Take-Two “believers” in Nintendo, feeling “pretty enthusiastic” about NX

[DanneSandin]

RolStoppable said:

Nintendo would definitely need to match the power of the upcoming PS/Xbox consoles, because otherwise third parties would treat NX the same way as the Wii U (some ports, but no long term strategy). Even at $400 that wouldn't be an easy fit, unless Nintendo started to charge for online multiplayer. Remember, Nintendo is supposed to make a profit, not just sell systems. The idea of a $300 console coupled with a supplemental computing device doesn't fly, because there's no guaranteed installed base; third parties would treat this like they do peripherals, so little support. Scalable games are certainly a thing, but it doesn't work infinitely. When you want such a powerful console, you need a handheld that is at least somewhat close in power.

There have been more 3D products than the 3DS in recent years. All of them tried to ride the wave of an expected hot new trend, but ultimately they all found themselves on the wrong side of the trend; the majority of people does not like 3D. You don't need to use the 3D of a 3D TV either, but that doesn't mean that people will buy it despite not liking 3D. With the 3DS, however, the branding problem is a lot more complex because it includes all the games. Simply offering the 2DS doesn't solve the issue, because the games that need to be bought are still labeled "3DS". And while people wouldn't even use the 3D feature, there's the perception that they would be paying for something that they wouldn't even use. Feels like a waste of money = tougher sell.

It is a fantasy scenario to have all gamers of all kinds play on the same system. People have different expectations for what they want from gaming, so if you were to mix everything together, you would get a huge incompatible mess. For example, not powerful enough for people with high-end PC rigs, too expensive for people who do not seek graphic-intensive games. You would have to make concessions in pretty much all design aspects of the system, so you'd have something of everything, but it wouldn't be particularly good at anything.

If the goal of a thought experiment is to create a successful Nintendo system, then the basis for that should be an analysis of the company's past successes and failures, not an analysis of what has worked for other companies, especially not when other companies are set up so differently. We've already moved in a circle, so I'll just end this post by reiterating that Nintendo putting out a triplet would not lead to success, but rather to big failure.

You seem to have a reply to every argument, don't you? ;)

I'm actually quite eager to hear your thoughts on these latest rumours from Eurogamer. I see that you're not buying in to it, but let's just say that if this were true... How do you think it would fare?