I think NX will have a fairly unconventional controller. I always thought it was kindy fishy that Miyamoto dropped the whole the whole "we can't make a new F-Zero *at the moment* but maybe when we have a new control method ..." or something to that effect, it was an awful lot like his cryptic hint at "well we probably won't make a new Pikmin for Wii, but it sure would look good in HD, don't you think" type comment (about a year later Pikmin 3 is announced for the new Wii U).

Also at this point Nintendo really doesn't have to give a crap what third parties want anymore. They can make their own wacky/crazy console, if its a Fusion design, then it'll probably sell about 65-80 million even with declining marketshare for traditional gaming hardware (minus the PS4). They can support it on their own, so if Miyamoto wants to make some weird cock-shaped controller with one button on it, hey ... now they can, lol.

Revenue from smartphone games and eventually Mario movies and Zelda TV licensing will let them be profitable even if the NX is just a moderate success rather than a huge one.

Good read.

I think the most interesting point in the OP is that this leaves Nintendo free to focus 100% on (core) gamers and not trying to please the casuals as well, their mobile games will take care of that. Now all they habe to do is win over the casual core gamer - the majority of console owners.

They can do whatever they want now. If smartphone games generate a steady income stream for them (and I think that would be an understatement) there's not as much pressure on their traditional game model to have to carry the company to profitibility every quarter. 

Now they probably have license to make a really wacky, crazy console and that's what I suspect NX will be. Note they very specifically mentioned that NX is a "brand new concept" gaming device, which is the same way they referred to the Wii (motion gaming concept) and Wii U (do everything home based tablet concept).  

Throw in revenue from things like Mario CG movies and the Zelda Netflix TV series and whatever they get from the Quality of Life segment and really they could be making a good amount of money each year even if they sold literally 0 home consoles or handhelds. 

There's no more pressure from shareholders now either ... they wanted Nintendo on iOS/Android ... well Nintendo gave it to them. So the "heat" on their standard game business is off. 3DS misses it's sales target by 1-2 million? No big deal. Wii U never takes off? No big deal. They have their ace in the hole now. 

But for how long is this viable? Were seeing how Zynga is struggling somewhat, and even King (candy crush) isnt on fire any more. Mobile games last a year or two, until something new comes a long. Will DeNa together with Nintendo be able to bri g something brand NEW to the mobile scene every year? How will they keep the casuals attention year in and year out? Can Nintendo really afford to be wacky?

They can make 100 different Mario games alone on iOS/Android. Mario Run, Mario Bros. Arcade, Paper Mario, Mario Party, Mario Tennis, Mario Golf, Mario Birds, Fly Mario, Mario Bob-omb Blast. Pokemon too. That's not even touching things like their other IP catalog. 

If people get sick of one they move to another. 

Animal Crossing, Pokemon, etc. could be worked into mobile titles that grow and evolve and generate revenue on a daily basis for Nintendo too. 

Nintendo is going to kill it in the mobile market. People love colorful/cartoony games and when they see they can get Nintendo games for free/$1 they are going to download them there's no tomorrow. 

Zynga and King don't have Nintendo's IP catalog nor do they have Nintendo's skill in making simple, fun, addictive games in about 100 different form factors. 

Simply put Nintendo entering the mobile space is like LeBron James playing basketball against a bunch of 12 year old kids. It's not even fair. 

Lol I loved that last metaphor! Maybe youre right, but so far, all the evidence weve got, everything suggests that keeping casuals around is hard as fuck. Will Nintendo be able to keep them coming back game after game year after year? They shouldnt relay too heavily on the mobile market and get wacky with their new consoles. They need to evaluate what kind of console they NEED to do, not the one they want to do.

Fantastic OP. I hate how all anyone seems to be taking away from this online is either A: "Nintendo is going all mobile, abandoning core gamers!!!" or B: "Wii U is dead, NX coming this Holiday!!!"

Ugh, I wish people would read what was actually said.

very interestin, nintendo nx?
that reminds me of

We had the market referendum on what people want between a console that is more like a consumer electronics device with multiple functionality, versus one that is deeply rooted in being "only" a game platform. 

That was what the whole PS2-GameCube era was about. And people voted, and Sony won by a landslide. 

Sony's approach won out. Arguing about it now doesn't make much sense IMO. 

There's no reason for home console to not have extra functionality in this day and age. If the internet and Netflix, Hulu, Youtube, web browsing, etc. existed in the 80s/90s and it was easy to impliment, the NES, SNES, Genesis, etc. would've had those features too, Nintendo's been trying to network home consoles with the internet since the 1980s.