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Salnax on 30 March 2014
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First of all, I want the next Nintendo handheld to cost $200 at launch. If this means letting the 3DS rule the market for an extra few months or even a year, so be it. The3DS taught us that an earlier expensive launch is not necessarily a good thing.

 

Timing

  • If this thing comes out before Holiday 2016, I'd be disappointed. I'd like my 3DS to be the focus of handheld development for five solid years.
  • That said, I recognize that conditions aren't as favorable to the 3DS as they were to the DS before it.
  • Therefore, I hope for a Q4 2016 to Q4 2017 launch for the "4DS."

 

Hardware

  • Keep the basic form factor of the DS and 3DS families: it's familiar and it works well.
  • The top screen should be a lower form of HD ala the VIta, perhaps something like 960 by 540 pixels, with the lower screen being 720 by 540. True SD visuals wouldn't be a deal breaker though, especially considering the fairly high pixel density it would still entail.
  • Other than a second analog stick, all the basic buttons are already there. I'd personally combine the Power and Home buttons and move Start and Select somewhere more convenient, but the basics of the 3DS control scheme work.
  • Keep the 3D top screen, but also try making it double as a touchscreen if possible. People like smearing fingers over screens nowadays.
  • In terms of horsepower, I'm thinking no more than twice the power of the Vita.
  • Compatibility with every SD Card under the sun is a must, as is backwards compatibility with at least the 3DS library.
  • Games ought to be available on 32 GB cards, similar to the 3DS's 4 GB cards. That's big enough for the next big Portable epic.
  • Besides that, a better battery life would be nice, as opposed to OLED screens.

 

Features and Software

  • Multitasking capabilities on par with at lest the WIi U is a must. This means easy web and Miiverse access from within a game, preferably without having to go to the home menu and enter a password or some **** like that.
  • It might be much to demand Wii U cross-compatibility, but the Wii U's sucessor whould be built closely alongside the 4DS. This means crossplay and the like.
  • Some better apps than the 3DS has for services like Netflix and sites like YouTube would be appreciated.

 

Games

  • I'm going to assume a "sometime in 2017" launch for the 4DS here. Let's say exactly six years after the DS.
  • Q1: Super Steel Diver: The version people care about, Mario Kart 9
  • Q2: Mario & Luigi 5, Kirby's Epic Yarn port
  • Q3: Advance Wars Reboot, Kirby platformer/spinoff. Luigi's Mansion 3: Sinister Spectres
  • Q4: A 3D Super Mario Game (Possibly a 3D Land successor?), Some new Zelda game (a 3rd LttP setting game maybe? Or maybe a spinoff of Zelda U.)


Love and tolerate.