128 bit bus linked to 4GB of DRR4-2133. Definitely trying to keep the SOC footprint as tiny as possible. For the SOC TDP I think 45 Watts is the max figure, I don't expect NIntendo to ever ship a big box, cooling, feeding shipping, etc a big box costs money, it adds up fast.
I wish Big N went with PowerVR, make so much more sense for them than AMD, especially when you consider their handheld business...

As a side note the HDD is a must for PS4 level console since the Xbox
yes the first, original one
, time paradox. No hard feeling but your wording make it sounds like the PS4 is some sort of totem designed by pagan gods, unreachable, it is not.
 
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