Okay boys since NX is confirmed to have cartridges and memory cards (see: Zelda US trademark), what do you expect the console to be like?I expect it to be a console with both disc and catridge reading capabilites, able to play N64 and NES games as well as Wii U ones. I guess it can also play handheld games, and the handheld counterpart can act as a controller if needed. The handheld should look like the Wii U gamepad but less bulky and have two screens instead of one (the second screen folds in on the first like the DS). NX will likely be capable of 1080p 60fps on most games, slightly lower than the Neo in terms of specs, and the handheld should be capable of 720p 30 Fps on average. Games are cross-platform, but obviously the handheld ones handle worse. No region lock, Nintendo has been thinking to remove that.
Can someone also link to the article about the Nvida chips ordering?
To add on, the handheld would look something like this, except with the screen bigger and the design streamlined so if resembles the SNES controller
>n64 and nes
You're retarded
It's not gonna play retro cartridges, OP. Nintendo sells those games on the Virtual Console, they aren't willing to let you play them on newer hardware for free.
>>342476916
> No region lock, Nintendo has been thinking to remove that
>>342479340
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2015/05/nintendo-optimistic-about-removing-region-lock-for-next-console/
I would put the likelihood of cartridges actually being used at close to zero. People are overly wide in their trademark applications to protect areas that they *may* go into or represent the product with (e.g. a menu within a disc based game that contains retro versions, the icon within that game for an older cartridge based system uses a cartridge).
Retro cartridge acceptance creates design limitations and cost to accommodate multiple types of cartridges with different pinouts. When the files are relatively tiny compared to onboard storage (Largest N64 games were 64MB, most substantially smaller), it makes no sense to allow retro cartridges to be read.
>>342479715
I see. Do you have any examples of trademarks that are not used?
Note that other Wii u games do not have the catridge trademark
>>342476916
>NX is comfirmed to have memory cards and cartridges
No its not. It's speculated.
>>342480004
Wait is the Zelda U trademarks not enough proof?
>>342480076
Companies trademark and patent shit all the time. Doesnt mean shit.
Will there be quality third party support and timely releases too?
>>342480381
The thing is, no other Wii u games have that particular trademark
>>342480384
Let's hope so, shall we?
>>342476916
so what purpose would memory cards serve if the NX did use carts anyway? the save files would be there on the medium ready to be taken to a friend's place and stuff
>>342481018
To allow portability of saves, especially if the cart were to be damaged, the save would be intact on separate media. It also makes the cart cheaper since you no longer need to include rewriteable memory for the save data.
I expect it's going to be two systems that share the same games and OS. This is so Nintendo can leverage it's game output behind a single platform. This would reduce (if not eliminate) the amount of droughts they have as well as no longer having to make two versions of one game (like smash Wii U and 3DS). Their output of games would increase significantly.
The handheld will be more tablet like and probably run at like 540p, while the console will run the games at 1080p. The graphics won't be anything amazing. Probably beyond well beyond 360 and PS3, but not quite Xbox One or PS4. It should be strong enough to run UE4, Unity, etc, though.
>>342482148
>my face if this happens
The main problem is in a portable battery powered device that you don't have the same amount of horsepower to devote to background activities. You are on a battery, you do not have a an active fan, you do not want the device to weigh pounds, and you want battery life of several hours at a minimum. This means the CPU power on a portable console is always going to be constrained compared to desktops.
Now it doesn't mean that you can't put the same game on two different systems, but it''s going to be like the PS2 era, where the games are going to be constrained by the weaknesses of the other console (PS2 was weaker than the Xbox & GC, but often multiplats were built against it first then ported, meaning they never reached their full potential). The gap will be far wider to have a similar codebase but lower resolutions.
The CPU horsepower is not just a matter of resolution, as graphics are usually largely accelerated by the GPU. Lowering the resolution (and potentially dropping the intensity or rendering of certain effects and reduced detail level) could bode well for the GPU. But the CPU still has to do work loading and playing the game, AI, etc... (sound may have CPU bounds or may be hardware accelerated or a combo). Allowing a multiplat would give a buy in strategy and potentially cheaper development, but it would also greatly hamper the capabilities on the "home" tethered NX as well.
(In regards to my PS2 comments, we're actually seeing the opposite with the PS4's market dominance; with its slightly better specs and market lead we're seeing games optimized for it and then slightly reduced for the Xbone; WItcher 3 for instance is 1080P native on PS3, and 900P upscaled on the Xbone).
>>342482776
Another problem is that mobile processors usually require specific optimization. x86_64 processors like those in the bone and PS4 are great general purpose workhorses, but they suck ASS in the mobile space, and even those processors that are x86 and have mobile targeted power consumption are traditionally for much larger 1.5-4lb netbooks (e.g. Intel Atom). If Nintendo picks a non x86_64 architecture for the "home" portion of the NX then it makes ports harder, especially if specific optimizations are required to achieve good performance on that platform (see also: Why the PS3's ports were often massively inferior to the Xbox 360 versions).
>bu-bu-but muh mobile performance, look at what the iPhone can do
The processors and GPU sets in modern smartphones are not cheap, smartphones are typically $600-$800 (cheaper phones excluded with much weaker GPU/CPU capabilities). They also get hot and have shit battery life when actively using the screen for a long period of time. The Wii U tablet doesn't really count here since it's really a "dumb" device in a sense; it accepts minimal input and displays real time video wirelessly, but the console is doing essentially all the work while plugged into the wall with a fan. Essentially all of the power goes to keeping the screen on and lit.
A combination console is interesting but I just don't see it panning out. And if they truly try to make the games the same on the NX home as portable, just scaled resolution - I don't see it ending well, the games will not be compelling, the mobile experiences will diminish the home console experience to the point of it being beyond recognition as such, and just seeming like an advanced "handheld player" for the TV, like the Game Boy Player for the Gamecube.
>>342482776
Perhaps, but I still think this is where they'll go, no matter how weak it may be. I should have probably mentioned that I think the console and mobile systems will use mobile technology.
>>342483135
I cannot imagine Nintendo missing the mark with their handheld business this harshly. Say about them what you want, but they know what has to be done when it comes to handhelds with years of experience.
They'll figure something out to keep the handheld experience distinct without having the worst of both worlds (lackluster console and lackluster handheld)
Yeah, the "handheld and home console at the same time" thing is total wishful thinking on part of Nintendo fans who don't understand computing. It's possible to do, but it would require the handheld system to be unreasonably expensive to get any sort of parity with the home system. We're talking in like the 1,000$+ range here for that to feasibly happen and not be absolute trash.
That doesn't stop them from going this route, but you'd be delusional to think it means the system's power will he higher than something on the 360/PS3 spectrum. Basically the only way they'd make it work is if they release another home console just as powerful as the Wii U, which totally defeats the purpose of a new console.
They'd honestly be best off just making a new home console at parity with the PS4 and Xbone, i.e. what they should have done in the first place.
>>342482148
That sounds pausible
But I still expect 720p on handheld though
>>342483215
>Perhaps, but I still think this is where they'll go, no matter how weak it may be. I should have probably mentioned that I think the console and mobile systems will use mobile technology.
I see this as the death of nintendo. The DS was not as compelling graphically as the PSP, the 3DS as the Vita..yet people liked mobile gaming experiences. Same with the Wii and Wii u; the wii was wildly successful due to the temporary casual gaming craze and low price to entry relative to other consoles. Wii U flopped, even though I enjoy it, it's not as high fidelity in graphics, but it's still distinctly a desktop experience. The Nintendo DS rendered at 256/192px on two screens, the 3ds was 800x400 (400x240 per eye) on the top and 320x240 and the framerate is still generally low with very limited graphical capabilities. And the games are still fun, but again this is still distinctly a handheld experience.
Nintendo never sells consoles at a loss, which means they're either going to have to
1) Charge massively more than people are used to spending on handheld devices - at a time when people are used to buying their kids multiple hundred dollar smartphones that can already play mobile games
2) Pick hardware so weak that the experience is going to be absolutely non-competitive (not Wii U vs Xbone/PS4 non-competitive, more like Gamecube vs Xbone/PS4) on the home experience that people don't think it's worth it.
>>342476916
REEEE I WANNA PLAY 3DS REMAKES ON THE BIG SCREEN NINTENDO. JUST MAKE SOME SHIT ADAPTER LIKE YOU'VE DONE BEFORE GRRRRR REEEEEEE WHERES MY FUCKING 3DSPLAYER WHERE IS IT NINTENDO
>>342482148
1. Its easy to outperform to Bone and PS4 while still being "affordable".
2. Unity isn't demanding or high end.
>>342483834
as someone who still uses a gameboy player often, I would love this.
>>342483573
>I cannot imagine Nintendo missing the mark with their handheld business this harshly
Times changed, anon. People moved on. When the Wii and Nintendo DS came out online games largely sucked, the larger free-to-play computer game market didn't really exist in its current form, and everyone and their mother didn't have a smartphone in their pocket.
In 2011 a lot of people that weren't businessmen were initially biting the smartphone bullet, but now tons of kids have them. You have no idea how many people 10 or younger I know with the newest model of iPhone or second newest. You're competing against a device that costs MUCH more than people are used to spending on a handheld gaming device (and the two are not judged equally, since the smartphone lets you call, text, browse the web, use apps, etc.)... and it's already something they already carry with them.
The handheld gaming market is minimal compared to what it used to be, since there's' plenty of alternatives on smartphones (mobile games and non-games alike). If you're going to play on a nintendo handheld, it's going to be for long battery life, a better control set, and unique IPs. And even nintendo is starting to accept the writing on the wall with this, with Miitomo and Pokemon Go. There's still money to be had in mobile games, but not necessarily the hardware.
The home gaming device is still a distinct purpose low maintenance device, people expect a lower price point than a high-end smartphone, and expect far better visual fidelity on it too. Unlike phones people don't traditionally buy them over the course of 24 month contracts or financing, which means people are far more price sensitive (Everyone bitched about $599 USD for the PS3 launch price, but plenty of people have no problem dropping $800 for an iPhone). Nintendo won't sell consoles on the razor/blade model expecting to make the money back on games later, meaning they have to charge what the hardware costs to make/develop/ship/repair.
>>342476916
It's an app you idiots.
>>342484465 here
A mobile first strategy would be a disaster, because Nintendo can't make hardware that will have acceptable resolution and performance on both without charging an assload for it. New iPads are more than $500, and we're talking about something that would definitely perform worse than the Xbone and PS4 (which use far hotter/power intensive processors that would be unsuitable in a mobile device for heat and battery life) even at this price.
If Nintendo wants to continue the handheld game, fine. It's a lot smaller than it used to be but they can carve out their niche: Decently cheap durable hardware with good battery life and great IPs that knows it is not a home console and doesn't try to be. The 3DS even got ambitious with smash but the experience is not *exactly* the same. They admirably did a great job of recreating some N64 games with better appearance but we're talking about a fresh coat of paint on games that are fifteen years old. You would not be impressed by the visuals, gameplay, etc. on a TV, compared to what you could get for a similar cost on Microsoft's console.
If Nintendo wanted something 4K capable the barrier jumps even higher, they're going to launch after the PS4K and Xbone S and shortly before Scorpio for a "true 4K console". Now some people may not jump to 4K immediately but the performance and horsepower are going to be even wider.
Making the two the same would be suicide because you get to pick one:
>Acceptable performance in both modes
>A price that people would be willing to pay for a device that a child is very likely to lose and only does gaming (along with maybe limited web activity, but no cellular internet, phone calls, texts, etc. or the many other functions smartphones provide).
I hope it's wishful thinking, because if Nintendo does do this crazy strategy, I'll wait for the reviews but I would start short selling the stock.
>>342484664
how stupid can you get?
>>342484664
(You)
