I mean "Steam-like" as in its a platform that isn't one (or even two) specific pieces of hardware. What's Steam hardware? There is no such singular thing.

That's what NX should be like IMO.

Going microconsole only would be a mistake though in my opinion. XB1/PS4 will be cheap by that point themselves rendering a cheaper Nintendo platform in the same position as the GameCube was. Cheap price won't save them alone. 

Take Nintendo games ... scale those up and down to play on various form factors (portable, premium portable, cheap console, high-end console). This may be a little more work for Nintendo but it would also eliminate the need to have to support the handheld and console seperately as they could share Nintendo games, so in the end IMO it would actually be easier for Nintendo developers. 

Let third parties pick and choose which hardware settings they want for each individual game. 

There you go. NX. I'd also scrap the entire "upgrade every 5 years" and offer modular upgrades every 3 years or so, so that PS5/XB2 can't show up and steal all the thunder. I'd also look into general clould computing and sharing of hardware power (like that Nintendo patent). 

It's time for Nintendo to demolish the "traditional hardware cycle" and rules. It doesn't work for them. Nintendo playing by those rules simply just favors Sony or MS. They want Nintendo to make just one console which is compromised 10 different ways because they can then pick Nintendo apart with PS5/XB2. But if Nintendo's hardware becomes fluid and there's a hardware offering for every demographic, then Sony/MS have a bigger challenge on their hands.

"Let third parties pick and choose which hardware settings they want for each individual game." That sounds like a great way for each Nintendo device to have inconsistent support, let's say u buy one piece of Nintendo hardware then come to find out its not supported nearly as well as another piece of Nintendo hardware and now u don't get the games u were hoping to play. If Nintendo goes for a unified concept it has to be consistent, not just letting 3rd parties pick and choose the device they support, that will fracture the audience too much.

Thats good, because i still think it won't be a home console... or if it is it won't be any technical marvel. Its gonna be aimed at the casual market. Its nothing for us.

Good its not pachter 

Something can be aimed for both the casual and hardcore market.

Despite Wii & DS being very casual focused devices, they still got a bunch of hardcore focused games.

It's not a big deal IMO. People these days know their iPhone may not do everything as well as the new iPhone or some of them don't have features (ie: iPhone 5c doesn't have Siri, iPhone 5s does). Steam games don't run on every hardware, the audience base isn't stupid they understand why. The Witcher 4 may not be able to run on the portable NX ... would I rather have the game playable on some of the NX devices (and able to stream to the handheld at least) rather than nothing? I'd rather have the game in that case. 

As long as the main Nintendo games + Virtual Console are playable on all the devices it's fine IMO. That gives the "cheap" models enough value and content to play.They could ease this moreso by also making the "cheap" console upgradable via a "supplementary" device as they trademarked so that even if you buy the console you have the option of upgrading it if you want say PS5/XB2 ports down the line. You're not "locked out" of content, so long as you're willing to pay a little more, which is fair. 

The point is NX is NOT a single hardware. You shouldn't be able to point to any one thing and say "that's the NX". A pluralistic take on the hardware is the best thing Nintendo could do. 

We need new ideas in the industry any way, doing the same thing over and over again just because "well that's how we did it in 1985" isn't working so great for Nintendo as they've basically surrendered their marketshare entirely to Sony and MS. And kids don't like "cheap" either ... that's the other problem here, if cheap is so great then why is the Wii U being ignored by kids? It's the cheapest next-gen console and it has the most cartoony games. Most kids want the "cooler" PS4 or XB1. Same with GameCube, most kids chose a PS2 even though it was more expensive. 

Cheap is not the be all end all for Nintendo, even the kids/family audience shuns them because they don't have the broad software support and you don't have broad software support without third parties. And you don't have third parties without very good hardware. Wii was a one off fluke that will never be repeated because today, unlike 2006, there are thousands of casual games easily available to casuals 24/7 for free or $1. In 2006, no one was making games for casuals. This isn't a small difference. Smartphones are a bigger aggregator of casual gaming than the Wii brand could ever have dreamed of being. I see more TV commercials these days for casual smartphone games than I do for PS4/XB1/Wii U/3DS games combined. 

Casuals went from being ignored almost completely by the industry to today where there are more casual games in development than for any other audience. 

I agree with article.


"I don’t think the NX needs to compete against the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One to be successful. Nintendo has a history of doing things its own way, and that’s partially what’s allowed it to deliver excellent, oddball experiences like Splatoon and Super Mario Maker completely out of left field. When this experimentation works, as it did so well for the Wii, DS, and 3DS, it has paid dividends for Nintendo – but, unfortunately, when you take big risks, you’re going to have a few missteps along the way

For the NX to succeed in the current gaming ecosystem, it needs to focus on delivering a clever, Nintendo-only experience while enticing third-party developers to port major releases onto it, One rumor about the NX contends that it will be a hybrid handheld / console device, and I think that’d be a fantastic move for both Nintendo and players for the amount of freedom it would give.

The worst-case scenario I could see for the NX is if Nintendo tries to copy the PlayStation 4/Xbox One too closely in an attempt to entice more third party support for the platform. Those 8th generation console gamers without a Wii U are already well established in the Sony and Microsoft camps, and convincing them to leave for an experience that doesn’t offer anything different from what they’re already getting seems like an incredibly hard sell."

http://www.examiner.com/article/analyst-nx-doesn-t-need-to-compete-against-ps4-xbox-one-to-be-successful

I can't decide between you and zorg which one actually has less technical knowledge and which one has less grasp on how video games and video game hardware actually work...

It's so incredibly naive. It literally boils down to "iOS exists. Steam exists. Nintendo can do both og those things. I don't see why not", and just ignoring every single counter argument everyone ever says.

Rinse. Repeat.

Your logic isn't getting any better. The obvious counter arguments remain. This isn't going to happen like you think it is, and if it does, be prepared for Nintendo to get completely and utterly slaughtered. You literally want Nintendo to give up on making actual game consoles and instead make their version of a smart phoen with no phone functionality, and be slaughtered by the likes of Apple and Android like they are now, and/or just go head-to-head against PC gamers, taking a page out of their book, making Nintendo's version of steam  on Nintendo's version of the PC. These are two totally horrendous ideas and you keep doubling down and making thesm more and more and more unreasonable, but cannot fathom why its unreasonable no matter what anyone says.

No one should have to explain to you why upgradable hardware is a bad idea.
No one should have to explain to you why having an "NX game" not supported by "all NX hardware" is a bad idea.
No one should have to explain to you why the hardware would be much more expensive as a result of this concept.
No one should have to explain to you why this would be magnitudes more confusing to the average consumer than the Wii U is.


No one would buy this concept. No one besides the few million Nintendo fans that buy all Nintendo hardware regardless. If this is the direction you really want Nintendo to go, you should be pushing them to stop making hardware althogether, and just make iOS/android and PC games. That is the only way Nintendo will make money at either of these concepts. Period.

"I don’t think the NX needs to compete against the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One to be successful. Nintendo has a history of doing things its own way, and that’s partially what’s allowed it to deliver excellent, oddball experiences like Splatoon and Super Mario Maker completely out of left field. When this experimentation works, as it did so well for the Wii, DS, and 3DS, it has paid dividends for Nintendo – but, unfortunately, when you take big risks, you’re going to have a few missteps along the way," Diener told Examiner.com

"For the NX to succeed in the current gaming ecosystem, it needs to focus on delivering a clever, Nintendo-only experience while enticing third-party developers to port major releases onto it," Diener said. "One rumor about the NX contends that it will be a hybrid handheld / console device, and I think that’d be a fantastic move for both Nintendo and players for the amount of freedom it would give."

"The worst-case scenario I could see for the NX is if Nintendo tries to copy the PlayStation 4/Xbox One too closely in an attempt to entice more third party support for the platform. Those 8th generation console gamers without a Wii U are already well established in the Sony and Microsoft camps, and convincing them to leave for an experience that doesn’t offer anything different from what they’re already getting seems like an incredibly hard sell," Diener said.

Whoa!!! Whoa!!! Whoa!!! Why am I getting brought into this? I was talking about how Soundwave's plan wouldn't work, just like you are.