By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close

Forums - Nintendo Discussion - If the NX released both the handheld and home consoles at the same time...

 

NX or NXDS?

NX (Home) 85 46.45%
 
NXDS (Handheld) 39 21.31%
 
Both at the same time 41 22.40%
 
Neither ever 18 9.84%
 
Total:183
KLAMarine on 03 October 2015
AlfredoTurkey said:
Playing modern games on a handheld means taking an experience that's suppose to be immersive and ripping said immersion completely away. Playing a game on a tiny little screen on a bus, in the break room or at lunch is such a drastic drop in immersion that I really don't know how anyone does it. Different strokes I suppose.

So for me, it's console... and console only. If I want to play handheld games, I'll use ios and download free little time wasters which DON'T require me to be fully immersed in some engrossing plot/story line.

Headphones and a quiet place should make it easy to shut the world away. I recall playing RE Revelations on the 3DS under the covers. Was great!

 

Great game btw.



Around the Network
Soundwave on 03 October 2015
twintail said:
Soundwave said:

Most people will buy the handheld, it's just been overwhelmingly the more popular hardware version for Nintendo even though the console tends to get the "bigger games", so now that the portable is going to have all the games, I don't know how many people will bother with the console, or want to pay $200-$300 just to play the same games on the TV. I'm thinking they may be more apt to spend that $200-$300 on a Playstation 4 since it offers a different library if they want a console and just buy the Nintendo portable if they're interested in Nintendo games.


I will be intersted in seeing the breakdown. I personally believe lots of ppl only buy the handhelds because games like Pokemon are exclusive to those devices.

Once they arent, the handheld because less important in the grand scheme of things. But we weill see.

Personally I would need to see form factor and control style. If the NX uses some stupid control scheme I aint buying either. If the handheld is like a traditional controller then I will get that.

But in all honesty, ive gotten over handhelds in the last year. My mobile is just a lot more convinient then having to lug a handheld around with me all the time.

So will have to see what NX offers. 

80 million GBAs vs 22 million GCNs - Keep in mind the GameCube had an extra 1 1/2 years on the market without a successor, Nintendo phased out the GBA early or this ratio would be even worse for the GCN, it should really have been 100+ million GBAs vs. 22 million GCNs. 

150 million DS vs 100 million Wiis- This is only close (well not really close) because of soccer moms and casuals who now are happy with smartphone apps. 

68-70 million 3DS (estimated) vs. 16-18 million Wii Us (est) - Again not very flattering for the console side. 

In both this gen and the GameCube gen, 80% or more of Nintendo's audience says "no thank you" to their consoles. They get enough of a Nintendo fix from the handheld, and this is a problem that will get worse not better as each Nintendo handheld becomes more powerful and more capable of handling basically any type of Nintendo IP with a reasonably high level of visual fidelity at that. 



Frogger on 03 October 2015
Soundwave said:

I don't see the console doing very well at all. Probably the same group of 10-15 million people who bought the Wii U.

The GBA and 3DS both outsold their console counterparts by like a 4:1 ratio, that means 80% of people who bought Nintendo hardware said "hell no" to a Nintendo console in both of those gens. The Wii was different because it brought in casuals/soccer moms whom Nintendo has since lost, but even there the DS still blew the Wii's sales away by 50 million LTD.

So now the portable is going to have basically all the main IPs ... I don't think very many people will pay $300 to play the same games on TV with better graphics. Especially when so many people will already own a PS4/XB1 by then.

I will if that's what they offer, but I have a launch day Wii U and four (yes four) different 3DS models. I'm not the average consumer.

If they have two devices, and they play largely the same library, then I think it's going to be a 4:1 or even 5:1 split in favor of the portable in the real world. 


I think it's pretty silly to assume that the bolded is indicative of some kind of rejection of the idea of a Nintendo home console being desirable. They sold better because they were better products. If the home consoles were better products, those people would have bought it. Or not. There isn't some overlap in the markets. They were, and still are, extremely independant of each other.

The NX, as a plaform, won't be. I think that the handheld will definitely sell better, because it's cheaper, because of Japan, and again because it's cheaper, but I think the home console will have a very solid chance of selling exeptionally well in the west too. It will finally be doing everything right from a hardware power POV, it will have the installed base to be worth it financially for third parties, and it will have the first party output to put out a constant stream of games. I think it has a very fair chance of selling 2:1, if not then less of a difference.

People in the West just like gaming on come consoles better, so when having to chose, far more will chose the superior powered home console rather than the cheaper and more portable handheld, even if they already own the PS4/XBO.



Frogger on 03 October 2015
zorg1000 said:
spemanig said:


Doubt it. Console would be more expensive.


I think it will be important for them to be the same price, it helps with the whole "play any game, the way u want to" concept. I don't think form factor is the sole reason Nintendo handhelds are more popular than their consoles, other things like hardware/software price and software selection are huge factors as well.

For example, the most expensive 3DS sku is $100 cheaper than Wii U while software is $20-30 cheaper and has games like Pokemon, Animal Crossing, Luigi's Mansion, Tomodachi Life, Fire Emblem, Kid Icarus, Paper Mario, etc and a lot more 3rd party support compared to Wii U. Sharing a library helps a ton but they need to have price parity on hardware/software or else people will overwhelmingly choose the handheld over the console.


I think there is absolutely, 100%, no way in steaming hot hell that they will be sold at the same price. It doesn't help that concept at all. If they are sold at the same price, either the home console will be harshly underpowered making it largely undesirable or the handheld will be harshly overpriced making it largely undesirable.

...But the PS4 is outselling the 3DS. Price isn't a factor when people want something. If they want the console more, they'll buy that. If they want the handheld, they'll buy that. If they want both, they'll buy both. The reason why the 3DS is selling more is because the 3DS is a largely desirable product and the Wii U is a largely undesirable product.

Also, I think you're going to absolutely have price parity on software, but that means you will get a lot of $60 games purchasable on the NXDS. They aren't going to sell you Metroid Prime 4 on the NXDS for $40 in a unified platform. You're paying for a full, grand, premium, "console" experience on the go, so I wouldn't expect to get cheaper games all around as a result. On the contrary, though, I think you will see a lot more $30-$40 games released that would have been modest handheld games this gen.



Soundwave on 03 October 2015
twintail said:
Soundwave said:

80 million GBAs vs 22 million GCNs - Keep in mind the GameCube had an extra 1 1/2 years on the market without a successor, Nintendo phased out the GBA early or this ratio would be even worse for the GCN, it should really have been 100+ million GBAs vs. 22 million GCNs. 

150 million DS vs 100 million Wiis- This is only close (well not really close) because of soccer moms and casuals who now are happy with smartphone apps. 

68-70 million 3DS (estimated) vs. 16-18 million Wii Us (est) - Again not very flattering for the console side. 

In both this gen and the GameCube gen, 80% or more of Nintendo's audience says "no thank you" to their consoles. They get enough of a Nintendo fix from the handheld, and this is a problem that will get worse not better as each Nintendo handheld becomes more powerful and more capable of handling basically any type of Nintendo IP with a reasonably high level of visual fidelity at that. 

 

And yet where the handheld marketing is only growing smaller each passing day, the console market proves to continue having staying power. 

GBA had selling power with Pokemon. DS continued with Pokemon, a new style of 2D mario, and casual games like Nintendogs and Brain Age. 3Ds continues with the likes of Pokemon and other similar software that gives the handhelds their appeal.

What appeal do they have now when these games are just as accessible on console and release at the same time?

In a society in which handhelds are losing their relevance, having every Nintendo game available for console makes for a lot more compelling choice for gamers than the handheld does. I dont expect the console side to completely take over the handheld side with NX buts I also dont think its going to be a running away success in favour of it either. But as I said, I will be interested in seeing how the breakdown works.

Nintendo is going to need the console to do well, because the handheld market is not in a good place right now. 


Great. So now Sony and Microsoft just have to be nice and give Nintendo some console sales out of the goodness of their hearts. 

Maybe the truth is Nintendo hardware in general is simply losing its relevance. I love Nintendo, but I can acknowledge the market is very different today. The kids today who are buying consoles ... they don't care about Mario or Zelda. 



Around the Network
Frogger on 03 October 2015
Soundwave said:

Great. So now Sony and Microsoft just have to be nice and give Nintendo some console sales out of the goodness of their hearts. 

Maybe the truth is Nintendo hardware in general is simply losing its relevance. I love Nintendo, but I can acknowledge the market is very different today. The kids today who are buying consoles ... they don't care about Mario or Zelda. 


Also silly. Sony and Microsoft have no choice in how well the NX sells. The PS4 isn't selling well because Microsoft "was nice." It's selling well because it is a better marketed product.

People care about Mario and Zelda. They just don't want to pay for undesirable hardware with an anemic library to play them. The NX console, in theory, won't have that.



Jranation on 03 October 2015

I will most likely get both. But if have to choose one....most likely the home console first. Since the games will most likely be better on it.



Pocky Lover Boy! 

Cloudman on 03 October 2015
spemanig said:
Cloudman said:
If the NX was both a console and a handheld separate, but with the same games, I dunno if I would be down with that. I may just be fine with either one and not get the other. I like having an incentive to getting both,


I think there would be software incentives to own both. Just not in the form of exclusive games. Rather, in the form of exclusive features. Like I've said, I think there will be a lot of games that will follow the Smash 4/HW models of having exclusive features for each version. Like Smash 4 had with Smash Run/Smash Party garbage, and like Hyrule Warriors Legend has with the Wind Waker content. I think you'll see a lot if instances like that for a lot of NX games, especially first party ones.

I also think that a lot of the incentive will simply come from people preferring playing some games on specific form factors. I imagine most Animal Crossing fans would rather play that on the handheld while most Zelda fans would rather play the next open world game on the the home console. And if you like both, you'll have that reason to buy both.

Then there's the, obvious to me, incentive of just being able to play whatever you want however you want, whenever you want. I have Shovel Knight on my Wii U, and I wish I could play on my 3DS too when I'm not home, but I can't, because the saves doesn't transfer over. That's a situation I'm sure a lot of people will feel when confronted with this reality with every NX platform game. It's just convenient to play the optimal experience on the big screen, then pick up where you left off on the go.

But I definitely think it'll be a rare occurance to see any exclusives on any of them, and if there are any, they'll be home console exclusive only, since all the handheld designed games will easily scale up to the home console.

EDIT: That being said, I don't think Nintendo will mind at all if people buy only one. The entire point is that they can profit no matter which skew is more successful.

Hmm, you do have a point. It wouldn't be necessary to make different versions of a game for both consoles, like MK and Smash Bros, and some games will likely be more preferable to handheld or console. So that would allow Ninten to work on more games.

My main issue is if Ninten is fine with sales possibly being scewed to one side over the other. I feel that is what is likely to happen.



 

              

Dance my pretties!

The Official Art Thread      -      The Official Manga Thread      -      The Official Starbound Thread

zorg1000 on 04 October 2015
spemanig said:
zorg1000 said:


I think it will be important for them to be the same price, it helps with the whole "play any game, the way u want to" concept. I don't think form factor is the sole reason Nintendo handhelds are more popular than their consoles, other things like hardware/software price and software selection are huge factors as well.

For example, the most expensive 3DS sku is $100 cheaper than Wii U while software is $20-30 cheaper and has games like Pokemon, Animal Crossing, Luigi's Mansion, Tomodachi Life, Fire Emblem, Kid Icarus, Paper Mario, etc and a lot more 3rd party support compared to Wii U. Sharing a library helps a ton but they need to have price parity on hardware/software or else people will overwhelmingly choose the handheld over the console.


I think there is absolutely, 100%, no way in steaming hot hell that they will be sold at the same price. It doesn't help that concept at all. If they are sold at the same price, either the home console will be harshly underpowered making it largely undesirable or the handheld will be harshly overpriced making it largely undesirable.

...But the PS4 is outselling the 3DS. Price isn't a factor when people want something. If they want the console more, they'll buy that. If they want the handheld, they'll buy that. If they want both, they'll buy both. The reason why the 3DS is selling more is because the 3DS is a largely desirable product and the Wii U is a largely undesirable product.

Also, I think you're going to absolutely have price parity on software, but that means you will get a lot of $60 games purchasable on the NXDS. They aren't going to sell you Metroid Prime 4 on the NXDS for $40 in a unified platform. You're paying for a full, grand, premium, "console" experience on the go, so I wouldn't expect to get cheaper games all around as a result. On the contrary, though, I think you will see a lot more $30-$40 games released that would have been modest handheld games this gen.

What do PS4 sales have to do with anything? We're talking about Nintendo devices and if the handheld gets all the same games as the console along with being less expensive than not many people will choose the console.



When the herd loses its way, the shepard must kill the bull that leads them astray.

Johnw1104 on 04 October 2015

Hmm I think it'd get home first if it's backwards compatible (unlikely), and if it's not I'd go mobile to save my already full shelf space.