In Theory: Nintendo's next-gen hardware - and the strategy behind it

[zorg1000]

spemanig said:

zorg1000 said:

That seems like a large price difference simply to play the same games on a TV. They could easily price them the same with the console running at a higher resolution along with some extra graphical effects. I think $199 is the sweet spot for each of these unified devices.

You're vastly underestimating how much some people prefer gaming on consoles. Even with the PS3 and Vita, people vastly preferred the PS3 even though the Vita was cheaper and could play many of the same/same types of games, just scaled down. The similar library was a problem for the handheld, not the console. It's a large price difference but also a large performance difference. If you asked most Wii U owners if they'd rather play Zelda U on the Wii U or on the 3DS with downscaled graphics and effects, 99% would choose the Wii U version. You get what you payed for.

If you don't care about the graphical boost and different features offered in the console version, then you could simply buy the handheld. Nintendo wouldn't lose anything from it. They could actually expand their audience even more. People who game on the PS4/XBO who simply refuse to purchase a Nintendo console (or more than one console in general) just to play the few games they're interested in may me more easily swayed to instead purchase the handheld with the same games at a much lower price point.

If Nintendo are going to make another console, they're going to make the leap significant. The console would be more popular in the west, the handheld would be more popular in the east, and the software would be more popular everywhere because of the wider market place.

PS3 launched 5 years earlier and accumulated 100's of games before Vita released and actually they have been the same price for the entirety of Vita's life.

Vita launched in late 2011/early 2012 at $249-wifi, $299 -3G, PS3 at the time was $249-120gb HDD, $299-250 gb HDD. Now Vita is $199, the same price as the 12gb PS3 and I believe $249 for the 500gb sku.

If u make devices with the exact same games, the majority of people will choose the much cheaper option, I have a hard time seeing many people buying the Nintendo console that is $299 when they can buy a Nintendo handheld with the exact same library for $199. And the fact that's just a bunch of extra power that isn't needed.

If a $199 device can offer 1080p/60fps games on a TV, why does it need to be much more powerful, since u already said most Nintendo games are just going to use Wii U level visuals anyway?

U haven't actually explained any reason why adding a bunch of extra power does anything for this device besides adding unnecessary costs.