By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close
OneTwoThree said:
zorg1000 said:

They have struggled to supply 3DS with adequate software at times as well. Remember the post-launch drought in 2011? 2012 wasn't really a killer year in terms of Nintendo-published titles either. 2014 & 2015 both saw summer droughts. This will continue to get worse as their devices get more powerful and require longer dev cycles and larger budgets. Let's say, the 3DS successor is above Vita level & the Wii U successor is around PS4 level. Do u think they can supply either device with a steady supply of software? Probably not.

 

Yeah I remember the 3DS launch, it wasn't optimal, but again, launch drought is not a new phenomenon. They managed. But I admit that for handhelds the next generation might be different because smartphones changed that particular market so much (graphics / price point). Nintendo might not get away with another machine that is far behind smartphones in graphics. 

For consoles I still can't say I follow the reasoning. They're making money off of software, not hardware. What do they win if one copy they sell runs on both systems? Had they not messed up the Wii U launch timing and, as a result, lost ALL the third party support, they wouldn't be stretched so thin, carrying the Wii U all on their own. 

I say the unified library is bad news for us users. How will NX games compete with PS4 (let alone its eventual successor) if the common denominator for NX is "handheld"? And the whole situation is so unneccessary! Wouldn't you love a gorgeous Metroid? Mario Galaxy 3? Zelda U? Mario Kart 8? Hell, everybody does! The market is still there. But if you launch with NOTHING and it takes years before your first compelling game... yeah then you're making expensive games for no install base. I'm feeling bad for the Zelda team already - another massive Zelda released as a swansong, it will likely go unnoticed just like Skyward Sword. 

Why can't they release a gorgeous Zelda? 

500-600 GFLOP portable, runs the game at 960x540 resolution

2 TFLOP console is a good 4:1/5:1 ratio, runs same game at 1080P resolution + a few added effects + anti-aliasing. Boom done. 

Unified library is good for Nintendo users. For one you don't have to pay $500 to play ALL the Nintendo games, the fact is 80% of Nintendo's own userbase did not bother with either the Wii U or GameCube. Never owned either one. That means it doesn't matter who pretty Zelda U or Metroid Prime looked ... the majority of Nintendo's usberbase never played those games. 

There are other benefits to unified platform too ... less/no droughts for one. The other is a better diversity of games. If the Mario Kart team doesn't need make two Mario Kart games, because one Mario Kart suffices for the entire NX ecosystem then they can work on something else like a new franchise of making bringing back something like Wave Race or F-Zero. 

There actually are little/no benefits to a segregated library in this day and age. You pay $500 for hardware to largely play the same 10 franchises over and over and over again. Even most Nintendo buyers are saying "no thanks" to this proposition. Unless Nintendo has a miracle controller that can sell the console on its own, this situation is not likely to improve. They are making money off console software but they're also leaving a lot of money on the table ... Splatoon should easily have sold 2x whatever it's going to sell. This is no way to run a business, you don't keep your best products away from the majority of your userbase.