padib said:
I will have to take some time to chew on this. It is a good post with some solid points and arguments.
One of the only weak argument is the PSP (which jgarret bolded above), because Nintendo's home console games largely appeal to the same type of crowd as the one on Nintendo's handhelds, they are much more compatible.
The other weaker point was the iphone 5s' battery life. It is comparable to the past generation, but the phone is much more powerful. I will have to go dig out the benchmarks again.
The strong points is that expecting games to be successful on both may be wishful thinking. Having said that, in terms of Nintendo forcing a choice, on the contrary they would be giving choice. The hybrid Idea was that the gamer could choose whether to play at home or on the go, and choose the games that suit that taste. Maybe Nintendo could make use of a special branding to indicate which games are more suitable for portable play and those that are more suited for home console play, though they would be playable on both, simply a brand to help consumers pick.
I will be posting a thread with a full prototype and proof of concept pretty soon. The unit would essentially be able to play anything you throw at it in any configuration. So ultimately the only limitation would be the way you make your games for it (SW limitation), whether better suited for portable or better suited for home play session.
Also, didn't Animal Crossing start out on the N64 in transition to cube?
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Regarding the iPhone's battery life, I didn't do a good job of clearly expressing my meaning. Battery life technology hasn't been stagnant by any means, but it's had a difficult time keeping up with other areas. "Moore's law doesn't apply to batteries" is something I've heard from several engineers. Think of it as a race between battery and power demands: to date they've been largely neck and neck, with power demands often holding itself back to let battery life stay in the game. The bet that battery life will have a big burst in the next four years or so is not one I would take. Moreover, I have to imagine any such new technology would be in extremely high demand, and likely involve more of the rare earth minerals which are already supply-constrained. In other words, I have to imagine these new batteries, if they come to pass soon, will be far more cutting-edge, with cutting-edge prices, than Nintendo is comfortable with.
As for Animal Crossing, you're correct. Monster Hunter also started with multiple installments on a home console. In spite of this, the portable versions have proven to be far more successful than their home console counterparts. New Leaf has already sold 1.5x what the biggest home console version did, not counting digital sales, and if it holds true to the series' past performance its sales legs should drive it north of 2-2.5x when all is said and done. Monster Hunter's performance is usually closer to 3x+ for the portable versions.
