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[greg400]

I know, it's just difficult to justify asking Wii U owners to eat it and spend another $300+ for what essentially was a mistake if it turns out the NX is "just another home console".

It's really not much different than their other consoles with 5 year lifespans, the Wii for example had very little content during its last year. The Wii U still has at least 6 big releases left (5 if in Europe)

Yoshi's Wooly World
Xenoblade Chronicles X
Genei Ibun Roku ♯FE
Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water
Star Fox Zero
Super Mario Maker
FAST Racing NEO (eShop)

 

[Vena]

Because of creamsugar ?

No. How do you take that as a hint. As in what do you take it to mean.

 

[linkboy]

I know, it's just difficult to justify asking Wii U owners to eat it and spend another $300+ for what essentially was a mistake if it turns out the NX is "just another home console".

Also consider if we are about a year away from the NX possibly being released, why have they not dropped the price on the Wii U?

Because if they do, they're going to lose even more money due to the cost of the Gamepad. That controller has basically hamstrung Nintendo. The Wii U isn't selling all that well and Nintendo lost a good amount of money on it, however, lowering the price will just cause them to eat even more money due to the cost to manufacture the Gamepad.

That's why they need to get rid of it with NX.

 

[GhostTrick]

No. How do you take that as a hint. As in what do you take it to mean.

I take it as a hint that it may not be targeted at NX. Hence the "can it run". Now I could totally be wrong, that's why I'm asking after all.

 

[qko]

No. How do you take that as a hint. As in what do you take it to mean.

The man/woman is considered quite the insider on the SalesGAF side.

 

[RM8]

I know, it's just difficult to justify asking Wii U owners to eat it and spend another $300+ for what essentially was a mistake if it turns out the NX is "just another home console".

Also consider if we are about a year away from the NX possibly being released, why have they not dropped the price on the Wii U?

Well, WiiU's life was 2012-2016, right? Maybe 2017? Because that's pretty normal - especially considering WiiU's sales. Also, why no WiiU price drop? Because WiiU is not going to turn around, so they might as well make some money from it. It was initially being sold at a loss, too, there's really no reason for a price drop from their perspective.

 

[chaosblade]

I know, it's just difficult to justify asking Wii U owners to eat it and spend another $300+ for what essentially was a mistake if it turns out the NX is "just another home console".

Also consider if we are about a year away from the NX possibly being released, why have they not dropped the price on the Wii U?

What is the benefit of a price drop? Sales pick up for a few months as people who are already on the fence decide to buy it. Then it slumps back to where it is now, and Nintendo makes less money on each sale. With sales as poor as they are without a reasonable possibility of turning things around, a price drop hurts more than it helps.

 

[sn0man]

I agree that if it were very cheap, it might not be a bad idea to add that BC.

But the problem would still be the GamePad. It's the standard controller on Wii U, so first, for the people who don't want to buy it for their new NX, Nintendo will have to explain, "okay, these Wii U games will work with your NX, but not these ones". It's a confusing message. "Backwards compatible with Wii U!* *Well, sorta, mostly, I guess". I think if Nintendo clearly understands everything that went wrong with Wii U, they'll avoid any confusing messages at all with NX.

My other point is that, if the GamePad is instead required for some hypothetical Wii U backward compatibility, and it's sold separately, people just won't buy it. I presume it'll be at least $80 because of the hardware inside it. If you ask people to buy a brand new ~$200 NX + a $80~100 GamePad + old Wii U games, they're going to balk. At that point, Nintendo might as well skip the BC entirely and just make a new Mario Kart, a new 3D Mario, etc. As long as they designed their Wii U engine(s) and created their assets properly, they might not even have to do too much work compared to what they presumably had to do to get those kinds games out on Wii U initially.

That's why my guess is that the Nx in 2016 is a portable that can play WiiU software in some form, has one screen, and can play 3ds software by emulation.

In 2017 the Nx2 is a home console that is basically a PS4 clone with Nintendo first parties, and you can use the Nx portable as your gamepad for WiiU style dual screen duties. Also the Nx and Nx2 share the same digital software like an iPhone and iPad do today.

At least that is what I would do. I'd also announce the Nx portable this fall with a spring 2016 release and announce the home console isn't ready for replacement so as to not stop what little momentum mk8, smash, and Splatoon gave them on WiiU. (Also because I would be irked if my WiiU were abandoned so quickly.)

 

[Vena]

I take it as a hint that it may not be targeted at NX. Hence the "can it run". Now I could totally be wrong, that's why I'm asking after all.

Capcom on self-destruct? Unlike the whole DQ discussion, this IS a handheld franchise. Vita great revival confirmed!

The man/woman is considered quite the insider on the SalesGAF side.

I know who cream is.

 

[Mpl90]

It could be a specific MH series for next gen too, like Frontier...but better, if that's indeed a hint. And I don't know how much that is a hint.

 

[Mpl90]

About the article itself...yeah, that jump in the article between x86 and PowerPC for Wii U is quite strange. I don't get it XD

 

[AniHawk]

I take it as a hint that it may not be targeted at NX. Hence the "can it run". Now I could totally be wrong, that's why I'm asking after all.

deep down i think monster hunter will start hitting as many platforms as it can.

 

[Mpl90]

deep down i think monster hunter will start hitting as many platforms as it can.

*iseewhatyoudidthere.gif*

 

[Nostremitus]

I haven't read the whole thread, but if the Xbone can play 360 games, I see no reason an AMD APU couldn't do the same for Wii and Wii U games.

 

[Cheeseman Battitude]

I haven't read the whole thread, but if the Xbone can play 360 games, I see no reason an AMD APU couldn't do the same for Wii and Wii U games.

If there's money in it, it will happen.

 

[aygomyownroad]

The issue with backwards compatibility I have is the WiiU tablet... Will this nx have a tablet similar or just abandon it?

I'm all for BC. The Xbox shows you don't need to sacrifice anything to attain it.

 

[OrbitalBeard]

The issue with backwards compatibility I have is the WiiU tablet... Will this nx have a tablet similar or just abandon it?

I'm all for BC. The Xbox shows you don't need to sacrifice anything to attain it.

This is the sticking point for me as well. I can't imagine Nintendo wanting to produce gamepads to be sold separately...but if they don't, Wii U BC would only appeal to a very limited userbase. It's going to be very interesting to see what they end up doing.

 

[GhostTrick]

deep down i think monster hunter will start hitting as many platforms as it can.

Maybe. Also, I see what you did here.

 

[Boy Wander]

This is the sticking point for me as well. I can't imagine Nintendo wanting to produce gamepads to be sold separately...but if they don't, Wii U BC would only appeal to a very limited userbase. It's going to be very interesting to see what they end up doing.

Perhaps the new handheld will double as a gamepad replacement?

 

[PdotMichael]

Still shocked that many people are dreaming about a hybrid system.

 

[Mr. Pointy]

deep down i think monster hunter will start hitting as many platforms as it can.

I'm surprised Capcom would go multi platform with MH. It's mega strange they would do that, man. Legendarily strange.

 

[Drilbit777]

I would rather have Nintendo trade BC for power. Nintendo just needs to get away from the Wii U architecture as far as possible and just start off fresh.

 

[OrbitalBeard]

Perhaps the new handheld will double as a gamepad replacement?

Maybe! That'd be pretty cool actually.

 

[Jing_Ke]

The issue with backwards compatibility I have is the WiiU tablet... Will this nx have a tablet similar or just abandon it?

I'm all for BC. The Xbox shows you don't need to sacrifice anything to attain it.

Perhaps you will be able to link the Wii U tablet to the NX?

Otherwise, a possibility I envision is for an NX app to run through one's smartphone so that it can function as the tablet interface, and the games themselves controlled via the NX version of a pro controller (which would be included with the console this time).

 

[Mr. Pointy]

Hope it has the power to run Monster Hunter NextGen.

Depends, is it a Cross Gen game?

 

[Cheeseman Battitude]

I would rather have Nintendo trade BC for power. Nintendo just needs to get away from the Wii U architecture as far as possible and just start off fresh.

I think you're right. The Wii U tried to be all things to all people: BC with Wii games, supporting all the previous controllers (balance board, Wii Speak etc,) pro controller for standard gameplay. Gamepad for the new "gimmick." Just too complicated.

Imagine if the Wii U was still the Wii U but just came with the pro controller. It would just be Nintendo games in HD which is all people wanted.

 

[ec0ec0]

[...]but if they can add BC in the future like MS is doing with X1 and 360, that's cool too

From what i've read, X1 "BC" sucks?? games can take a significant performance hit.
Nintendo would only have BC if games run as originally intended.

 

[magnumpy]

I know, it's just difficult to justify asking Wii U owners to eat it and spend another $300+ for what essentially was a mistake if it turns out the NX is "just another home console".

Also consider if we are about a year away from the NX possibly being released, why have they not dropped the price on the Wii U?

if you're like most people, you don't own a wii-u so the above is not applicable

 

[Oregano]

deep down i think monster hunter will start hitting as many platforms as it can.

Honestly Nintendo is in deep shit if they're losing their (meager) exclusive support without making any gains.

 

[OrbitalBeard]

Honestly Nintendo is in deep shit if they're losing their (meager) exclusive support without making any gains.

I think one thing people always forget about when discussing the possibility of Monster Hunter going multiplatform is the userbase split a move like this would cause.

More so than just about any other game I can think of, MH benefits greatly by being on one platform. As a game with a huge social element, having MH on a single device means it's incredibly easy to set up and play a game with friends or strangers and there's no confusion or headache about finding people with the same system to play.

If MH went multiplat, this would be a huge problem, particularly in Japan. If 75% own the game on NX, for example, and 25% own it on PS4/Vita, that hurts the game and the community. I can't imagine a scenario where Nintendo and Sony allow cross-platform play, which would be one way to alleviate the situation.

I think mainline MH stays exclusive going forward. The safe bet is on Nintendo to maintain their partnership with Capcom, but who knows? Anything is possible, really.

 

[AmyS]

Still shocked that many people are dreaming about a hybrid system.

This.

Spoiler

#TeamNXIsNotAHybrid

 

[OrbitalBeard]

Most people aren't dreaming of a hybrid but rather a shared OS that works across multiple form factors. There's a difference.

 

[Candescence]

Yeah, a hybrid would be completely impractical. The NX is most likely a Wii U-level handheld with slightly better specs. A dual-screen setup with both screens being 540p would work fine for being able to play Wii U titles, and I doubt Nintendo is gonna give up the dual-screen setup when it's been working fine for them since the DS.

 

[Oregano]

I think one thing people always forget about when discussing the possibility of Monster Hunter going multiplatform is the userbase split a move like this would cause.

More so than just about any other game I can think of, MH benefits greatly by being on one platform. As a game with a huge social element, having MH on a single device means it's incredibly easy to set up and play a game with friends or strangers and there's no confusion or headache about finding people with the same system to play.

If MH went multiplat, this would be a huge problem, particularly in Japan. If 75% own the game on NX, for example, and 25% own it on PS4/Vita, that hurts the game and the community. I can't imagine a scenario where Nintendo and Sony allow cross-platform play, which would be one way to alleviate the situation.

I think mainline MH stays exclusive going forward. The safe bet is on Nintendo to maintain their partnership with Capcom, but who knows? Anything is possible, really.

Ehh, that all makes sense but it remains to be seen if exclusivity makes an difference. More importantly I doubt Capcom sees it that way.

Also the platform breakdown would probably be the opposite. The NX would be a new platform so less people would be jumping on it.

Spoiler

It could plausibly be the worst version too.

 

[iBlue]

Screw Wii U/Wii make a powerful console nintendo. If you want to have wii u titles on NX, then let digital copies be used screw retail discs.

 

[nephilimdj]

I think one thing people always forget about when discussing the possibility of Monster Hunter going multiplatform is the userbase split a move like this would cause.

More so than just about any other game I can think of, MH benefits greatly by being on one platform. As a game with a huge social element, having MH on a single device means it's incredibly easy to set up and play a game with friends or strangers and there's no confusion or headache about finding people with the same system to play.

If MH went multiplat, this would be a huge problem, particularly in Japan. If 75% own the game on NX, for example, and 25% own it on PS4/Vita, that hurts the game and the community. I can't imagine a scenario where Nintendo and Sony allow cross-platform play, which would be one way to alleviate the situation.

I think mainline MH stays exclusive going forward. The safe bet is on Nintendo to maintain their partnership with Capcom, but who knows? Anything is possible, really.

I think those % seem a bit unrealistic if MH5 came out in 2017, I expect the NX to sell worse then 3DS if its a handheld in Japan.
Nothing to lose for Capcom, Frontier cannot go on forever and we now have Stories.


Be interesting if they do use AMD

 

[Sandfox]

Ehh, that all makes sense but it remains to be seen if exclusivity makes an difference. More importantly I doubt Capcom sees it that way.

Also the platform breakdown would probably be the opposite. The NX would be a new platform so less people would be jumping on it.

Spoiler

It could plausibly be the worst version too.

The majority of the MH fanbase isn't going to buy the PS4 version and I doubt the Vita will beat out whatever Nintendo comes out with. Also, given the support Nintendo has given the series I don't see that partnership ending anytime soon.

 

[E-phonk]

Strange article, but it has been assumed AMD will do the NX platform. Big chance it's ARM based. No powerpc, no x86 if they want a unified platform.


Also the quote about "absorbing the WiiU architecture" could still mean "eshop/miiverse/NNID", or even keeping the SDK/API close to how it is on WiiU. Doesn't have to imply BC or powerPC compatibility in any way.
I can see them selling recompiled versions of SOME WiiU titles through the eshop if there is no BC, but not smash/mario kart as they will get their own iteration on NX. I'm thinking more yoshi/bayonetta/mario3d world etc.

Also consider if we are about a year away from the NX possibly being released, why have they not dropped the price on the Wii U?

Nintendo (primarily) wants profit, as they promised their shareholders to get (and stay) out of the red.

You drop your price if you want marketshare or long term gain, they choose short-term profit at the moment as a strategy.

 

[jett]

A weak ass apu does 360 emulation in the One.

That's honestly miraculous. I don't really know they're achieving it.

 

[Lemonte]

If they can't get bc to work they should at least port mario maker to nx.

 

[blu]

That's honestly miraculous. I don't really know they're achieving it.

Binary translation. And forget about clock-perfect BC.

 

[OrbitalBeard]

Ehh, that all makes sense but it remains to be seen if exclusivity makes an difference. More importantly I doubt Capcom sees it that way.

Also the platform breakdown would probably be the opposite. The NX would be a new platform so less people would be jumping on it.

Spoiler

It could plausibly be the worst version too.

How do you know Capcom sees it that way or not? They've had plenty of opportunities to bring Monster Hunter 3 and 4 to Vita. They could easily bring X and Stories to another platform besides 3DS. It seems they like having the mainline series on one platform.

With regards to the percentages, I was just throwing numbers around. Nothing really serious. Though I believe the NX portable version of MH5 would do better than a Vita version. It would certainly do better than any home console SKU. I'm not seeing Vita as a viable platform in late 2017, even in Japan. And handheld MH is always going to dwarf console MH in sales.

 

[Muskieratboi]

I'm hoping that we get a Triple/Quad Jaguar situation.

All three consoles running on the Twin Quad Module 8 core X86 Jaguar APUs, with NX being a Low-TDP version (Akin to the A4-5000 Notebook chip), And the theoretical NX handheld being a single module 4 core Jaguar with a super-low TDP like the A6-1450.

Having all three consoles on the same architecture but different power levels would be a huge boon for AMD, Nintendo, and developers. AMD would be raking in the cash which is important since they seem to be flagging behind on the desktop GPU side of things, Nintendo would be able to court third party devs again and say "Oh hey look, you can port your multiplatform titles easily, now! Mind making a few nifty exclusives while you're at it?",
And of course, Dev optimisation would be a lot easier.

 

[cyberheater]

No thanks. Hope they don't ditch BC

I really hope they do.

The WiiU would have been a much more powerful system if they hadn't wasted so much silicon making it hardware BC with Wii.

That's honestly miraculous. I don't really know they're achieving it.

Nor do I. It's extremely impressive.

 

[Cynn]

Why would a handheld need Wii/Wii U backwards compatibility?

So you could buy Virtual Console Wii and Wii U games for it?

(yes please)

 

[Mr. Pointy]

As an aside, does anyone know how powerful the Vita's GPU is in terms of gigaflops or triangle count or speed or other such things? As a comparison to what the handheld NX could be aiming for. I know its Power VR and I remember someone saying it wasn't much above the OG Xbox in terms of triangles.

 

[DeepEnigma]

As an aside, does anyone know how powerful the Vita's GPU is in terms of gigaflops or triangle count or other such things? As a comparison to what the handheld NX could be aiming for.

There is no official flop spec, but it can probably be estimated to around 40-50 Gflops or more due to it being clocked 100mhz higher than the SGX543MP4 part used in phones or iPads at the time.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=502898

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-ps3-vs-ps-vita-face-off

Edit: found this, so I guess my estimate was close on the high end...

http://kyokojap.myweb.hinet.net/gpu_gflops/

PS VITA SGX543 MP4+ 400 MHz 51.2 GFlops

For Comparison:

NDS ARM946E-S (CPU) 67 MHz 0.6 GFlops
N3DS PICA 200 200 MHz 4.8 GFlops

PSP R4000 x 2 333 MHz 2.6 GFlops

 

[Nikodemos]

Unsurprising that they would finally abandon Power architecture. IBM sold their fabs, so now die shrinks are in the hands of TSMC/GloFo/Samsung, and the processes they choose for shrinkage aren't necessarily the best suited for Power CPUs.

Power was the big loser of the three-way fight between itself, x86 and ARM.

 

[Cosmonaut X]

Interesting. I did speculate in a previous thread that Nintendo would take the chance to make a clean break from PowerPC now and - in an echo of the the GameCube years - make a large one-time investment in something fresh to serve as the basis for upcoming platforms over the next decade, much as they did with the GCN (where Gekko was repurposed for their next two home console platforms).

I'm not as confident with technical details as other posters, but is it possible they're going to AMD to produce a SoC for their NX platforms?

 

[LewieP]

Also the quote about "absorbing the WiiU architecture" could still mean "eshop/miiverse/NNID", or even keeping the SDK/API close to how it is on WiiU. Doesn't have to imply BC or powerPC compatibility in any way.
I can see them selling recompiled versions of SOME WiiU titles through the eshop if there is no BC, but not smash/mario kart as they will get their own iteration on NX. I'm thinking more yoshi/bayonetta/mario3d world etc.

Aye, this seems plausible to me.

They could even specifically select games that don't rely on the Gamepad.