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Forums - Gaming Discussion - How do you think Nintendo should approach releasing its next console?

bigtakilla on 26 May 2014
ICStats said:
bigtakilla said:
ICStats said:

Hard to see how you would consider 2017 or 2018 early - that would be 5 to 6 years after Wii U's launch which is not early; if anything it with the way Wii U is doing now 2017/18 seems like too long to wait.

360 vs PS3 is an example where it paid off to be early, so it could work for Nintendo to be a bit early.  It's a double edged sword though, because if the others then come out with more powerful systems then the initial effect may be short lived.

Anyway, I don't think Gen 8 will be that long so I'd consider 2017~18 too late.  I'd say 2015~16 is mid-gen.

Yeah, 2018 would be a bit late I'm realizing, but I'm not talking about mid Wii U gen cycle I'm talking about the competitions. They came out in holiday 2013, so holiday 2017 (practically 2018) would be 4 years into their competitions cycle. This would give Nintendo's console two years to get ports of this gen and another year of cross gen if PS4 and XBone stayed with a 6 year gen cycle, which I believe will be longer. I wouldn't expect a new console from them until 2021 or 2022 which would help Nintendo's new console even more.

I would put my money on 6 years before we see the next PS/Xbox.

This assuming a) no major economic crash, b) they're still in the game business, c) console gaming doesn't change form by then.  What will Steam/Android/Apple/Gaikai and other disruptors we don't know yet do in 6 years?

Agreed, so a holiday 2017 release would still give Nintendo 2 years based on a 6 year gen cycle of games that could be ported before the competition releases theirs in holiday 2019. To me that is a good year. It would allow for Nintendo's hardware to be superior for an actual extended period of time at a reasonable price. We got to take into consideration that every year that goes by, the better the hardware will be at a lower price point. 



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KingdomHeartsFan on 26 May 2014
bigtakilla said:
KingdomHeartsFan said:
Mr Khan said:
Ease the Wii U out as they bring the "Fusion" in. Fusion handheld launches in March 2016, almost five years to the day after the 3DS. Fusion handheld is fully or near-fully backwards compatible with Wii U games, downscaled to 540p across the board. This way you can launch a few late-term Wii U games, but get people interested in buying them for the Fusion as well.

Then in Q4 2016, the home side of the Fusion is introduced, which also works in the same architectural environment as the Wii U and the handheld, but instead is capable of pushing PS4+ levels of graphics (so native 1080p across the board, etc).

The power gap will not allow for FULL cross-compatibility, due to the ability to run games that are not only higher res, but more complex on the home console, but it will functionally be the same game, just the "next gen" version of it (so, for instance, Nintendo develops games for both as if they were a multiplat developer making a PS4 and an X360 game: you can use the same code base, but still put a lot more stuff in the upper-tier version, with the added bonus that unlike the PS4-360 bridge, the architecture is similar).

How much do you expect their next handheld to cost if it can run Wii U games?  I think if they are gonna come out with another handheld it should be around $150, going over $200 is suicide.  Also with that console you envision do you see it getting third party support?

If it has in install base, trust me the third parties will come. Everyone thinks the Wii had no third party support, and they are VERY wrong. It didn't have any mutliplats, but there were games from every major japanese developer on the Wii.

I think there would be third party support as well as multiplats if the install base warrented it. Would it use the Fusion gamepad? If Google glass takes off and Playstation pushes the Vita/PS4 connectability I think there could be. 

I was talking about multiplats, I think the next Nintendo console should be designed so ports are very easy for developers, not like the Wii U where all the code had to be redone and ports were a pain in the ass.  



bigtakilla on 26 May 2014
KingdomHeartsFan said:
bigtakilla said:
KingdomHeartsFan said:
Mr Khan said:
Ease the Wii U out as they bring the "Fusion" in. Fusion handheld launches in March 2016, almost five years to the day after the 3DS. Fusion handheld is fully or near-fully backwards compatible with Wii U games, downscaled to 540p across the board. This way you can launch a few late-term Wii U games, but get people interested in buying them for the Fusion as well.

Then in Q4 2016, the home side of the Fusion is introduced, which also works in the same architectural environment as the Wii U and the handheld, but instead is capable of pushing PS4+ levels of graphics (so native 1080p across the board, etc).

The power gap will not allow for FULL cross-compatibility, due to the ability to run games that are not only higher res, but more complex on the home console, but it will functionally be the same game, just the "next gen" version of it (so, for instance, Nintendo develops games for both as if they were a multiplat developer making a PS4 and an X360 game: you can use the same code base, but still put a lot more stuff in the upper-tier version, with the added bonus that unlike the PS4-360 bridge, the architecture is similar).

How much do you expect their next handheld to cost if it can run Wii U games?  I think if they are gonna come out with another handheld it should be around $150, going over $200 is suicide.  Also with that console you envision do you see it getting third party support?

If it has in install base, trust me the third parties will come. Everyone thinks the Wii had no third party support, and they are VERY wrong. It didn't have any mutliplats, but there were games from every major japanese developer on the Wii.

I think there would be third party support as well as multiplats if the install base warrented it. Would it use the Fusion gamepad? If Google glass takes off and Playstation pushes the Vita/PS4 connectability I think there could be. 

I was talking about multiplats, I think the next Nintendo console should be designed so ports are very easy for developers, not like the Wii U where all the code had to be redone and ports were a pain in the ass.  

I agree, the ease of porting games should be a MAJOR concern of Nintendos going into their next console. 



bigtakilla on 26 May 2014
KingdomHeartsFan said:

How much do you expect their next handheld to cost if it can run Wii U games?  I think if they are gonna come out with another handheld it should be around $150, going over $200 is suicide.  Also with that console you envision do you see it getting third party support?

As of right now, the cost of hardware to make a Wii U is $300 (as Nintendo said they are not making them at a loss anymore). Next we minus out the cost of the gamepad because the gamepad IS the handheld. Then minus the difference in cost of the hardware due to it's loss in value due to advancements in tech over the next 3 years. Add the cost of a screen with touch capabilities. If they pulled a vita and sold it with very limited memory and made you buy a flash card then we could also minus the cost of a 35GB hard drive for a much cheaper one. I think it could sell at no loss in 3 years (produced in 2 years) for around $250, but sold for a small loss and profitable with the sales of a few games at $200. 



foxtail on 26 May 2014
Jumpin said:

Nintendo's biggest problem with the Wii U is that there was no momentum going into it. They waited until the Wii had been dead for a year before launching the next console. Then launched the Wii U with no AAA titles, and very little marketing or hype.

Nintendo does need to remember to build up that momentum in the tail end of a generation with some big games, especially in N.A.

From Nintendo in North America in the past:   

The SNES to N64 transition year had Super Mario RPG and Donkey Kong Country 3 (along with Kirby Super Star and Tetris Attack.)

The N64 to Gamecube transition year had Pokémon Stadium 2 and Paper Mario (along with Conker's Bad Fur Day and Dr. Mario 64.)

The Gamecube to Wii transtion year had Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (along with Baten Kaitos Origins, Chibi-Robo! and Odama)

The Wii to Wii U transition year had Mario Party 9 (along with Xenoblade Chronicles, PokéPark 2, and Rhythm Heaven Fever)

One problem we see with Wii to Wii U transition is that they depended on Mario Party to carry the transition year.  Xenoblade was also there but it was a late port and suffered from limited distribution & no advertisement.

Next time the console transition comes they should get a big single player focused game in the action/adventure or role-playing genre on the old console (Wii U) as a swan song and use that positive momentum going into the next console.




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Intrinsic on 26 May 2014
Soundwave said:


If they are not really going to do the Fusion idea and are going to try again with a core "full size" console, then I think launching after Sony/MS would be colossally stupid. 

Even day and date with Sony/MS doesn't work, I think third parties would just shun them after their putrid performance with the Wii U. 

They need not only a 1 year headstart, they need a 2 year headstart IMO to build a comfortable cushion that can't be eroded overnight (like the PS4 did to the Wii U) and can build a credible userbase of hopefully 10-15 million before the other two get going. 

I would suggest they push for a fall 2016 launch in that scenario, and something at least 4-6 TFLOP in horsepower so it can have the superior versions of multiplat games for a good two years. I'd also suggest they make the console easy to upgrade (ala the N64 RAM Expansion) so that the eventual PS5 coming in 2018 or so can be matched. 

Nope, launching the same day and date and having a console that is similarly speced will mean that devs "cannot shun them". There is no reason to cause on day one, everyone will as usual sell 1ml consoles. 



Declan on 26 May 2014
sidmeiernintifan said:
they should release a new console when they can sell something more powerful than a PS4 for 250 dollars making a profit, even if it is only 50% more powerful and not a true generational leap.
A nice gimmick would be to be able to play the handheld games in the console, using the handheld as a controller, that way we could play Pokemon on tv. It would be like the console with a Super Gameboy included.


I'm hoping that Ninty's next machine (besides QoL thing) is actually an amalgamation of its home and handheld devices so that what you describe isn't so much an option, but rather the norm. With just one 'system' (albeit one that can be used in different ways) to support, AAA titles would be more regular, sales would be high and third party support more likely. A late 2016 release would mean that the 3DS had a good innings and the flopping WiiU a lifespan similar to the similarly underperforming (at retail) GameCube. 



Mr Khan on 26 May 2014
Intrinsic said:
Soundwave said:


If they are not really going to do the Fusion idea and are going to try again with a core "full size" console, then I think launching after Sony/MS would be colossally stupid. 

Even day and date with Sony/MS doesn't work, I think third parties would just shun them after their putrid performance with the Wii U. 

They need not only a 1 year headstart, they need a 2 year headstart IMO to build a comfortable cushion that can't be eroded overnight (like the PS4 did to the Wii U) and can build a credible userbase of hopefully 10-15 million before the other two get going. 

I would suggest they push for a fall 2016 launch in that scenario, and something at least 4-6 TFLOP in horsepower so it can have the superior versions of multiplat games for a good two years. I'd also suggest they make the console easy to upgrade (ala the N64 RAM Expansion) so that the eventual PS5 coming in 2018 or so can be matched. 

Nope, launching the same day and date and having a console that is similarly speced will mean that devs "cannot shun them". There is no reason to cause on day one, everyone will as usual sell 1ml consoles. 

You don't understand Nintendo's "special" relationship with third parties, do you?



Monster Hunter: pissing me off since 2010.

Intrinsic on 26 May 2014
Mr Khan said:

You don't understand Nintendo's "special" relationship with third parties, do you?


I am fully aware of nintendos "special" relationship with thrid parties. Bridges burnt since as far back as the n64 and wounds that seem to never want to heal. But this is all still just business. And if we choose to assume that third parties will still never support a nintendo console then nintendo should just forget the console space and stick to handhelds. Cause releasing 2/3 years before a new gen or after the current will not change any of that.



Gintoki on 26 May 2014

Holograms. And console on par with PS5/Xbox....New Xbox(seriously, we can't even speculate the name now...)