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NX will launch in March 2017 globally, won't be at E3 (focusing on Zelda instead)

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Keep in mind, NX may not be ready due to software. The industry, including Nintendo, have been gradually shifting favor to reveals shortly before the release windows. Showing a game in a near finished and optimized state is something they will want to do to keep expectations where they should be.

Development has also steadily shied away from demos, tech and product, as well due to costs, risk, and crunch. Being able to take a vertical slice of a finished product after most development assets are freed up to do so or even stream live in-game play is better than trying to develop a target demo when resources should be devoted to the game itself.

That in mind, it would be best to show software with the box installed of just showing the latter and a screen of titles.

Another couple of factors could be [unlikely significant] hardware revisions and developer/publisher negotiations.
 
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There it is. Super disappointing.

I just like that it calls itself a "dedicated gaming platform" rather than a "multimedia platform."

Nintendo still in biz
 
I wonder the likelihood of Activision supporting CoD:Infinite Warfare for NX at launch in March 2017 is.

I'd expect it to be there.

I'd also expect it to sell poorly because it'll be months late and more expensive than on rival systems with established multiplayer bases. The chances of the following CoD being on the NX may not be as good.
 
Keep in mind, NX may not be ready due to software. The industry, including Nintendo, have been gradually shifting favor to reveals shortly before the release windows. Showing a game in a near finished and optimized state is something they will want to do to keep expectations where they should be.

Development has also steadily shied away from demos, tech and product, as well due to costs, risk, and crunch. Being able to take a vertical slice of a finished product after most development assets are freed up to do so or even stream live in-game play is better than trying to develop a target demo when resources should be devoted to the game itself.

That in mind, it would be best to show software with the box installed of just showing the latter and a screen of titles.

Another couple of factors could be [unlikely significant] hardware revisions and developer/publisher negotiations.

The larger tech industry absolutely has moved on to shorter PR cycles for product announcements. But the NX has already been announced. We even have a release window. Now we're just trying to learn something concrete about the damn thing. And again, the PS4, the most successful console since the Wii, had its announcement where all they showed were a few concept & tech demoes from a few games and they showed a controller, and this event was held 9 months before they launched. The NX is set to launch in March, which puts it anywhere between 9-10 months from E3. There is legit NO reason why they can't discuss anything about the NX.

Heck, they are showing an NX game at E3 for crying out loud (although its not the NX version). At this point, they are just being stubborn & a tad paranoid.
 

The_Lump

Banned
This seems like an overreaction by Nintendo of what you say it's true. I can't think of a whole lot of reasons for why showing it 9 months earlier is detrimental. Unless they are scared it will be overshadowed completely by VR and the Neo. But if they are afraid of that by that much, maybe they should be rethinking the NX.

Fear doesn't come into it. It's just good business sense to have your own stage for launching a new platform. This is exactly why Sony & MS avoided e3 when unveiling their new consoles....

The buzz around e3 will be about PS4K, XB1.5 and VR. Coupled with the potentially long wait til launch, I see enough reason to avoid it.
 
1) Game demo's aren't ready enough to be shown

This is very alarming for a system releasing in less than a year.

2) Final design hasn't been decided on

See above.

3) Or Nintendo doesn't want PS4k, Xbox One Mark II and VR raining on their parade.

The latter point could be one reason; if your competition has a really good E3 they can throw a shadow over you and your reveal. With your own event you can get all the attention.

If this were the case, that means they don't believe in the NX, which is concerning. If you believe in your product, you'll reveal it at the biggest gaming event of the year and perhaps cast a shadow on their conferences.
 

The_Lump

Banned
The larger tech industry absolutely has moved on to shorter PR cycles for product announcements. But the NX has already been announced. We even have a release window. Now we're just trying to learn something concrete about the damn thing. And again, the PS4, the most successful console since the Wii, had its announcement where all they showed were a few concept & tech demoes from a few games and they showed a controller, and this event was held 9 months before they launched. The NX is set to launch in March, which puts it anywhere between 9-10 months from E3. There is legit NO reason why they can't discuss anything about the NX.

You've answered your own question. An unveiling with no playable games/gameplay demos and just a load of concepts/tech demonstrations is not going to cut it.
 
You've answered your own question. An unveiling with no playable games/gameplay demos and just a load of concepts/tech demonstrations is not going to cut it.

How do you figure? It has worked before. Heck, the two consoles we have now both had unveilings where none of the games were playable, and they both launched within 10 months.

If you're telling me that Nintendo doesn't even have a single game that is that far enough along where they can't even put together a gameplay trailer, then the NX & Nintendo is in even greater trouble than anyone realizes.
 
If this were the case, that means they don't believe in the NX, which is concerning. If you believe in your product, you'll reveal it at the biggest gaming event of the year and perhaps cast a shadow on their conferences.

This is my thinking. Nintendo's brand, warts and all, is still incredibly powerful. People *will* pay attention to it. If they have confidence in their game, so to speak, they'd show it.
 

The_Lump

Banned
How do you figure? It has worked before. Heck, the two consoles we have now both had unveilings where none of the games were playable, and they both launched within 10 months.

Neither of those companies were in the position Nintendo are in for a start. Nintendo have to not only convince everyone NX is a good product, but they have to overcome the negativity left by WiiU. Tech demo's and unplayable games won't cut it.

But mainly, and I've said this multiple times: e3 is no longer an event to unveil a console at. Sony & MS demonstrated this. Unless NX was ready to show in April/May 2016, Nintendo had little choice but to wait til after e3.

If you're telling me that Nintendo doesn't even have a single game that is that far enough along where they can't even put together a gameplay trailer, then the NX & Nintendo is in even greater trouble than anyone realizes.

First of all: I'm not Nintendo so how would I know what they do and don't have? Secondly: They may well have something, but are you saying 1 or 2 demos is enough to launch (edit) unveil your console? See my above comments for reasons why it isn't.
 

Pinky

Banned
Well, after a day or so to let this all sink in, I'm all good. Most of us expected certain things, but Nintendo turned the tables on us....BIG TIME. It is what it is. I'd rather Nintendo take their time and get NX up to where they want it to be before the reveal/launch. Sure, I'm still a little bummed. I thought we'd be seeing a new Nintendo console at E3 AND I thought I'd be playing it by the end of 2016. Not gonna happen, but what's a few more months? I just hope Nintendo gives the console a proper, well-orchestrated reveal whenever they decide the time is right. I wish them the best of luck.
 

Anarky

Banned
How do you figure? It has worked before. Heck, the two consoles we have now both had unveilings where none of the games were playable, and they both launched within 10 months.

If you're telling me that Nintendo doesn't even have a single game that is that far enough along where they can't even put together a gameplay trailer, then the NX & Nintendo is in even greater trouble than anyone realizes.

(Looks at avatar) For like 10 seconds I was thinking "When the hell did I post this?"
 

Mato

Member
The entire floor dedicated to one game sounds insane. Makes you think of Rockstar... If they manage to deliver like that... Let's hope they do.

I'm eager to see Zelda, so the lack of NX isn't a big deal to me. I just wish we would get to see a the NX version of Zelda.
 
First of all: I'm not Nintendo so how would I know what they do and don't have? Secondly: They may well have something, but are you saying 1 or 2 demos is enough to launch your console? See my above comments for reasons why it isn't.

I'm not saying launch the console with 1 or 2 games. Not at all. But you can show some of what you're working on for the console, or what games from 3rd party (HAH) are going to be featured on it. I'm totally for them delaying the console till their software pipeline for it is totally ready. But that doesn't mean they can't talk about the console.
 
Sony and Microsoft agree with me. They seem to know about these things.

If you'd not cleverly avoided quoting the rest of my post, you'd have answered that yourself buddy ;)

And yet, both companies waited for E3 to do major reveals for each respective system. MS waited until E3 to announce their software library and price, and Sony waited for E3 to not only showcase their software library, but to also showcase the console's actual physical form, price, and thats where they made official their stance on certain policies that were left in question.

Also, Sony launched the PS4 with one downloadable exclusive & 1 retail exclusive, and they are getting along just fine. Amazing what working with 3rd party can do for your console.
 

The_Lump

Banned
And yet, both companies waited for E3 to do major reveals for each respective system. MS waited until E3 to announce their software library and price, and Sony waited for E3 to not only showcase their software library, but to also showcase the console's actual physical form, price, and thats where they made official their stance on certain policies that were left in question.

But that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about unveiling the console. Different story if they had unveiled it already; in that case sure, got bananas at e3.

I'm not saying launch the console with 1 or 2 games. Not at all. But you can show some of what you're working on for the console, or what games from 3rd party (HAH) are going to be featured on it. I'm totally for them delaying the console till their software pipeline for it is totally ready. But that doesn't mean they can't talk about the console.

I meant unveil the console not launch - mistype, sorry. They can't unveil it with 1 or 2 demos imo (for the reasons I mentioned)
 
But that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about unveiling the console. Different story if they had unveiled it already; in that case sure, got bananas at e3.



I meant unveil the console not launch - mistype, sorry. They can't unveil it with 1 or 2 demos imo (for the reasons I mentioned)

They need to have some things ready by this point. They gave the console another 5 months, not a year. 5 months isn't going to magically make these games be this super compelling experience out of nowhere. If its not ready to even be shown (which 1 game clearly is, mind you. Heck, when they unveiled the Wii, the first game they showed for the system was TP, a gamecube title) then the NX has far, FAR larger problems then anyone realizes.
 

Peterc

Member
Those are not gimmicks and you know it.

Why isnt it gimmick?

When do you say something is gimmick or not?

You know everything new is gimmick. Some gimmicks works other ones don't. The good ones like shoulder buttons, rumble, 3d stick are gimmicks thats adopted by everyone and would stay.


I would also don't write off motion control or gamepad. Both are sometimes better for specific games. It's like fps games, i don't want to play it with a traditional controller, but with keyboard and mouse instead.

VR is even using motion control.

Maybe we need stop saying gimmick but rather like: just give me a traditional controller without new stuff like the competition does.

(not that i want that, i prefer innovation instead)
 
Would it be safe to assume and seeing how March 2017 is less than a year away that if at this E3 and at the follow up game shows/conventions throughout the rest of the year if 3rd party dev's aren't ending they're game announcement with " and also NX" that Nintendo has again failed to attract devs to its platform or they aren't interested? The March launch seem to point to them going it at it alone or with slim 3rd party support again.
 

XenodudeX

Junior Member
Would it be safe to assume and seeing how March 2017 is less than a year away that if at this E3 and at the follow up game shows/conventions throughout the rest of the year if 3rd party dev's aren't ending they're game announcement with " and also NX" that Nintendo has again failed to attract devs to its platform or they aren't interested? The March launch seem to point to them going it at it alone or with slim 3rd party support again.

Yeah thats what I'm thinking. They originally had plans to launch this year because they had at least enough 3rd party games coming at launch, but something happend. Maybe they had to reduce the power of the console for the gimmick.
 

Peterc

Member
Yeah thats what I'm thinking. They originally had plans to launch this year because they had at least enough 3rd party games coming at launch, but something happend. Maybe they had to reduce the power of the console for the gimmick.

Expensive gimmick?

While they explained not bringing a next wiiu.
They also explained they want to have enough games ready at launch. That was the reason why it has been delayed.
 

MuchoMalo

Banned
Would it be safe to assume and seeing how March 2017 is less than a year away that if at this E3 and at the follow up game shows/conventions throughout the rest of the year if 3rd party dev's aren't ending they're game announcement with " and also NX" that Nintendo has again failed to attract devs to its platform or they aren't interested? The March launch seem to point to them going it at it alone or with slim 3rd party support again.

It depends entirely on if they're even allowed to say so. I'd say wait until the reveal either way, since some publishers might not want to mention unannounced platforms at all.

Yeah thats what I'm thinking. They originally had plans to launch this year because they had at least enough 3rd party games coming at launch, but something happend. Maybe they had to reduce the power of the console for the gimmick.

If they did that, it would be an exact repeat of Wii U. I doubt it. It was probably either a change in plans or that they're going with 14nmFF and ultimately decided that yields wouldn't be good enough.
 

Boke1879

Member
This is me. It's a console releasing in less than a year. 11 months. IMO with the Wii U situation, their fans are thirsty for games. It's best for them to start talking about the NX as much and as often as possible imo and to me E3 represents the perfect place to do that.

It's the right time to start getting it into the minds of consumers. Then only focusing on Zelda...a game that will no doubt be showcased for NX but not talking about NX is just stupid imo.

Now Nintendo will continue to make money. No one should argue that at all, but they are becoming increasingly irrelevant in the console space and nothing about what they are doing now shows me they aren't still operating in their own bubble in that context.
 
This is very alarming for a system releasing in less than a year.



See above.



If this were the case, that means they don't believe in the NX, which is concerning. If you believe in your product, you'll reveal it at the biggest gaming event of the year and perhaps cast a shadow on their conferences.

Nintendo doesn't have enough confidence that Zelda will sell Wii Us and no confidence that NX can sell without Zelda. That's what I'm reading from this.
Realistically, if most devs haven't even seen a NX dev kit yet, that is a serious problem. Less than a year is not enough time for the promised games to be ready for that release.
 

tr1p1ex

Member
Has Nintendo commented on the issue that there's only Paper Mario for Wii U between now and March 2017?

I mean what?

Nintendo announces the 2nd half lineup in August. I wouldn't be surprised if we hear about a few new Wii U titles. Nothing major. Things they can bring to market rather quickly. Think remakes or party games or Mario Sports games or 2d platformers. Also they will suppposedly have a 2nd wave of Nintendo Selects.

And they could provide additional dlc for Mario Maker and Splatoon as a way to appease current Wii U owners. PLus there is the VC and smaller cheap new digital release route.

There's lots of stuff they can do.

Even Pikmin 4 is a possibility.
 

Neoxon

Junior Member
If this were the case, that means they don't believe in the NX, which is concerning. If you believe in your product, you'll reveal it at the biggest gaming event of the year and perhaps cast a shadow on their conferences.
It's less of Nintendo not believing in the NX & more fearing of their current place in the market causing their news to get overshadowed. By having their own event, Nintendo won't have to share the spotlight.

Nintendo announces the 2nd half lineup in August. I wouldn't be surprised if we hear about a few new Wii U titles. Nothing major. Things they can bring to market rather quickly. Think remakes or party games or Mario Sports games or 2d platformers. Also they will suppposedly have a 2nd wave of Nintendo Selects.

And they could provide additional dlc for Mario Maker and Splatoon as a way to appease current Wii U owners. PLus there is the VC and smaller cheap new digital release route.

There's lots of stuff they can do.

Even Pikmin 4 is a possibility.
They officially ended major Splatoon DLC (namely stages) as of January.
 

maxcriden

Member
Nintendo announces the 2nd half lineup in August. I wouldn't be surprised if we hear about a few new Wii U titles. Nothing major. Things they can bring to market rather quickly. Think remakes or party games or Mario Sports games or 2d platformers. Also they will suppposedly have a 2nd wave of Nintendo Selects.

And they could provide additional dlc for Mario Maker and Splatoon as a way to appease current Wii U owners. PLus there is the VC and smaller cheap new digital release route.

There's lots of stuff they can do.

Even Pikmin 4 is a possibility.

I just want to caution you to keep your expectations low. We may only get Paper Mario at retail in H2 2016.

Pikmin 3 sold well so there's not much point releasing it for Wii U only at this point.
 

TheJoRu

Member
I wonder how Reggie will spin this at E3

Interviewer: "So, of course you're showing off the new Zelda-game here at the booth, and it's fair to say it has gotten a great reception. But we're also seeing a lot of Wii U owners expressing disappointment that not only is Zelda not coming out this year, but overall the lineup of Wii U software for this year and beyond is basically empty. What do you have to say to those fans?"

Reggie: "You know, first of all, there's still great Wii U software on the way. Let's not forget about Paper Mario; thin as paper, but a great game for action-adventure fans. As you mentioned: Zelda. We've tried setting up a lot of demo stations here on the showfloor, but still there's long lines for people to finally get their hands on it. It's a big game in a gigantic world you'll want to spend a lot of time in, and you know, I think that's a recurring theme when you look at our library of games for Wii U; games like Mario Kart 8, Smash, Splatoon. Games that were truly built with longevity in mind, and that are still fun to pick up and play online or with your friends and family. So I think, even as we look forward to 2017 and the arrival of Zelda and NX, there is still much fun to be had on the Wii U."

I love writing these slimy PR responses, lol.
 
It depends entirely on if they're even allowed to say so. I'd say wait until the reveal either way, since some publishers might not want to mention unannounced platforms at all.



If they did that, it would be an exact repeat of Wii U. I doubt it. It was probably either a change in plans or that they're going with 14nmFF and ultimately decided that yields wouldn't be good enough.

Why wouldn't they be allowed to? That's what E3 and the other shows are for you announce games and what platform they are for the only thing they might hold back on is the release date. Nintendo has announced the NX exists and that its releasing in March 2017 and if your Nintendo you want to attract gamers and want them to wait until then for the NX version of games then you would most definitely want game announcements to include your platform NOW.
 

MuchoMalo

Banned
I know that this isn't really something reliable, but I do want to remind everyone that one of the "verified" Reddit leakers did say that most third-party software would not be ready until 2017 based on the fact that hardly any hardware dev kits were in the wild as soon as last month. If that guy was actually legit, it explains everything and basically means that, if a 2016 launch was ever planned, it was shaky from the start or third-parties asked for more time due to late dev kits. This is a much more reasonable conclusion than specs changing and games being canceled on the spot.

Why wouldn't they be allowed to? That's what E3 and the other shows are for you announce games and what platform they are for the only thing they might hold back on is the release date. Nintendo has announced the NX exists and that its releasing in March 2017 and if your Nintendo you want to attract gamers and want them to wait until then for the NX version of games then you would most definitely want game announcements to include your platform NOW.

One: Because Nintendo

Two: They can't put a codename in a trailer.

We also don't even know at this point if Nintendo will offer a console powerful enough for current-gen games; it's very likely that the "console" will only be just powerful enough to play the handheld's games in 1080p.
 

The_Lump

Banned
They need to have some things ready by this point. They gave the console another 5 months, not a year. 5 months isn't going to magically make these games be this super compelling experience out of nowhere. If its not ready to even be shown (which 1 game clearly is, mind you. Heck, when they unveiled the Wii, the first game they showed for the system was TP, a gamecube title) then the NX has far, FAR larger problems then anyone realizes.

Where you getting 5 months from? We had no confirmation of if or when it would arrive this year beyond Trevs marketing leak.

It's really simple imo: If it's not ready to unveil in April/May 2016, then it's not ready to show games at e3 (can't show games if it isn't revealed). No one unveils consoles at e3 anymore (for reasons already discussed and apparently well understood by Sony & MS), so the only option left is to unveil it after e3.
 
Perhaps the biggest folly of all this discussion is the notion that Nintendo won't get coverage if they aren't at E3. They are still one of the most well known Japanese brands. If they are ignore by Polygon, they will get picked up by WSJ and Washington Post - which if their plan is interesting enough - will be have a much larger impact. Sorry, but the gaming enthusiast media does not create trends. A majority of sales will come from people who do not follow the industry. Nintendo, like Apple or Microsoft will be covered by large financial publications and national US news media regardless of what Kotaku says.The ball is truly in Nintendo's court.

Personal opinion? If they emulate the quality software they produced with the Wii U on a faster production schedule and include some sort of nostalgic cross-play virtual console? Its in the bag. The will get customers and they know it - they have the brands. Nobody can argue that people care more about any Sony or Microsoft brand than they care about Mario and Zelda. It's leveraging that strength in a smart way. And I don't believe they need third party support in the traditional manner.
 
I think PS4K has them legit shook.

I don't think it's PS4K. I think it's VR, in general.

I think they were probably most of the way through R&D on NX when they began to realize that this VR business was actually going to be a thing this time around. I mean, it's basically everything they want to be promising, isn't it? A new way of experiencing and interacting with games. A new kind of "platform" that's defined more by the display device than the hardware running it. A paradigm shift.

They're probably left looking at whatever they have for the NX and thinking, "This is going to seem like a pretty meager change next to that."

I wouldn't be surprised if they went back to the drawing board and doubled-down on the idea of something that's more in the "ease of use"/convenience/commuter lifestyle spectrum to try and capitalize on the fact that VR is clunky, expensive, and intrusive. I fully expect that they've shifted targets (once again, and possibly moreso than ever) to the low-end market in expectation of ceding the high-end consumers to VR.

Though, the real trick would be if they've actually somehow worked to incorporate themselves into the VR landscape. I seriously doubt it, but that would be something.
 
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