DevilRising said:
This still is just conjecture, and even if it's true means little. Power alone is not going to magically make the next system do SUPER well. Wii was weak hardware, better than Xbox but less than 360, yet it ruled that gen. PS1 and PS2 were the weakest hardware of their gens yet they dominated by far. Power means far less than having the right games, and good advertising.
If we lived in some insane alternate reality where, for example, GTAV had been Wii U exclusive? You can bet your ass that Wii U would have sold a hell of a lot better just off of that one game alone. But Wii U, while it has many great games, doesn't have too many that are MUST haves for a lot of people, and the console's marketing was and remains garbage in NA.
I know I keep saying this, but its' a really pertinent point: "NX" or whatever the hell it's called, is not going to just magically excel, even IF it is tons more powerful than PS4. It needs games that people "MUST have", and it needs great marketing worldwide.
Besides, top of the line hardware will also make the console more expensive, and MOST gamers, in spite of the illusion which some hardcore gamers like to put out there, CAN NOT afford super expensive systems, let alone this myth that "most gamers own all three consoles these days". Yeah....no, they don't. It's not financially feasible for a majority of people whose budget doesn't almost exclusively go to gaming. Most people have too many bills, too many living expenses, kids/families, etc. And Nintendo has always tried to keep their consoles affordable. |
I agree with most of this. Especially the sentiment that power is not what will sell the NX.
Though I do think it's important so reflect on how weak the Wii U's library has been, first party wise, compared to literally every every other Nintendo system, both handheld and console. Even against the 3DS, the 3DS has a much more "console-quality" line up of games than the Wii U has. Nintendo spent so much less money on first party software development for the Wii U than it needed to, and that just won't fly for a console in the west. DK:TF is cool, but a 3D DK would have sold more consoles. SM3DW was great, but a "traditional," non-isometric 3D Mario would have sold more consoles. Kirby CC was neat, but again, people but consoles for big, 3D games. Kid Icarus Uprising should have been a Wii U game. Star Fox Zero should have been an open world space exploration game. Those are the types of games people will buy consoles for, but Nintendo has been cripplingly cheap with their productions since inception, and it's starting to bite them in the ass now, because people have different standard for what makes a killer app.
That doesn't mean that Nintendo shouldn't be making the other smaller games too, but you look at the Wii U's library and it's absolutely no wonder its software hasn't sold its hardware. The two games on a system that's 3 years old with the highest production values are a kart racer and a party brawler. Meanwhile Killzone: Shadowfall, mediocre or not, was out on the PS4
Nintendo needs to quit it with skimping out on game budgets. Most people are worried about so many aspects of the NX, but I think the one real thing to worry about is their software.
