The Console/Handheld Hybrid Theory

[Osc89]

burninmylight said:

Osc89 said:
For this to work, they need to fit a Wii U into the GamePad. They would have to shrink down the hardware and they definitely would need to drop the disc drive, so they would lose physical backward compatibility. If they really wanted to go this route they would be pushing digital sales a lot more.

All of that might not sound so crazy in four or five years. And I think Nintendo would use carts for retail games; I don't see it going all digital next gen, even if Sony and MS were to.

If they went with a "third pillar" they would be more likely to do it in around 2-3 years, and if they went with a direct Wii U replacement that would be 3-4 years anyway with the current sales. Either way it's going to be a mid-gen console as they can't hold out with the Wii U as long as Sony & MS will be able to with the PS4 & XB1. Given that, they will have to offer backwards compatibility to make it look compelling against the other two consoles libraries, which means they need a big digital push now.

I don't think a digital console will be crazy at all at that time, especially if Steam consoles get any kind of attention in the meantime. It's more that if they are considering it they need to put a lot more work into their account system and would really need a much bigger hard drive in every Wii U released from now. But they aren't doing either of these which means they probably aren't going for a hybrid console.