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Pokémon CEO seemingly confirms NX is a console/handheld hybrid

GDGF

Soothsayer
Break away controllers plus virtual console are going to make for a great retro device methinks. A multiplayer portable nintendo arcade.
 
You don't realize New Mario Bros Wii was a fucking casual hit for people who were like "omg i didn't play it since the 80's" it seems..

I can tell you looooots of people who don't play videogames regularly bought this one. Also they found it super hard and stopped playing it.

Didn't you see the commercial for it ? basically 30-35 yo in the street being all "Mario wow i remember it from my childhood!"

And your point is... what, exactly? That people who played game consoles 30 years ago and found another one they liked seven years ago aren't valid gamers?

They're just as much gamers as the rest of game-playing society. The difference is that they'd been terribly underserved for more than a decade by the time Wii came out.
 

orioto

Good Art™
And your point is... what, exactly? That people who played game consoles 30 years ago and found another one they liked seven years ago aren't valid gamers?

You didn't read. They didn't like it ;) The point is they are not gamers who will buy other consoles. Did they buy a WiiU ? They are not part of the regular gaming market who buy stuffs.
 

Diffense

Member
Looking at NX from the perspective that it may be multiple devices, it's possible that the Eurogamer device is the handheld. Even if a handheld is designed specifically to accomodate home use, the constraints imposed by portability will prevent it from rivaling home consoles. We can't honestly put it in the same category as other consoles but it would be a peculiar kind of portable; perhaps, "changing what it means to be a [Nintendo] handheld".

If there is a companion console and the handheld is supposed the play the same games the design makes more sense. Console games will typically support local multiplayer with multiple controllers while you'll usually need multiple handhelds for portable multiplayer. However with Eurogamer's device you can detach the ends, give your friend a piece, put the screen in a stand and play Mario Kart NX together on the TV. Even though the side pieces have limited buttons they could support plugging in traditional controllers similarly to how the Wii remote connects to the Pro controller.

If there's only one device this is still a nice feature but not as important because anyone who's a part of the ecosystem would have the same device which they could just bring along for multiplayer as portable gamers have always done. However, if there is also a console that plays the same games and Nintendo doesn't want to lock handheld owners out of games' local multiplayer modes, using one machine, then the Eurogamer device represents quite an ingenious approach to maintaining compatibility.

Nintendo would have changed the focus of the relationship between their handheld and console devices to a model that emphasizes functional convergence rather than distinct selling points. This makes sense as portables have become more powerful. The choice between one or the other would then come down to the customer's priorities. Does a particular buyer want the best graphics or will they sacrifice power for the ability to game on the go while still playing on their TV occasionally? What Nintendo gets out of it is that they are only developing software for one platform regardless of the customer's choice.

I vaguely recall past whispers about a home console that have now been considered debunked in the wake of Eurogamer's article. However, the confusing and conflicting information about AMD or Nvidia's involvement or the NX's power level *could* be due to the existence of multiple devices. I could imagine Nintendo keeping the home console on a much tighter leash than the handheld given the more aggressive competition with MS and Sony for the space under the TV (and more expensive and limited devkits). Anyway, just a thought that even if the Eurogamer info is correct, we may not have the full picture.

EDIT: One additional thought: this setup would make it possible for Nintendo to consider the home console a premium device, making it more powerful and charging more for it than they otherwise would have if it were the only way to play the latest Nintendo games. The cheaper handheld would have basically all the functionality of the home console, plus portability, just at a lower power level.
 

Boney

Banned
Nintendo will always target the NSMBWii consumer base. Go for family entretainment. That's how they've played it since the 80's.

Break away controllers plus virtual console are going to make for a great retro device methinks. A multiplayer portable nintendo arcade.
It's still such a minimal and situation specific advantage to justify the cosmetic choices involved in detachable controllers and the durability aspects of attaching them where small clips can break easily. Are stand alone controllers also detachable, may be ugly. Will it be like Wii with numerous controller types?

Like, okay. If you have the console dock, it might feel like bs that if you physically have to lock it in, you would be losing the controller from the handheld console. But is it a good idea to challenge control pad aesthetic for that? Especially considering how other superflous choices have caused negative attention to Nintendo like GC handle or the Wii U gamepad size.

I'm sure Nintendo's engineers and designers have gone over it a lot more times than me, and they actually have the product on their hands instead of my mental monstrosity. But still, they did make the Gamepad and try to pitch the concept as top down view of your golf ball in Wii Sports.
 

KingSnake

The Birthday Skeleton
Oh, look. We reached again that part of the discussion where people hate options for other people who are not gamer enough.

You'll buy 2 Pro Controller and play multiplayer with all your buttons. Children will get an NX for Christmas and can play MP directly out of the box. In front of the TV. Or outside. Or in their room. Or in the school bus.

Don't hate the children, orioto.
 
I get the impression that Nintendo is doing again something primarily with the Japanese market in mind.


Galápagos syndrome I guess.
 
Japan should always come first, they make the best games <3 NOA needs to go so I can get my pure uncensored Nintendo games on the NX Home console/Handheld/hybrid/Digivice/pokewalker/tablet/VR
 
I get the impression that Nintendo is doing again something primarily with the Japanese market in mind.


Galápagos syndrome I guess.
Well consoles aren't doing good at all in Japan. Can you blame them? We still get a console out of it and handhelds always do better than Nintendos consoles.
 
I get the impression that Nintendo is doing again something primarily with the Japanese market in mind.


Galápagos syndrome I guess.

If anything, it's a win for both the Japanese market and the Western market.

Japanese market has a portable they can target most if not all their games to, which means they don't have to release expensive games on platforms that barely anybody in Japan plays anymore.

Western market has a console they can target games to that automatically doubles as a portable device. No need to build unique games just for portables, targeting portable specs and form factors.

The question is what kinds of games people will actually end up buying for NX.
 

KingSnake

The Birthday Skeleton
I'm half serious about the children part. That's a big issue for Nintendo that even Sony identified at some point, I can't find the quote now but it was something like "Nintendo used to introduce the children to dedicated gaming and we take it over once they reach a certain age". And they lost a lot of this market to the phones and tablets, so they practically have to fight on to regain that. So they have to make NX cheap and easy to use out of the box.
 

I Wanna Be The Guy

U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!
I have to deal with the former more than the latter IRL, though.

And children are infinitely more annoying.
Children didn't constantly shout woo over and over again on the train and then again on the walk to the arena. Wrestling fans ruin the thing they like then complain about said thing they supposedly like afterwards. They're worse than children. Children grow up.

Unfortunately some of them grow up to be wrestling fans.
 
Improved wiimote/nunchuk with a second analog stick and more buttons. Yummy. Yummy yummy yummy. Dat pointer.
Having two straight out the box is pretty exciting, tbh. Wii Motion+ was great, but almost no game used it due to it being an optional peripheral you had to buy. Having two Wii Motion+ like controllers with dual analog sticks in every NX could hopefully see the return of this control method, would be a pretty massive step up from the Wii Motion+ Nunchuck, and even more so than the original Wii Mote
 
Looking at NX from the perspective that it may be multiple devices, it's possible that the Eurogamer device is the handheld. Even if a handheld is designed specifically to accomodate home use, the constraints imposed by portability will prevent it from rivaling home consoles. We can't honestly put it in the same category as other consoles but it would be a peculiar kind of portable; perhaps, "changing what it means to be a [Nintendo] handheld".

If there is a companion console and the handheld is supposed the play the same games the design makes more sense. Console games will typically support local multiplayer with multiple controllers while you'll usually need multiple handhelds for portable multiplayer. However with Eurogamer's device you can detach the ends, give your friend a piece, put the screen in a stand and play Mario Kart NX together on the TV. Even though the side pieces have limited buttons they could support plugging in traditional controllers similarly to how the Wii remote connects to the Pro controller.

If there's only one device this is still a nice feature but not as important because anyone who's a part of the ecosystem would have the same device which they could just bring along for multiplayer as portable gamers have always done. However, if there is also a console that plays the same games and Nintendo doesn't want to lock handheld owners out of games' local multiplayer modes, using one machine, then the Eurogamer device represents quite an ingenious approach to maintaining compatibility.

Nintendo would have changed the focus of the relationship between their handheld and console devices to a model that emphasizes functional convergence rather than distinct selling points. This makes sense as portables have become more powerful. The choice between one or the other would then come down to the customer's priorities. Does a particular buyer want the best graphics or will they sacrifice power for the ability to game on the go while still playing on their TV occasionally? What Nintendo gets out of it is that they are only developing software for one platform regardless of the customer's choice.

I vaguely recall past whispers about a home console that have now been considered debunked in the wake of Eurogamer's article. However, the confusing and conflicting information about AMD or Nvidia's involvement or the NX's power level *could* be due to the existence of multiple devices. I could imagine Nintendo keeping the home console on a much tighter leash than the handheld given the more aggressive competition with MS and Sony for the space under the TV (and more expensive and limited devkits). Anyway, just a thought that even if the Eurogamer info is correct, we may not have the full picture.

EDIT: One additional thought: this setup would make it possible for Nintendo to consider the home console a premium device, making it more powerful and charging more for it than they otherwise would have if it were the only way to play the latest Nintendo games. The cheaper handheld would have basically all the functionality of the home console, plus portability, just at a lower power level.

There will be no home console with more power. Devs will only have to aim to one spec = easy development.
 
There will be no home console with more power. Devs will only have to aim to one spec = easy development.

Yeah. From some of the discussion on the last 8-4Play , it sounds like there are a lot of developers who aren't happy with the PS4 Pro complicating what's supposed to be a single spec platform. Nintendo has less sway than Sony or Microsoft to ask that of developers from their current market position.
 
There will be no home console with more power. Devs will only have to aim to one spec = easy development.

Yeah. From some of the discussion on the last 8-4Play , it sounds like there are a lot of developers who aren't happy with the PS4 Pro complicating what's supposed to be a single spec platform. Nintendo has less sway than Sony or Microsoft to ask that of developers from their current market position.

At the same time, if Nintendo ever wants to release a future device with higher specs, it'll be much easier to do so if they've designed their architecture correctly, because compatibility won't be immediately broken with software made for older devices.
 

Hermii

Member
At the same time, if Nintendo ever wants to release a future device with higher specs, it'll be much easier to do so if they've designed their architecture correctly, because compatibility won't be immediately broken with software made for older devices.

Nintendo has done iterative consoles since the gamecube. Now that they are starting from scratch with new tech, Im sure they will make the NX with future backwards compatibility in mind.
 

Shikamaru Ninja

任天堂 の 忍者
Yeah. From some of the discussion on the last 8-4Play , it sounds like there are a lot of developers who aren't happy with the PS4 Pro complicating what's supposed to be a single spec platform. Nintendo has less sway than Sony or Microsoft to ask that of developers from their current market position.

Nintendo traditionally has the strongest Japanese market. Then, Nintendo doesn't have to adhere to millions of publishers who won't be supporting their platform anyway. So the few developers would be thriving on the platform should be able to handle scaling hardware especially with larger overall userbase as the reward.
 
At the same time, if Nintendo ever wants to release a future device with higher specs, it'll be much easier to do so if they've designed their architecture correctly, because compatibility won't be immediately broken with software made for older devices.

They aim to have the possibility of different form factors. Whenever they release a more powerful console the will just make a new one with automatic BC and sell it as something new but they will keep all the dev tools .
 

Tb0ne07

Member
Haven't seen this theory but something that I've been thinking about. What if the portable system has the two detachable controllers as reported but the big sell is that it has a projection screen. Imagine being at a party/bar/train/outside and being able to throw a 50-100 inch image up on the wall and play Smash or Mario against others, all with a little handheld portable. The technology is there right?, I'm assuming it will be something we start seeing in cell phones within the next few years. Likelihood is slim to none but I think an interesting concept.
 
They aim to have the possibility of different form factors. Whenever they release a more powerful console the will just make a new one with automatic BC and sell it as something new but they will keep all the dev tools .

Technically, the rumored NX already supports different form factors.

It's telling that Iwata departed from using the term "devices" or "systems" or "platforms" when he started to talk about the possibility of even more form factors. He says that historically, it was difficult to support many different form factors because each form factor had its own architecture, and they'd have shortages if they tried to support them all. But maybe that's not the case anymore, partly because one device can do the job of multiple form factors?
 

I Wanna Be The Guy

U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!
Haven't seen this theory but something that I've been thinking about. What if the portable system has the two detachable controllers as reported but the big sell is that it has a projection screen. Imagine being at a party/bar/train/outside and being able to throw a 50-100 inch image up on the wall and play Smash or Mario against others, all with a little handheld portable. The technology is there right?, I'm assuming it will be something we start seeing in cell phones within the next few years. Likelihood is slim to none but I think an interesting concept.
That's some sci fi shit. Screen projection quality would surely be ass. But it's a cool idea. Would love to see something like that when the tech is ready.
 
Technically, the rumored NX already supports different form factors.

It's telling that Iwata departed from using the term "devices" when he started to talk about the possibility of even more form factors.

I think one of the things that is confusing a lot of people in this NX discussion is:

What has Nintendo said about the code name NX product?

vs

What has Nintendo previously said about their future hardware?

Based on everything we've heard about "NX" itself, I am led to believe that the NX is a single physical device. Possibly one of their new form factors, or one of their new "brothers" in a family of systems.

But nothing they have said officially about "NX" makes me believe the NX itself could be a family of devices, or an OS/ecosystem.

So when we (and they) talk about NX, it's almost certain (to me) that we're talking about a single device.
 
I think one of the things that is confusing a lot of people in this NX discussion is:

What has Nintendo said about the code name NX product?

vs

What has Nintendo previously said about their future hardware?

Based on everything we've heard about "NX" itself, I am led to believe that the NX is a single physical device. Possibly one of their new form factors, or one of their new "brothers" in a family of systems.

But nothing they have said officially about "NX" makes me believe the NX itself could be a family of devices, or an OS/ecosystem.

So when we (and they) talk about NX, it's almost certain (to me) that we're talking about a single device.

Yeah, I level with you there. Most of the stuff people quote about multiple devices with a shared OS comes from talk about their future architecture, which won't have the restrictions of their past architectures.

But none of that stuff has been mentioned when talking about NX itself. It's always "a new concept" that will somehow accommodate both handheld and console gaming.

That doesn't sound like just a new handheld device and a new console device that make it easier for Nintendo to port things. Why even bother with the secrecy at that point? They've already spelled that part out, and it's not like it'd be a difficult idea to copy. (Both PlayStation and MS are already 80% there anyway.)
 
Yeah, I level with you there. Most of the stuff people quote about multiple devices with a shared OS comes from talk about their future architecture, which won't have the restrictions of their past architectures.

But none of that stuff has been mentioned when talking about NX itself. It's always "a new concept" that will somehow accommodate both handheld and console gaming.

That doesn't sound like just a new handheld device and a new console device that make it easier for Nintendo to port things. Why even bother with the secrecy at that point? They've already spelled that part out, and it's not like it'd be a difficult idea to copy. (Both PlayStation and MS are already 80% there anyway.)

I mean, even the rumored hybrid doesn't really sound like a "new concept" but right, I agree.

I still think there's a pretty big piece of the picture we're missing, and I very much doubt that it's the powerful home console that some people seem to want.
 
Haven't seen this theory but something that I've been thinking about. What if the portable system has the two detachable controllers as reported but the big sell is that it has a projection screen. Imagine being at a party/bar/train/outside and being able to throw a 50-100 inch image up on the wall and play Smash or Mario against others, all with a little handheld portable. The technology is there right?, I'm assuming it will be something we start seeing in cell phones within the next few years. Likelihood is slim to none but I think an interesting concept.

Now this is what we need. This is the type of stuff I want to see from Nintendo. This feature that we don't know about.
 
Children didn't constantly shout woo over and over again on the train and then again on the walk to the arena. Wrestling fans ruin the thing they like then complain about said thing they supposedly like afterwards. They're worse than children. Children grow up.

Unfortunately some of them grow up to be wrestling fans.

Kids take too long to grow up. They should get with the damn program.
 

Cuburt

Member
He didn't specifically say anything that spells out hybrid, in the way it's come to be described. It seems to be the case but this is in line with lots of statements Nintendo has made in the past about being a new way to play.

From before it was announced we knew Nintendo was merging their portable and console divisions and that likely meant we see more integration between the two, beyond just for crossplatform game development reasons.

The first WSJ rumor said that there was some handheld and some console component.

People are saying "Well, hybrid.....DUH! Thanks for telling us what we already know!" but we still don't know for sure what form it will take, and that may not be a straight up handheld that plugs into the TV, or rather "detaches and docks".
 
He didn't specifically say anything that spells out hybrid, in the way it's come to be described.

The reason people are jumping on this quote is that he specifically seems to rule out the idea that we're getting a straight-shooting, PS4-like console, which is the only other talked-about idea besides the hybrid.
 

Cuburt

Member
The reason people are jumping on this quote is that he specifically seems to rule out the idea that we're getting a straight-shooting, PS4-like console, which is the only other talked-about idea besides the hybrid.

Nah, I don't think anyone who pays attention to what Nintendo does really believes in a stand-alone console with no handheld component or compatibility whatsoever.

The other alternative only being a handheld that plugs into the TV never seemed like the only possible solution to me either, especially since I feel people assume that is the only form a "hybrid" can take but it doesn't even sound very hybrid-like to me. It sounds like a handheld with a TV-out, and that's even before getting into the idea of whether it is powerful enough to also pump up the resolution/performance for Full-HD TV gaming while also being able to have reasonable handheld battery life.

Too many questions for me to assume what we've heard rumored is verifiable fact now.
 
Haven't seen this theory but something that I've been thinking about. What if the portable system has the two detachable controllers as reported but the big sell is that it has a projection screen. Imagine being at a party/bar/train/outside and being able to throw a 50-100 inch image up on the wall and play Smash or Mario against others, all with a little handheld portable. The technology is there right?, I'm assuming it will be something we start seeing in cell phones within the next few years. Likelihood is slim to none but I think an interesting concept.

That's some sci fi shit. Screen projection quality would surely be ass. But it's a cool idea. Would love to see something like that when the tech is ready.
Not really... theres already cell phones with projectors in it. Theres one at best buy an LG.
 
Nah, I don't think anyone who pays attention to what Nintendo does really believes in a stand-alone console with no handheld component or compatibility whatsoever.

The other alternative only being a handheld that plugs into the TV never seemed like the only possible solution to me either, especially since I feel people assume that is the only form a "hybrid" can take but it doesn't even sound very hybrid-like to me. It sounds like a handheld with a TV-out, and that's even before getting into the idea of whether it is powerful enough to also pump up the resolution/performance for Full-HD TV gaming while also being able to have reasonable handheld battery life.

Too many questions for me to assume what we've heard rumored is verifiable fact now.

What more type of hybrids are there???
 

Anth0ny

Member
what if gamefreak was just like

yo

here's gen 8 for nx with mario kart 8 level god tier art direction + graphics

what then???
 
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