| zorg1000 said:
Well they did just release patents for an all digital console so we can't rule that out. I honestly believe we will not see a huge gap between the console and handheld in terms of specs, I'm expecting the NX console to essentially be a Wii U 1.5 much like Wii was basically a Gamecube 1.5 while I expect the handheld to have a full generational leap over 3DS so something like this NX Handheld=3DS, Wii U/NX Console=Gamecube/Wii. Yes it will be weaker than the console variant but not 50x weaker like 3DS is compared to Wii U, maybe something like 1/2-1/3 as powerful as the console variant. Sony/Microsoft spend 7-8 years on their first HD console before moving on to much more powerful hardware, I think it's naive to believe Nintendo wants to make a big jump after 4 years. |
Yes they did; however I will like to see more information regarding what that patent refers to though, the entire thing is too vague. I wouldn't be surprised if they did have an SKU of NX that was only digital.
That would be disappointing though, I extremely doubt they'll go the route of only Wii U x 1.5 in power for the console. I don't expect a console to be as powerful as PS4, however a 640 shader GPU for example I think would be a good fit. It would be a quite a bit more powerful than Wii U, but it won't be as powerful as XB1. Besides, I don't expect Nintendo to fully take advantage of that power at that time. Also recall that even Miyamoto has showed somewhat of a complaint over Wii U's CPU. Although it wasn't said directly, there was some sort of implication that the CPU was limiting them in games like Star Fox. There are plenty of cheap CPU options that will blow away the Wii U Espresso CPU in terms of performance, so they shouldn't cheapen out on that for the console. The NX console GPU may not be up to PS4/XB1 level, but it's entirely possible that the CPU can easily over-power them on the console side.
Sony/Microsoft did that as an attempt to gain as much profit out of the generation as they could. Sony was in the red for a long period of time, Microsoft was as well. Nintendo although not selling Wii U at a massive rate, has been able to turn to profit now. Again, I don't expect a full generational leap, but there needs to be a difference enough to warrent the purchase of both systems. They make more money off hardware and software, if they hinder their console sales by only playing the same games as the handheld in 1080p, they will be at a compromising position. The "extra" software they will sell won't make up for that lost revenue.
| JustBeingReal said:
This all assumes that NX is the crossplay system that's being rumored, IMO it needs to provide options and not force one thing in gamer's faces, but be a logical option for people to take up as their platform of choice. |
NX may not even be what we think it is. I think we should just hold off a bit until they disclose more new information. And the bolded is important. I'm all for some cross-play games, but they need to also have exclusive titles that are only playable on a specific device. IF people already have the handheld and all the console does is play the same games in higher resolution, that's not gonna sell very well. They need differentiation. Major Nintendo fans will buy it, but I'm not sure about the rest of the public, which is where most of the sales of a console come from. What Nintendo needs to do, is show that certain games can be playable on both (or more) systems, but also show off something to attract people into buying the system they don't own. An open game like Zelda, or Xenoblade NX may have issues running on weaker hardware, so maybe try making games like those only on their console. They make more money off their hardware than software, so they need to maximize their sales potential, and without exclusives, it'll be difficult.
