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What would happen to Nintendo if the NX flops like Wii U?

JoeM86

Member
Everyone seems to be saying that Nintendo would try again, but I genuinely think that it would hurt the consumer base and fans to have the next console flop, too. Any faith in the brand of "Nintendo" as it pertained to consoles would be tarnished, and the few left willing to buy the NX's successor would have to proselytize pretty hard to convince even the most dedicated gaming audience to buy it. There'd be no faith left in Nintendo.

As you say, home console != handheld

3DS has done fine, better than fine considering smartphones. So it won't damage the name too much
 

wheeplash

Member
The same as always, people on this board trying to figure things out for Nintendo for free.
It's amazing how much they fuck up for a Billion-dollar company.
 

RalchAC

Member
Nintendo announced that they were embracing platform as a service a la android (which implies hardware agnostic/iterative into the future) long before the rumours began swirling as to what Sony and ms were both doing.

While Nintendo brought the whole ecosystem idea (to have a healthier library across both their homeconsoles and handhelds) they never said anything about shorter hardware cycles.

If this new model is accepted by the market (which I think it would) Nintendo would be really happy.

If they are going to address the family demographic, then they shouldn't be worried about the Neo and Scorpio at all. They need to price themselves away from the competition and focus on software that will sell their systems, keep developing mobile software, and get their IP's out there to reach kids better.

It depends. If they want to get 3rd parties on board in a more "traditional" manner, they would need a power level that at least allows them to share western multiplatform games with the PS4 and the X1.

The broader their library is, the better for everybody.
 
Might have already been said, but Nintendo could morph into a medical technology company, and use the profits from that and their legacy entertainment stuff (theme parks films etc) to subsidise their niche video game output. Would be great.

Other option- nationalisation. Which again would be great. Anything to get rid of shareholders/investors. Plus Nintendo still make great profits, which would directly benefit the Japanese people.
 
I think you can already see what Nintendo does to prevent that another Wii U scenario fucks up their financials.

Can't say how the NX is going to perform because we don't know what it is.


Anyway:
• Increasing their mindshare while expanding their business (theme parks, licencing, movies, amiibo, etc.)
• Restructure gaming business and management to increase their output (and maybe reduce development-cost)
• Expanding their digital business to get more money per game + get indies on board if you don't have big 3rd Parties
• Entering mobile business as another gaming pillar and trying to achieve synergy-effects between mobile and classic gaming business (while they still could land a hit with their mobile games alone)

Last but not least, I believe they're going to try everything to prevent selling their hardware at loss.
 

Trago

Member
It depends. If they want to get 3rd parties on board in a more "traditional" manner, they would need a power level that at least allows them to share western multiplatform games with the PS4 and the X1.

The broader their library is, the better for everybody.

I'm not suggesting that they outright ignore the console buying demographic, but I am saying that they need to present an alternative that does a good job of differentiating them from Sony and Microsoft. And as it turns out, Sony and Microsoft are ignoring families and kids.
 

Matbtz

Member
I think it is safe to say the hardware will be weaker compared to neo and scorpio, right? Even Reggie changed the subject when asked that question

Yes the NX will be weaker than scorpio and surely Neo, I think it will slightly better than X1/PS4. That doesn't mean it will not attract 3rd party dev, the Neo/scorpio will not have exclusives, 3rd party dev will have to develop for X1/PS4 so they can develop for NX when the install base is sufficient.

As for the next generation, the scorpio is targeting late 2017 so I don't think we are going to see the next gen in 3 years... And when the new gen comes out, Nintendo will just have to upgrade (around scorpio specs) since devs will surely ports for the last gen.
 
I think if it flops as bad as Wii U there will be serious discussions within Nintendo about their hardware business. Not saying they will cease to develop hardware but that the past model of hardware cycles may no longer be viable for them.
 

jax

Banned
They won't fail.

Seriously. Scorpio and Neo are going to cost over $600, and still offer 1/3 the performance of a 1080/i7 gaming rig, which you could build for around $1000. Remember the PS3 launch? Now imagine if everyone interested in the PS3 already had a PS2.5 that could play all of the PS3 games, just with slightly crappier graphics. The already abyssal sales of the PS3 would be at least halved. This is the situation with the Neo/Scorpio. The only selling point these new consoles have is VR, which everyone hates and sees as a gimmick. (Except PC gamers, who are used to spending hundreds of extra dollars on gaming upgrades... By the time Scorpio and Neo are released Vive and Oculus 2.0 will be out, which means 1.0 will get a price drop.) These people will just buy a PC. (Probably with a 1070 or discounted 980)

Beyond that, about 3/4 of 360/PS3 owners haven't upgraded to the current gen yet. These people are primarily more casual gamers, and use their consoles more as media devices than anything. Given the option between an aging console from 2013 with not so much of a fantastic first party selection, and a brand new "casual" console with all of the same third party games + Smash, Zelda, Mario, etc at the same price... They're gonna choose NX.

tldr Nintendoomed thread #500, the answer is they aren't going anywhere. The Wii U was underpowered, and just had unfortunate marketing and timing. The same won't happen with NX.
 
A very important qualifier is will the NX be a console that either encompasses Nintendo's handheld platform or in some way replaces it? If Nintendo doesn't have a separate handheld to help bolster Wii U-like sales, then I don't feel super confident they would produce another console - and if they did, surely that would be the last one unless there was a big turnaround.

People bring up Nintendo's warchest and financial stability - both of which are very impressive. However, their dedicated home consoles have struggled for the better part of 20 years. Without a dedicated handheld, which given the proliferation of mobile and tablet gaming (especially among kids) seems entirely plausible, I think it would be foolish to just assume Nintendo can continue failing in the home console space.
 

Loris146

Member
They won't fail.

Seriously. Scorpio and Neo are going to cost over $600, and still offer 1/3 the performance of a 1080/i7 gaming rig, which you could build for around $1000. Remember the PS3 launch? Now imagine if everyone interested in the PS3 already had a PS2.5 that could play all of the PS3 games, just with slightly crappier graphics. The already abyssal sales of the PS3 would be at least halved. This is the situation with the Neo/Scorpio. The only selling point these new consoles have is VR, which everyone hates and sees as a gimmick. (Except PC gamers, who are used to spending hundreds of extra dollars on gaming upgrades... By the time Scorpio and Neo are released Vive and Oculus 2.0 will be out, which means 1.0 will get a price drop.) These people will just buy a PC. (Probably with a 1070 or discounted 980)

Beyond that, about 3/4 of 360/PS3 owners haven't upgraded to the current gen yet. These people are primarily more casual gamers, and use their consoles more as media devices than anything. Given the option between an aging console from 2013 with not so much of a fantastic first party selection, and a brand new "casual" console with all of the same third party games + Smash, Zelda, Mario, etc at the same price... They're gonna choose NX.

tldr Nintendoomed thread #500, the answer is they aren't going anywhere. The Wii U was underpowered, and just had unfortunate marketing and timing. The same won't happen with NX.

Joke post?
 

Atomski

Member
They will go third party and Sony fans will rejoice the true king of gaming..

We can't let this happen pls Nintendo pls
 

Sulik2

Member
Shareholders would force them to go all in on mobile and third party. You can't keep hemorrhaging money on hardware when you can easily just sell your software on all machines and make easy money.
 

Pie and Beans

Look for me on the local news, I'll be the guy arrested for trying to burn down a Nintendo exec's house.
As you say, home console != handheld

3DS has done fine, better than fine considering smartphones. So it won't damage the name too much

"Better than fine" is not their lowest selling handheld ever, selling far less than even half of their previous iteration. It might not even limp past the GBA at this rate which was intentionally cut short.

You can't just handwave away smartphones and tablets as if they were a natural disaster or act of god. They decimated the dedicated handheld market which continues to shrink. Previously handhelds was the one area Nintendo could plant their flag in the ground and say "see, this is why we're still a hardware force", but now even that is on the sharp decline. Nintendo can't even compete with chinese knock off smartphone companies tech-wise currently and thats not a good look for a 'platform holder'.

Things are going to be even weirder if the NX launches and is not a hybrid/handheld and is just a home console. Nintendo's home console business is over, it ended. The market made it's intentions clear. The only way they can make hardware viable for themselves is folding in the handheld side, shore up and consolidate all their hardware as one 'force'.
 
I don't see a scenario where the NX is doing any better than the NX. As to how it affects Nintendo - that's a lot harder to perdict.
 
They won't fail.

SNIP

The Wii U was underpowered, and just had unfortunate marketing and timing. The same won't happen with NX.

Okay, I'm sorry but are you serious? The NX is launching several years after the start of the generation just as the other consoles, especially the PS4, are hitting their strides. It's also launching in the same year as the Neo and Scorpio, which according to rumors both will be more powerful - significantly more so - than the NX.

Sounds like it will be underpowered and released at an unfortunate time. As for the marketing, well they didn't even showcase it at the industry's biggest gaming convention or really even talked about it in any meaningful way.
 

RangerX

Banned
Nothing significant will happen. Nintendo have around 10 billion in the bank. It will be a blow but they will still make hardware.
 

jax

Banned
399$/€ in 2016 for Neo and 399$/€ in 2017 for Scorpio?
I think this is very optimistic considering the confirmed Scorpio hardware as well as the lack of a meaningful price drop on the current hardware.
Okay, I'm sorry but are you serious? The NX is launching several years after the start of the generation just as the other consoles, especially the PS4, are hitting their strides. It's also launching in the same year as the Neo and Scorpio, which according to rumors both will be more powerful - significantly more so - than the NX.

Sounds like it will be underpowered and released at an unfortunate time. As for the marketing, well they didn't even showcase it at the industry's biggest gaming convention or really even talked about it in any meaningful way.
It doesn't matter how long after the start it is shipping when most of the people who bought a last gen console haven't upgraded yet, just like it didn't matter in 2007 with the Wii and 360.
 

Plinko

Wildcard berths that can't beat teams without a winning record should have homefield advantage
Look, im not shit posting but being after playing games for 30 years and having almost every console in that time period I feel I can call it what it is.

This will flop.

"Guys, I've eaten at restaurants my entire life. I clearly have the knowledge of the entire industry inside and out."

Just as ridiculous, especially when you have zero idea what the system actually consists of.
 
Okay, I'm sorry but are you serious? The NX is launching several years after the start of the generation just as the other consoles, especially the PS4, are hitting their strides. It's also launching in the same year as the Neo and Scorpio, which according to rumors both will be more powerful - significantly more so - than the NX.

Sounds like it will be underpowered and released at an unfortunate time. As for the marketing, well they didn't even showcase it at the industry's biggest gaming convention or really even talked about it in any meaningful way.
So, bout that Neo and Scorpio exclusive games, how can you .... wait a moment ... there aren't any Neo and Scorpio exclusive games, and all game going foward need to run on PS4 and XOne until phased out.

You nearly got me with your "being wrong"!

E: 'Bout E3, Neo and Scorpio also did have one hell of a showing!

How about this, you get your facts up to date and correct, and then return to the topic?
 
I think this is very optimistic considering the confirmed Scorpio hardware.

It doesn't matter how long after the start it is shipping when most of the people who bought a last gen console haven't upgraded yet, just like it didn't matter in 2007 with the Wii and 360.

So then why was the Wii U's timing bad? The Wii U was the first console of the current gen. How is that worse than three years after the start of a generation, especially when both of the competitors are releasing much more powerful versions of their consoles in the same year?
 

RalchAC

Member
I'm not suggesting that they outright ignore the console buying demographic, but I am saying that they need to present an alternative that does a good job of differentiating them from Sony and Microsoft. And as it turns out, Sony and Microsoft are ignoring families and kids.

In some way, I really wish for Nintendo to succeed. Gaming enthusiasts are going up, some are starting to have children, and despite of what GAF may suggest, not everybody is able to have more than one console.

As you've said, Microsoft and Sony both mostly ignore families and kids. Sony releases an odd game here and there like Tearaway, LBP, R&C which can kind of appeal to them. But unless you go to a Nintendo platform, there isn't much more than LEGO, Minecraft and Skylanders.

A well supported Nintendo platform would be something really great.
 

jax

Banned
So, bout that Neo and Scorpio exclusive games, how can you .... wait a moment ... there aren't any Neo and Scorpio exclusive games, and all game going foward need to run on PS4 and XOne until phased out.

You nearly got me with your "being wrong"!
Precisely. Every Neo and Scorpio title will be held back by the older hardware. Kind of like how Destiny and other games were held back by the older hardware. It's not going to come even remotely close to the fidelity of PC gaming unless it costs and arm and a leg, at which point people will just buy a PC.
 

Anoregon

The flight plan I just filed with the agency list me, my men, Dr. Pavel here. But only one of you!
Virtual Boy
Nintendo 64
GameCube

...All in a row.

The Virtual boy is the only one of those that was an out and out failure. The N64 wasn't a run away success like the wii, but did fine and was pretty ubiquitous thanks to titles like Goldeneye and Mario Kart.

Like, everyone growing up and even in college and an N64 in their room with those two games.
 
So, bout that Neo and Scorpio exclusive games, how can you .... wait a moment ... there aren't any Neo and Scorpio exclusive games, and all game going foward need to run on PS4 and XOne until phased out.

You nearly got me with your "being wrong"!

E: 'Bout E3, Neo and Scorpio also did have one hell of a showing!

How about this, you get your facts up to date and correct, and then return to the topic?

I don't even know what point you are trying to make...
 

JoeM86

Member
"Better than fine" is not their lowest selling handheld ever, selling far less than even half of their previous iteration. It might not even limp past the GBA at this rate which was intentionally cut short.

You can't just handwave away smartphones and tablets as if they were a natural disaster or act of god. They decimated the dedicated handheld market which continues to shrink. Previously handhelds was the one area Nintendo could plant their flag in the ground and say "see, this is why we're still a hardware force", but now even that is on the sharp decline. Nintendo can't even compete with chinese knock off smartphone companies tech-wise currently and thats not a good look for a 'platform holder'.

Things are going to be even weirder if the NX launches and is not a hybrid/handheld and is just a home console. Nintendo's home console business is over, it ended. The market made it's intentions clear. The only way they can make hardware viable for themselves is folding in the handheld side, shore up and consolidate all their hardware as one 'force'.

You're rather defeatist. You seem to be of the belief that if something messes up, it can't be recovered.

Also, specs aren't everything when it comes to gaming devices.

And yes, smartphones have severely dented handhelds. Nobody is denying that. However, Nintendo still sells 3DSs and they still sell millions of games on it. Just because it sells less than the previous ones doesn't necessarily mean they're screwed. Again, context is key.

Also, it's not a hybrid. They have said this on numerous occasions.
 
They won't fail.

Seriously. Scorpio and Neo are going to cost over $600, and still offer 1/3 the performance of a 1080/i7 gaming rig, which you could build for around $1000. Remember the PS3 launch? Now imagine if everyone interested in the PS3 already had a PS2.5 that could play all of the PS3 games, just with slightly crappier graphics. The already abyssal sales of the PS3 would be at least halved. This is the situation with the Neo/Scorpio. The only selling point these new consoles have is VR, which everyone hates and sees as a gimmick. (Except PC gamers, who are used to spending hundreds of extra dollars on gaming upgrades... By the time Scorpio and Neo are released Vive and Oculus 2.0 will be out, which means 1.0 will get a price drop.) These people will just buy a PC. (Probably with a 1070 or discounted 980)

Beyond that, about 3/4 of 360/PS3 owners haven't upgraded to the current gen yet. These people are primarily more casual gamers, and use their consoles more as media devices than anything. Given the option between an aging console from 2013 with not so much of a fantastic first party selection, and a brand new "casual" console with all of the same third party games + Smash, Zelda, Mario, etc at the same price... They're gonna choose NX.

tldr Nintendoomed thread #500, the answer is they aren't going anywhere. The Wii U was underpowered, and just had unfortunate marketing and timing. The same won't happen with NX.


There's no evidence out there that suggests in the slightest that either the Neo or Scorpio will be "over $600". The general thought is that the Neo will be priced at $399.

Your whole rant about "everyone hating VR and building PCs instead" is a very unrealistic proposition as well.

And then you say that the people who are currently in the market for shopping are gamers who "mostly use their console for media devices more than anything". Nintendo has always lagged behind both Sony and Microsoft as a media device, and with 4k streaming and disc support in their new consoles, the NX will continue to lag behind. So that argument doesn't work either. And why would gamers that have enjoyed and bought into the Xbox/Playstation ecosystem suddenly decided to abandon all those games and move to Nintendo? These "casual gamers" are probably the same gamers that love Madden, Call of Duty, and online gaming. None of which Nintendo has to offer in any compelling way. It doesn't add up.

I mean, I'm getting the NX. I love Nintendo games and look forward to the new Zelda and getting my hands on Wii U games (if the NX has BC). I also own a beefy gaming PC. But your argument here is improbable at best.
 

lherre

Accurate
I think this is very optimistic considering the confirmed Scorpio hardware as well as the lack of a meaningful price drop on the current hardware.

It doesn't matter how long after the start it is shipping when most of the people who bought a last gen console haven't upgraded yet, just like it didn't matter in 2007 with the Wii and 360.

Why? They aren't "powerhouses" like a 1080 or Titan X and remember that Scorpio will be launch 1.5 years from today, the technology is always cheaper when the time passes.

In fact you have a "new" graphic card from AMD with 5.5 TFlops for 199$, so imagine the cost of manufacture of this kind of chip in 2017.
 

jax

Banned
So then why was the Wii U's timing bad? The Wii U was the first console of the current gen. How is that worse than three years after the start of a generation, especially when both of the competitors are releasing much more powerful versions of their consoles in the same year?
The Wii U should have launched earlier, in my opinion. I don't think it was ever seen as "the first console in the generation" to many consumers, as graphically it didn't look much better than the PS3/360. Again, it doesn't matter that more powerful revisions are releasing the same year, as Nintendo's market is the 3/4 "casual" chunk that hasn't even purchased a PS4/XB1/Wii U yet. If they can market it right and have enough fantastic launch titles, both first and third party, they will have no trouble selling NX systems.

And that's not even saying Neo and Scorpio will sell bad necessarily, it's really just different markets.
 
I don't even know what point you are trying to make...
Ok, just for you:

You imply Nintendo being late and underpowered, taking Neo and Scorpio as a comparison, yet completely miss that ALL (!) games released in 2016, 2017 and probably 2018 MUST run on PS4 / XOne Vanilla due to both MS and Sony preventing devs to make a exclusive game for the update consoles.

Next up, you call out Nintendo for not showing NX at E3, yet Neo wasn't shown either, and Scorpio only in name and short introduction video.

Therefore i'm trying to make you realize that the post i quoted is built on old, false and / or incomplete information.

Got it now?
 

jax

Banned
There's no evidence out there that suggests in the slightest that either the Neo or Scorpio will be "over $600". The general thought is that the Neo will be priced at $399.

Your whole rant about "everyone hating VR and building PCs instead" is a very unrealistic proposition as well.

And then you say that the people who are currently in the market for shopping are gamers who "mostly use their console for media devices more than anything". Nintendo has always lagged behind both Sony and Microsoft as a media device, and with 4k streaming and disc support in their new consoles, the NX will continue to lag behind. So that argument doesn't work either. And why would gamers that have enjoyed and bought into the Xbox/Playstation ecosystem suddenly decided to abandon all those games and move to Nintendo? These "casual gamers" are probably the same gamers that love Madden, Call of Duty, and online gaming. None of which Nintendo has to offer in any compelling way. It doesn't add up.

I mean, I'm getting the NX. I love Nintendo games and look forward to the new Zelda and getting my hands on Wii U games (if the NX has BC). I also own a beefy gaming PC. But your argument here is improbable at best.
You really think people who don't own a current gen console in 2016/2017 all have 4K TVs? This doesn't matter. At all. As long as the NX has Netflix and Hulu (it will) that's all that matters.

Also, they wouldn't be abandoning anything if the NX had full third party support.

Furthermore, if Neo and Scorpio are $399, NX will be $199. Depreciation works both ways. A cheap Nintendo console with all the third parties = big ouch to Sony and Microsoft.
 
Should they fail, they'll be forced to re-think their entire hardware model. While Nintendo may have a bunch of cash reserves, it makes no sense to set fire to what money they have by throwing product after product at the wall, and hoping it sticks.

I hope the next console is a success. They screwed the marketing on the WiiU, where the average consumer today still thinks it's an add-on to the Wii.
 

lherre

Accurate
Ok, just for you:

You implay Nintendo being late and underpowered, taking Neo and Scorpio as a comparison, yet completely miss that ALL (!) games released in 2016, 2017 and probably 2018 MUST run on PS4 / XOne Vanilla due to both MS and Sony preventing devs to make a exclusive game for the update consoles.

Next up, you call out Nintendo for not showing NX at E3, yet Neo wasn't shown either, and Scorpio only in name and short introduction video.

Therefore i'm trying to make you realize that the post i quoted is built on old, fals and / or incomplete information.

Got it now?

But Neo will stop regular PS4 sales, and Sony doesn't want this. This is why MS showed Scorpio, because the lackluster sales of Xbox One.

Nintendo doesn't have this luxury, Wii U is beyond dead at this point so it will be good to build more hype with NX. Remember that it will be released in less than a year...
 

KingJ2002

Member
Depends on how much of a failure it is.

Nintendo being profitable, reaching respectable goals but not gaining much marketshare from Sony & Microsoft would result in them trying again.

NX becoming a complete flop ala Wii U / Virtual Boy will ultimately result in them rethinking their home console strategy (which could lead to them bowing out)

...

Considering Nintendo is widening its revenue stream with licensing deals from theme parks, toys, real estate ventures, and mobile gaming... they'll be flushed with cash so they could fight for a very very long time... but there's no point in fighting a losing battle.


My belief is that Nintendo will get the NX right though... and it will sell well enough for people to forgive the Wii U flop.
 

Fdkn

Member
The nintendoomed argument is as tiring as the cash reserves would last for decades myth. That's not how companies work. They have already more than halved those reserves in the last few years. Shareholders wouldn't just sit back and watch flop after flop.
 
But Neo will stop regular PS4 sales, and Sony doesn't want this. This is why MS showed Scorpio, because the lackluster sales of Xbox One.

Nintendo doesn't have this luxury, Wii U is beyond dead at this point so it will be good to build more hype with NX. Remember that it will be released in less than a year...
Nintendo was able to impress even mass media with only Zelda, i think they're fine as long as they do hold that NX event and don't blow it there.
 

Pie and Beans

Look for me on the local news, I'll be the guy arrested for trying to burn down a Nintendo exec's house.
You're rather defeatist. You seem to be of the belief that if something messes up, it can't be recovered.

Also, specs aren't everything when it comes to gaming devices.

And yes, smartphones have severely dented handhelds. Nobody is denying that. However, Nintendo still sells 3DSs and they still sell millions of games on it. Just because it sells less than the previous ones doesn't necessarily mean they're screwed. Again, context is key.

Also, it's not a hybrid. They have said this on numerous occasions.

You can fix a decline if you throw everything at it within that current failing generation to gain mindshare and goodwill. The focus and sheer guts Sony put into supporting the PS3 laid the groundwork for the success of the PS4. The slow agonising death of the WiiU and an entire year off essentially from being a platform lays nothing but a pitfall for NX. Why should a consumer buy into a Nintendo platform if they have something like 2016's shitshow to look forward to? The problems facing Nintendo are not a sudden and unexpected downturn, its a slow downward slope that minus the Wii as an abnormality, tells a really quite obvious tale. A once giant corp slowly losing relevance as a manufacturer because they quite simply can't compete.

Someone that isn't even the CEO now said it wasn't a hybrid back in like '13-'14. 2017 hardware is coming from a very different place of context. Shit, this thing was supposed to come out this year but even now that plans changed. If it isn't a hyrbid, that just means Nintendo doesn't understand their current place in the hardware space. The market does not want another Nintendo home console and the 'blue ocean' is ruled by smartphones, tablets, and far faster to react tech startups.

Investors aren't going to be happy with "well we're a shrinking install base, so what?!" forever. They just forced Nintendo to go mobile and if the time comes, they'll make them leave the sinking ships of hardware too in favour of chasing where all the other consumers roost (Steam, PS5, Windows 11).
 

gatti-man

Member
In some way, I really wish for Nintendo to succeed. Gaming enthusiasts are going up, some are starting to have children, and despite of what GAF may suggest, not everybody is able to have more than one console.

As you've said, Microsoft and Sony both mostly ignore families and kids. Sony releases an odd game here and there like Tearaway, LBP, R&C which can kind of appeal to them. But unless you go to a Nintendo platform, there isn't much more than LEGO, Minecraft and Skylanders.

A well supported Nintendo platform would be something really great.

100% agree that a well supported Nintendo platform would be amazing. They just need to change a bit to get there. Having amazing Nintendo games only on a console is not enough.
 

Anth0ny

Member
They won't fail.

Seriously. Scorpio and Neo are going to cost over $600, and still offer 1/3 the performance of a 1080/i7 gaming rig, which you could build for around $1000. Remember the PS3 launch? Now imagine if everyone interested in the PS3 already had a PS2.5 that could play all of the PS3 games, just with slightly crappier graphics. The already abyssal sales of the PS3 would be at least halved. This is the situation with the Neo/Scorpio. The only selling point these new consoles have is VR, which everyone hates and sees as a gimmick. (Except PC gamers, who are used to spending hundreds of extra dollars on gaming upgrades... By the time Scorpio and Neo are released Vive and Oculus 2.0 will be out, which means 1.0 will get a price drop.) These people will just buy a PC. (Probably with a 1070 or discounted 980)

Beyond that, about 3/4 of 360/PS3 owners haven't upgraded to the current gen yet. These people are primarily more casual gamers, and use their consoles more as media devices than anything. Given the option between an aging console from 2013 with not so much of a fantastic first party selection, and a brand new "casual" console with all of the same third party games + Smash, Zelda, Mario, etc at the same price... They're gonna choose NX.

tldr Nintendoomed thread #500, the answer is they aren't going anywhere. The Wii U was underpowered, and just had unfortunate marketing and timing. The same won't happen with NX.

First of all, Neo and Scorpio will sell for $400 tops.

Second, I think there's a real potential for NX to fall BETWEEN Xbone/PS4 and Neo/Scorpio, a weird middle ground that serves nobody. Want an inexpensive console with tons of games and more to come? Get a PS4. Want a new, cutting edge powerful console? Get a Scorpio. Who exactly does the NX provide for? 15 million hardcore Nintendo fans, and...?

They aren't getting the Wii audience back. Without power or third parties, they aren't getting the gigantic core console market that is interested in Playstation and Xbox.
 
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