zorg1000 said:
Nintendo does have solid support from those 3 categories, its really not even debatable. Monster Hunter, Dragon Quest, Just Dance, Rayman, Sonic, Shin Megami Tensei, Runbow, SteamWorld, Fast Racing Neo, Guitar Hero, Skylanders, Disney Infinity, Yokai Watch, Professor Layton, Ace Attorney, Lego Dimensions/Avengers/Jurassic World/etc, Mighty Switch Force, Xeodrifter, Hatsune Miku, Ninja Turtles, Transformers, Disney Magical World, Etrian Odessey, Persona Q, Story of Seasons, Legend of Legacy, How To Train Your Dragon, Minecraft, Terraria, Gunman Clive, Extreme Exorcism, Affordable Space Adventures, Senran Kagura, Kingdom Hearts 3D, Resident Evil Revelations, Pac-Man Adventures, Final Fantasy Explorers, Dragon Ball Z, One Piece, Attack on Titan, Adventure Time, Regular Show, Popolocrois, 7th Dragon, Shantae, Oddworld, Harvest Moon, Fantasy Life, Rune Factory, Gravity Falls, Bravely Default, Theatrythm, Mutant Mudds, Axiom Verge, Freedom Planet, Art of Balance, Nano Assault, etc. Nintendo does currently have solid 3rd party support among Japanese, indie & kid/family games. Yes, $500, Wii U has been $300 since launch and the premium 3DS sku has been $200 for 4 years. But yes if you want to use 2DS instead its $400 so $400-500 in hardware to get the full Nintendo ecosystem. And of course we dont know the price, im just saying a theoretical $250 hybrid device is potentially more appealing than having to buy 2 seperate devices that cost a combined $400-500. Gimped graphics? Compared to what? If these rumors are true and NX uses the X2 than it will be like 3-4 times as powerful as Wii U and like 100 times as powerful as 3DS. Just because something isnt the most powerful device on the market does not mean its gimped. There are millions of people who like various Nintendo franchises that dont own a Nintendo device for one reason or another. Making the barrier for entry lower while increasing the software output is a great way to get these people to take the plunge. And i agree that Nintendo needs to attract people who arent already interested in their products hence why i pointed out that a unified library allows them to cut back on redundant titles and make more new IP. Just out of curiosity, what do you believe is the best course of action for Nintendo? |
What I said regarding indie support is that they lag far behind their competitors, and I don't think you can deny that. As for the other support, it's ok but not great. When you have to include titles like Ninja Turtles and Transformers to fluff up the list, it kind of shows weakness. If you call that solid support, then fine. I wouldn't.
The 250 figure you're putting forth seems unlikely. The New Nintendo 3DS XL currently costs 200. Seems unlikely that the NX would cost only 50 dollars more than that. If it actually comes out at that price, then I guess I'd have to reevaluate.
Gimped graphics are obviously compared to the XBox One and PS4. These are the products the NX will inevitably be compared to, and the systems from which they're most likely to get ports from. If you don't like the word gimped, you can change that, but the comparison between NX and XBox One is way more relevant than NX vs Wii U.
The amount of gamers that are on the fence about Nintendo is far less than you imagine IMO. The 3DS is fairly cheap and has a pretty good library, so that should give you a good idea of what the ceiling is for Nintendo. If you'd consider selling as well as the 3DS a success, it may be able to do that, but I'd say that would be a major disappointment.
As for what I believe is the best course of action, I would say the best thing they could do (although I'm positive they won't) would be to have their system based around some sort of service based program. Not streaming, but more like a Playstation plus deal except every game is free to download, and keep as long as you're subscribed.
The current model we have for videogames is archaic. We don't buy music like that anymore, and we don't by movies like that either. The videogame industry needs to catch up in this regard.
In particular, this is big for getting causal gamers to buy into it. Sixty dollars a game is a lot even for passionate gamers, so it's going to prevent casual gamers from continuing to play. That was a big problem with the Wii where getting casuals to buy the system was easy, but it was hard getting those people to reach out beyond titles with Wii and Mario in the title. A subscription program would allow them to try a wider variety of games, and would help turn them into less casual gamers and keep their systems active.
It would give Nintendo easy access to third party games. Assuming third parties are selling the rights for the game to Nintendo, then the risk would be on Nintendo and not on them. Nintendo would have a strong pitch to Sony or Microsoft gamers. Instead of buying a game for 60 bucks, get 2 or 3 months of service and play as many as you like. They could also sell games a la carte as well for the more passionate collectores.
Obviously, there are HUGE logistical difficulties involved in this, but it's such a fantasy that it's not really worth delving into. This may not be the best way to go about it, but distribution will be the next revolution in gaming, and the first company to nail it down will control the industry (Sony at least has a head start).
In terms of hardware, something along the lines of the Wii. It needs to be something that can do things you can't do on a tablet, and preferably not on the XBone or PS4 either. Whether that's a new motion control system or something else entirely I don't know. The specs have to be in the same ballpark as the XBox One or PS4. Doesn't have to be better, but it needs to be good enough so that ports are not an issue.
