| chapset said: Having an unified console would be bad because the handheld would hold back the console spec wise and the console would limit the functionalities for the handheld. The price for such a device would be way too much. Having too devices that can play the same games NX handheld and NX console would be a disaster financially speaking, most of the money is made from games and I don't think Nintendo is looking forward to having their total software sold cut by half. |
A $200-250 handheld in 2016/2017 can realistically match Wii U level visuals along with a 2-3x more powerful console variant for a similar price. Games that scale to/from each device at different graphical settings is possible between such devices.
Why would they lose money on games? It frees up people to buy more games if they don't necessarily need two seperate devices to get the full Nintendo experience.
No longer would Nintnedo need to develop 2 seperate Mario Kart games, they can just make one that runs on either device. After that, the team can move on and make a brand new game, perhaps revive F-Zero or something while also supporting Mario Kart with DLC in the meantime.
The best benefit for Nintendo is that certain games aren't going to underperform just because of the hardware they are on. Tropical Freeze has sold about 1 million, lifetime it may sell closer to 2 million, if it was available on both 3DS & Wii U, it would likely be a 5 million seller like previous installments. Same goes for Mario 3D World, it has sold pretty well, might be around 5 million when all is said and done but if it had the 3DS install base to sell to as well, it would probably sell over 10 million.
So in this scenario, each individual title has a higher chance of selling well with Nintendo also having the ability to branch out more and make new ip at a faster rate which increases their chances of finding the next big Pokemon/Skylanders/Minecraft craze among kids.
When the herd loses its way, the shepard must kill the bull that leads them astray.
