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Forums - Nintendo - Should Nintendo's next console be a microconsole?

spemanig said:
Puppyroach said:
I still think that their best option if to create a handheld/home console hybrid. What the collective sales of Nintendo products each generation has shown is that Nintendo is very consistent in their total sales (except for 7th generation), it is just that their share of people on handheld vs. home console varies. Combining the two might prove highly succesful, and it would also cater to the micro console concept that the OP refers to.


^^^This.

The only "microconsole" Nintendo is making is the "HDS."

What this guy is suggesting is the equivalent of, instead of releasing the Wii U, Nintendo released a "microconsole" that was slightly stronger than the already underpowered Wii called the WiiDS, shared a library with the 3DS, could play all those 3DS games at 1080p 60fps on the TV, and costed $150.

Yeah. People would have gone absolutely nuts for that.

Yep that is what I'm suggesting and it would have been a more profitable route than Wii U in its current state.



When the herd loses its way, the shepard must kill the bull that leads them astray.

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Puppyroach said:
I still think that their best option if to create a handheld/home console hybrid. What the collective sales of Nintendo products each generation has shown is that Nintendo is very consistent in their total sales (except for 7th generation), it is just that their share of people on handheld vs. home console varies. Combining the two might prove highly succesful, and it would also cater to the micro console concept that the OP refers to.

That is basically what I'm suggesting, but i also believe the two devices need to have price parity in order for one not to cannibalize the other.



When the herd loses its way, the shepard must kill the bull that leads them astray.

but the big problem this gen isnt the weak third party support?
that wouldnt help in this issue.



Make device that is as powerful as the PS4. Don't have any expensive gimmicks, then it could launch at 199 in 2017.
Treat it normally gameswise, so that it's a standard Nintendo console, but really cheap. Market the heck out of it, and emphasize that it's so cheap that you could have both e PS5/nextbox and this device because of the low price. Nintendo fans would obviously buy it, parents would deffinetly buy it due to price, and people with interest in ninty games, but not enough interest to pay 300$ for it would also buy it. Even if the hardware only breaks even, they'll make a shit ton of profit from software.



Jizz_Beard_thePirate said:
zorg1000 said:
Jizz_Beard_thePirate said:

The reason why people want a mainline Pokemon title on a console is so that the Pokemon game will be able to use the power of the home console which is much more powerful than the handheld and not be limited to the power limitations of the handheld. It is not because they want to play the same game on a TV. And yes, this will technically give them that but its not what the people want. They don't want a port of the game they can easily play on the handheld, they want an original Pokemon game that can utlize the full power of the console which is not avaliable on the handheld. And you are drastically over estimating the sales of a micro-console.

Heres an idea, instead of speculating that it will work magically, why don't you give me some examples in cases where such a thing actually worked? I gave you the Vita/Vita TV, so now its your turn

And btw, the Vita sold 2.12 million in NA where has the Vita TV sold < 100k since its launch I believe. That is a bigggg difference. But yes, please, give me some proof because guess what, many 3ds owners also own a wiiU because they want the experience that the console exclusive version gives them and certainly not cause they just want to play the exact same game on their TV


This device I'm describing is more powerful than Wii U, a Pokemon game that uses that power be a very impressive title. How am I over estimating the sales potential?

There are no examples of such a thing that worked, that's why I think Nintendo could perhaps succeed in such a scenario. I have said it at least a half dozen times in this thread already, the microconsole market is a potentially large market, it just hasn't had a device with strong standout software to really put it on the map, Nintendo has the multimillion selling ip to make such a device standout and sell well if executed properly.

Vita is nearly 3 years old, Vita TV is 2.5 months old. Vita sold 400k in about 2.5 months and Vita TV 100k in the same time frame, a much better comparison than urs.

Also why are u assuming people will automatically choose the handheld? 3DS sells so much better than Wii U because of price and vastly larger software library, not simply because it's a handheld (well in Japan being a handheld sells it). If Wii U was the same price as 3DS with the huge library of 3DS, don't u think they would sell more similarly than they currently do?

It doesn't matter if the console is more powerful than the wiiU cause the games will be avaliable on the handheld. It is as simple as that. There is no reason for anyone to pay twice the amount for two different hardware if both plays the exact same games, just one being able to play the games on the TV. That is why the Vita failed because a lot of its games can be found else where. And since the handheld has always been popular on Nintendo's side, majority will go for the handheld instead of the console

And if it didn't work with other companies, it wont work for Nintendo for the very same reason.

And what do you mean the Vita sold 400k in 2.5 months vs Vita TV 100k in the same time frame? Just look at the december NPD for example. Last december, the Vita sold 130k and Vita TV sold 20k... That will never result in a number that you gave for the Micro-console vs Handheld if you compare it like that... And the sales of the Vita TV is laughable at best considering its the holidays. And considering it sold 40k in October and November combined, the Vita TV sold 60k in NA LTD...

And the reason why people will choose the handheld is because in the History of Nintendo platforms, their handheld has always sold better than the consoles in the exact same generation. And when they choose the handheld, they wont bother with the micro-console at all where as if they make a standard console, the handheld owners might consider it a lot higher since it will give them exclusive games that cant be played on the handheld. Also nope, if the wiiU is the same price as the 3ds and has the exact same library, there is no reason for anyone to get the wiiU because it will have the exact same hardware as the 3ds if we are going my your logic. No one will pay almost twice the amount for two pieces of hardware that does virtually the samething

Who said u had to buy both devices, if u want to play on the go, get the handheld, if u want to play at home, get the console. Vita failed for a ton of reasons, expensive handheld, expensive memory cards, lack of the big games that made PSP a success, also a big part of PSP success was due to being a portable multimedia device which was a big deal back in 2005-2008, now it's not such a huge deal due to a plethora of portable multimedia devices on the market, horrible advertising, lack of support outside of Niche Japanese titles and indies.

I hate that train of thought, it didn't work for them so it can't work for anyone. By that logic, most things in life would be seen as impossible.

I figured it made more sense to compare the devices in the same time frame. But that Vita number for Dec is laughable as well, which supports my argument, Vita is a failure, a device that plays Vita games on a TV was gauranteed to be a failure as well. If Vita games can't sell the Vita, than why would Vita games sell the Vita TV?

NES outsold Game & Watch 1.5:1, SNES slightly outsold Gameboy in the 4th generation, Gameboy outsold N64 2:1 in the 5th generation, GBA outsold GC nearly 4:1, DS outsold Wii 1.5:1. Overall sales of Nintendo consoles thru Wii is around 270 million, handheld sales thru DS are around 400 million. On average handhelds have outsold consoles 1.5:1, doesn't my 50 -65m handheld, 30-35 million console expamle fall around that ratio?



When the herd loses its way, the shepard must kill the bull that leads them astray.

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Soundwave said:
Cobretti2 said:
fuck no i rather it be portable than a microconsole.


You'll be able to buy the portable variant if that's what you want. 

You just won't be able to play the games in 1080P on your TV though is my guess if you only buy the handheld version.  

It's like iPhone-iPad ... Apple's not putting a gun to anyone's head saying you have to have both. 

Some people choose to have both, some people just want one or the other. Apple doesn't care, they win either way. Both run the same apps and have a similar chipset. iPad has a higher resolution display and some more horsepower/RAM.

They could jsut sell it with a miro hdmi too HDMI cable and you get the same effect. I do that with my Android phone as it processes X264 videos better than my old PC lol.



 

 

jonathanalis said:
but the big problem this gen isnt the weak third party support?
that wouldnt help in this issue.


If it shares the library with the handheld than it gets all the 3rd party support of the handheld (Nintendo handhelds still get solid 3rd party support) plus like I said they would continue to build strong relations with indie developers. A $150 device isn't expected to get the AAA 3rd party support that $300-400 consoles get.



When the herd loses its way, the shepard must kill the bull that leads them astray.

Dear lord I hope not



zorg1000 said:

Yep that is what I'm suggesting and it would have been a more profitable route than Wii U in its current state.


No, it wouldn't have. It would make the Wii U look like the PS2 by comparison.



what games would it play? 3DS/Wii/Wii U?

3DS games wouldn't work and would look horrible anyway.

Wii games would have no more appeal

Wii U is too powerful to be microconsole imo

As a next gen release, no one would want a microconsole. It'll be weaker then the PS4, and have compatibility issues with nintendo next system assuming its dual screen. 

We've yet to see that a market even exists for such a device. I think people are happy with their laptops and hooking them or their PS3/360's up to their tvs.