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Forums - Nintendo Discussion - Nikkei: Nintendo NX to use Android OS

WolfpackN64 on 01 June 2015
Darwinianevolution said:
WolfpackN64 said:
Darwinianevolution said:
Interesting. An Android OS would fit very well with the Fusion idea, but wouldn't that make the systems easily hackable?

You can change parts of Android, so if this idea came to fruition, I can imagine Nintendo adding some DRM layers and some exclusive content.

I don't know. Android has been around for quite a long time, and piracy on mobile devides is easy. The only reason mobile piracy isn't more widespread is because most users go for the freemium or really don't put that much time on those devices anyway, so why bother? A gaming console/handheld is something interesting to hack, because the investment and the reward (in terms of money saved) is important, way bigger than the saving you could do on mobile devices.

I fear that, if this is true, the NX could become the next PSP. Selling a lot of hardware, but really easy to hack and patch, hurting software sales a lot, EXACTLY what Nintendo needs the least.

No seriously, Nintendo's experiance with hardware and firmware lockout systems would render any such attempt fruitless. You can change a LOT about android.



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Soundwave on 01 June 2015
RolStoppable said:
Doesn't seem likely because there aren't any benefits to it, yet there are quite a few downsides.


Pros: 

- More third party and developer support. Want me to make a Wii U or even 3DS game? Limited audience. But an NX game? Might be a very different story, because I can share said game with a billion Android users too. Makes the PS4's userbase look fairly piddly by comparison.  It'll have Minecraft and GTA too, probably a lot of the main Final Fantasy games, something the 3DS doesn't currently have.  

- More attractive hardware to the modern consumer, because it'll be able to do 1000 different things (watch movies, Twitter, Instagram, edit photos, listen to music, check your email, etc.) rather than just be a standard Nintendo handheld/console. 

- Android is free to license, so Nintendo gets a fairly competent, fast OS with thousands of apps without having to spend much money. 

- Nintendo could have an edge against other tablet makers for instance because they can sell their hardware at/near cost, because the game model relies on making money from software sales, so a theoretical Nintendo tablet at $300 could be more powerful than say a $700 marked up iPad. 

- There are some good Android games out there, and there's a a number that would be quite decent with proper physical controls. 

 

Cons:

- They are stepping into the lion's den now if they want to compete with other Android device makers and Apple. That said they probably were under siege from these guys anyway, so you might as well get a slice of the pie, rather than no pie at all. If it's successful, they are going to have stiff competetion to deal with. It's a crowded market ... though to be fair no one really has made a proper game centric handheld or home version. Nvidia's efforts are probably the clsoest from a credible, mainstream company, but even those are fairly niche devices. 

- Piracy/hacking could be an issue, they will have to be very careful in how they design the device. Very careful. 

- Uncharted territory for Nintendo in general. They're longer in the comfy, familiar confines of toy-like hardware if they make this leap I think. Can they deal/adjust with that? 

- A lot of Android games do (quite frankly) suck. 



KdxlavkdX on 01 June 2015

Hm. Hope this isn't true.



JNK on 01 June 2015

I already thought about that nintendo may do their next plattform steam os or android/iOS based. Giving them hundrets of games and make them very easy to port. I guess android will be a big thing in gaming in the future as soon as arm chips gets fast enough. hell they ported crysis 3 to android.



Soundwave on 01 June 2015
RolStoppable said:
Soundwave said:

Pros: 

- More third party and developer support. Want me to make a Wii U or even 3DS game? Limited audience. But an NX game? Might be a very different story, because I can share said game with a billion Android users too. Makes the PS4's userbase look fairly piddly by comparison.  It'll have Minecraft and GTA too, something the 3DS doesn't currently have.  

- More attractive hardware to the modern consumer, because it'll be able to do 1000 different things (watch movies, Twitter, Instagram, edit photos, listen to music, check your email, etc.) rather than just be a standard Nintendo handheld/console. 

- Android is free to license, so Nintendo gets a fairly competent, fast OS with thousands of apps without having to spend much money. 

- Nintendo could have an edge against other tablet makers for instance because they can sell their hardware at/near cost, because the game model relies on making money from software sales, so a theoretical Nintendo tablet at $300 could be more powerful than say a $700 marked up iPad. 

- There are some good Android games out there, and there's a a number that would be quite decent with proper physical controls. 

(...)

Your pros:

1. Developers will have to optimize for NX hardware which will use buttons. That stands in conflict with creating a user interface that works exclusively with a touchscreen. The resulting half-assed games won't be able to compete with actual NX software, thus they won't sell, thus developers will stop bother (if they ever bothered to begin with).

2. Since consumers already own smartphones, this won't be a selling point. Pay for redundancy? No, thanks.

3. See point 2. Getting something for free or at a low cost doesn't mean anything when it won't be a selling point. It's actually counter-productive because it adds more clutter to a product that should be simple and straightforward.

4. Nintendo won't make a device to compete with smart devices, and neither are they interested in doing so. Your point is completely moot.

5. A few good games don't offset the biggest con:

Nintendo's primary motivation is to keep the value of software high, so they won't invite a platform that threatens their core business. Especially their own eShop would get hit hard because consumers could become conditioned to expect Android-like prices, and that in turn would drive away indie developers who make games on a scale that demands $10-20 price points.


The truth is though there's no path way for Nintendo that's not frought with considerable risk. 

If I can get my young 'uns a Nintendo tablet that has equal/better performance to an overpriced iPad for half the price ... that's something I can understand a parent buying. 

I'll disagree on more functionality being a con. I think even kids today have changed, you can't sell them the same song and dance from the 80s/90s and think the modern consumer is going to go for it. With Android functionality the next Nintendo handheld at least would have the functionality that people expect from a modern device without Nintendo having to spend a fortune making an OS from scratch and then trying to convince app-makers to give them support. Even Microsoft with Windows Phone has run into a brick wall trying to match Android and iOS' software app functionality. 

I think Nintendo could control the prices of software too, because like Kindle Fire and tablets like that, they can have their own custom store, and thus decided how many apps are available and also take a licensing fee when an app is sold through their shop. The publisher won't care as long as they get an app sale. Realistically though they are competing against smart phone apps whether they admitted it or not, at least now maybe they'll be able to get a cut of it. 



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Soundwave on 01 June 2015
RolStoppable said:
Soundwave said:

The truth is though there's no path way for Nintendo that's not frought with considerable risk. 

If I can get my young 'uns a Nintendo tablet that has equal/better performance to an overpriced iPad for half the price ... that's something I can understand a parent buying. 

I'll disagree on more functionality being a con. I think even kids today have changed, you can't sell them the same song and dance from the 80s/90s and think the modern consumer is going to go for it. With Android functionality the next Nintendo handheld at least would have the functionality that people expect from a modern device without Nintendo having to spend a fortune making an OS from scratch and then trying to convince app-makers to give them support. Even Microsoft with Windows Phone has run into a brick wall trying to match Android and iOS' software app functionality. 

I think Nintendo could control the prices of software too, because like Kindle Fire and tablets like that, they can have their own custom store, and thus decided how many apps are available and also take a licensing fee when an app is sold through their shop. The publisher won't care as long as they get an app sale. Realistically though they are competing against smart phone apps whether they admitted it or not, at least now maybe they'll be able to get a cut of it. 

Nintendo won't make a device to compete with smart devices, and neither are they interested in doing so.


They're in competition with those devices whether they like it or not. A device running an Android OS on it is basically a "smart device" too (Android is far and away the no.1 "smart device" OS), semantics really won't change that. 



Burek on 01 June 2015
RolStoppable said:

Your pros:

1. Developers will have to optimize for NX hardware which will use buttons. That stands in conflict with creating a user interface that works exclusively with a touchscreen. The resulting half-assed games won't be able to compete with actual NX software, thus they won't sell, thus developers will stop bother (if they ever bothered to begin with).

2. Since consumers already own smartphones, this won't be a selling point. Pay for redundancy? No, thanks.

3. See point 2. Getting something for free or at a low cost doesn't mean anything when it won't be a selling point. It's actually counter-productive because it adds more clutter to a product that should be simple and straightforward.

4. Nintendo won't make a device to compete with smart devices, and neither are they interested in doing so. Your point is completely moot.

5. A few good games don't offset the biggest con:

Nintendo's primary motivation is to keep the value of software high, so they won't invite a platform that threatens their core business. Especially their own eShop would get hit hard because consumers could become conditioned to expect Android-like prices, and that in turn would drive away indie developers who make games on a scale that demands $10-20 price points.

I completely agree with you. Especially when it comes to pricing: People who game on phones first need to decide to upgrade to NX (because then NX needs to be a phone as well, why would I use a smartphone to call, then NX to go on Twitter or play Match-3). 

Then they will expect a $0.99 game, and find out that their Andriloid device now charges $39.99 for Mario or Splatoon 2.

If they go the Android route, they will most likely fail hard, they will attempt to compete with giants of the industry. Also, they automatically alienate 30% of the potential market, cutting their potential greatly.



Zeroroute on 01 June 2015

I like this idea actually. Means that it'll have UE4 support.

P.S. To the naysayers - Dreamcast ran Windows CE and no one cared what OS was powering it.



Soundwave on 01 June 2015

There isn't really anyone offering a game centric Android-based tablet though.

Nvidia Shield is basically the only one and it's expensive (because Nvidia has to make all the money off the hardware itself, they make no money off games), isn't carried by major retailers, isn't marketed on mainstream TV, etc. etc. etc.



Darwinianevolution on 01 June 2015

What's the most powerful Android-based device on the market? Just to know the specs a Nintendo-Android could reach and at what price.



You know it deserves the GOTY.

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