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[Serenitynow]

Given all of the rumors & insider scoops we've received about the NX Platform, it's safe to assume that there will be some kind of home console component. And sans the Wii, each Nintendo home console sold worse than the one before it.

But to say it's "very likely" that the NX won't surpass the extremely low bar set by Wii U because of a trend line seems silly to me. Obviously Nintendo is going to take long strides to assure this console sells over 11 million units. I'm not saying the NX console is going to set the world on fire. I just have problems with that specific statement you made.

 

[maxcriden]

I read it. It was cool.

Haha, thanks. I just wish there was less focus and (not in this thread, but I do see it) concern trolling about third parties. A possible path to success for Nintendo simply does not lay in third party ports.

 

[Vena]

Handhelds don't sell well anymore. The NX handheld will pull a vita.

The Vita was the WiiU for Sony. They put together a device that sounds solid on paper but completely misses the picture/point in practice as a handheld, and its specs were asking for too much of an investment. Then the price, and the memory cards and messaging surrounding that, and the idea that the people who console game for CoD and our modern AAA-gaming world want that on a handheld.

They put an OLED screen on a gaming handheld. Why would you do such a stupid thing? Might as well have made the screen self-destruct after a few years.

 

[10k]

Arkam broke 10k

😂😂

10k
In Arkam's Asylum
Today 9:17pm

That's not true. The audience they have probably does care about AAA western third party games, they just don't buy them on Nintendo consoles because they tend to be the inferior versions. There is no doubt that Metroid Prime and The Legend of Zelda are probably in the elite tier of "core" AAA titles that could benefit being surrounded by the likes. That tends to be one of the main issues Nintendo deals with.

But all those three scenarios before the ubiquitous one, all do heavily bolster the console and efficiency of output. I think number 3 is actually the most plausible. Hand Held stays the same, Console gets console plus hand held software. Nintendo can definitely support 3 platforms, 3 successful platforms that generate revenue. They just aren't publishing Wii U games because the user base and market potential are non-existent world wide. The hand held is pretty much exclusively attached to a domestic audience.

Thank you. My point exactly. No more ports from B teams, year late ports, ports with missing modes or dlc, etc. When I see an ad for Destiny 2 or Fallout 5 I want to see the end of the ad with 4 box arts, the XB1, PS4, PC, and NX versions. Completely equal. 1080p30 across all platforms.

I will gladly buy third party games for a Nintendo console if the effort is there. I did it for the GameCube and Wii. Even the N64. But I couldn't justify it with the Wii U.

 

[MadOdorMachine]

Well we know there will be a family of systems (at least two likely), and that the shared architecture will be what makes them part of the family. But we don't know to what extent the shared architecture will house the software. There are several scenarios including.

1. System User Interface. Account System.Virtual Console shared across hardware.
2. System User Interface. Account System. Virtual Console. eShop digital titles shared across hardware.
3. System User Interface. Account System. Virtual Console. eShop digital titles shared across hardware. Hand Held games also playable on Console but not vice versa.
4. All software playable across all hardware. (Possible but extremely difficult.)

This is really close to what I'm think too, but I'd add another category that lands it somewhere between 3 & 4. The systems may have a unique feature (like a touch screen on the handheld) that isn't offered on the the other. So I think there will be cases where a game can be played on both the handheld and console, but they may have also have content exclusive to one or the other. Ex. Pikmin 4 plays on all systems, but on the handheld you can touch the screen to aim and shoot your Pikmin. The console version however can display the game at higher resolution with increased AA. However, if you have both the handheld and the console, it will be very similar to the Wii U except you won't be limited to just one Gamepad. I think the area NX will really shine is local multiplayer particularly if you have multiple devices. I think this is one of the reasons their forecasting shipping a lot of units.

As far as third party support goes, I think a lot of people are under the impression that Nintendo is going to release a traditional console and target the traditional console games. I really don't think that's what Nintendo is aiming for though which might be why Arkham's friends don't know anything about the NX. I get the impression that Nintendo are going to be more interested in getting mobile and indie devs on the NX. I also think this is a smart move. If they can retain the support they've had on their handhelds, while also getting some of the better mobile devs and more indie devs on board, they could potentially set themselves up for some exclusive third party content and really differentiate themselves from PS4 and XB1 with their game library. It's a gamble, but they really don't have much of a choice tbh. Besides, it seems to be a direction a lot of devs and publishers are moving toward and you never know where the next Minecraft or Call of Duty will come from. It could very well be from a major studio or an indie dev. So, my thoughts are that people shouldn't be pessimistic about third party support, but just understand it may be different from what's available on PS4 and XB1. I don't think there will be software shortages though. As far as graphics and power expectations, my advice is to to not get your hopes up that the console will that powerful.

 

[AcademicSaucer]

They work for one of the top two western publishers. And NINTENDO is who gave me/us the info on the WiiU.

NX not coming out this year confirmed.

 

[-Horizon-]

Now no one go scream the sky is falling.... but around thanksgiving I was chatting with two friends who work at my old studio (a Sr Designer and a Lead Env Artist, SO seasoned vets but clearly not leadership) about the Nintendo NX... And neither even knew it was a thing

So at the very least Nintendo has not shown it to all that many westen devs at that point. Or my friends are for once in their lives honoring their NDA over their FrienDA

welp

 

[Vena]

NX not coming out this year confirmed.

But that was last year... So NX not coming in 2015 re-confirmed.

 

[McHuj]

NX not coming out this year confirmed.

Or Nintendo has given up completely on third parties

 

[Neoxon]

NX not coming out this year confirmed.

Or Nintendo gave up on trying to get western third parties at launch & are instead cultivating the audience on their own for the time being. The Wii U can't survive past this year, & the 3DS can't last past early next year. Both need successors in the near future.

 

[Kimawolf]

lol and like that, the thread turned. It was already heading towards a more pessimistic view, but it took the full turn.

I think personally it'll be fine, and we'll just have to wait to see what Nintendo does.

 

[Nirolak]

Now no one go scream the sky is falling.... but around thanksgiving I was chatting with two friends who work at my old studio (a Sr Designer and a Lead Env Artist, SO seasoned vets but clearly not leadership) about the Nintendo NX... And neither even knew it was a thing

So at the very least Nintendo has not shown it to all that many westen devs at that point. Or my friends are for once in their lives honoring their NDA over their FrienDA

The lack of leaks in general has suggested to me that not many Western developers have it given the entire industry is a leaky bucket.

By this time from launch for the PS4 and XB1 we had 20+ page documents detailing their entire setup and weekly (or more) rumors.

 

[Astral Dog]

people are assuming alot of things here.

 

[Neoxon]

people are assuming alot of things here.

We're mainly going off of Iwata's comments, Nintendo unifying their console & handheld divisions, the WSJ article, & a number of other things. The most recent piece of (potential) news being Arkam's posts.

 

[Terrell]

I've already talked at length in multiple threads about the 3rd-party situation from one angle (winning back Japanese publishers to get their AAA content and work on a slower rebuild from there), but there was something brought up in another thread (sort of) that I thought was a smart move:

Wii U has no 3rd-party support, this much is clear.

So, in an effort to get that support back, since some money is better than none at all, one effort that could be made is to essentially outprice Microsoft and Sony on software licensing fees for NX console releases. Reductions to the monetary investment that needs to be made could certainly help. It might only sweeten the pot and probably wouldn't be enough to convince publishers to release something they would have otherwise not considered, but again, it's an easy proposal that Nintendo could make since, as I stated, they're making NO money right now because there aren't any 3rd-parties still there.

And one last thing: the very last known 3rd-party title, Project Treasure... seems like that was put on ice, think it is making a platform transition (in addition to design improvements, since it looked gross on first viewing)?

Given third-parties general lack of trust in Nintendo, that's always going to be the case until a system changes the perception that non-Nintendo games can sell well on Nintendo platforms. Essentially, it'll take a large publisher putting a major multi-platform title on the NX and the NX version outselling or within parity of the PS4/PC/Xbox One versions.

Where do you get "lack of trust" from? We're talking about corporate interests, not a bunch of besties. 3rd-parties walked away from Nintendo because Nintendo wasn't giving them the tools they needed to succeed. There's no lack of trust or betrayal involved, they're not invested in platform holders the same way fans are. If Nintendo gave them all of the tools to succeed, they would be given due consideration overnight, simple as that.

Haha, thanks. I just wish there was less focus and (not in this thread, but I do see it) concern trolling about third parties. A possible path to success for Nintendo simply does not lay in third party ports.

I think it does, but the problem as I see it is people wanting to talk in terms of overnight success, instead of talking in terms of incremental successes to rebuild the brand in the eyes of consumers, the press and the industry at large.

Thank you. My point exactly. No more ports from B teams, year late ports, ports with missing modes or dlc, etc. When I see an ad for Destiny 2 or Fallout 5 I want to see the end of the ad with 4 box arts, the XB1, PS4, PC, and NX versions. Completely equal. 1080p30 across all platforms.

I will gladly buy third party games for a Nintendo console if the effort is there. I did it for the GameCube and Wii. Even the N64. But I couldn't justify it with the Wii U.

I am the same way. When people remember the GameCube, they remember Remake, RE4, Monkey Ball (before it went to shit) and Soul Calibur 2 just as much as they remember Smash, Luigi's Mansion and the like. There is a desire for content there, it's just not been even remotely tapped properly since that era.

I made the mistake of buying Injustice when it was released on Wii U, which didn't even get all the DLC (srsly, I got cheated out of Zatanna!!) and had a broken online component that couldn't even match you with friends. I repeat... it was a fighting game in which you couldn't play online with your friends. It smacked of the kind of lazy and braindead thinking when it comes to Nintendo owners and 3rd-party releases, as though Nintendo console owners should be grateful for a portion of the same experience that you could find on other consoles.

Now no one go scream the sky is falling...

Did you actually think that wasn't going to happen?

 

[Colonel Mustard]

Project Treasure is out in Japan.

 

[Maniel]

So does anyone else think the NX could be like a Gamecube with a built in GBA player? That would allow the console to play the handheld games, but it would also allow the console to have a bigger bump in specs than simply scaling up the handheld NX.

 

[10k]

I've already talked at length in multiple threads about the 3rd-party situation from one angle (winning back Japanese publishers to get their AAA content and work on a slower rebuild from there), but there was something brought up in another thread (sort of) that I thought was a smart move:

Wii U has no 3rd-party support, this much is clear.

So, in an effort to get that support back, since some money is better than none at all, one effort that could be made is to essentially outprice Microsoft and Sony on software licensing fees for NX console releases. Reductions to the monetary investment that needs to be made could certainly help. It might only sweeten the pot and probably wouldn't be enough to convince publishers to release something they would have otherwise not considered, but again, it's an easy proposal that Nintendo could make since, as I stated, they're making NO money right now because there aren't any 3rd-parties still there.

And one last thing: the very last known 3rd-party title, Project Treasure... seems like that was put on ice, think it is making a platform transition (in addition to design improvements, since it looked gross on first viewing)?



Where do you get "lack of trust" from? We're talking about corporate interests, not a bunch of besties. 3rd-parties walked away from Nintendo because Nintendo wasn't giving them the tools they needed to succeed. There's no lack of trust or betrayal involved, they're not invested in platform holders the same way fans are. If Nintendo gave them all of the tools to succeed, they would be given due consideration overnight, simple as that.



I think it does, but the problem as I see it is people wanting to talk in terms of overnight success, instead of talking in terms of incremental successes to rebuild the brand in the eyes of consumers, the press and the industry at large.



I am the same way. When people remember the GameCube, they remember Remake, RE4, Monkey Ball (before it went to shit) and Soul Calibur 2 just as much as they remember Smash, Luigi's Mansion and the like. There is a desire for content there, it's just not been even remotely tapped properly since that era.

I made the mistake of buying Injustice when it was released on Wii U, which didn't even get all the DLC (srsly, I got cheated out of Zatanna!!) and had a broken online component that couldn't even match you with friends. I repeat... it was a fighting game in which you couldn't play online with your friends. It smacked of the kind of lazy and braindead thinking when it comes to Nintendo owners and 3rd-party releases, as though Nintendo console owners should be grateful for a portion of the same experience that you could find on other consoles.



Did you actually think that wasn't going to happen?

Fuck yeah. Viewtiful Joe, DBZ Budokai, Tales of Symphonia, Splinter Cell, Soul Calibur 2, ReMake, RE4, Rogue Squadron, Geist, PN.03. Good times.

 

[Neoxon]

I've already talked at length in multiple threads about the 3rd-party situation from one angle (winning back Japanese publishers to get their AAA content and work on a slower rebuild from there), but there was something brought up in another thread (sort of) that I thought was a smart move:

Wii U has no 3rd-party support, this much is clear.

So, in an effort to get that support back, since some money is better than none at all, one effort that could be made is to essentially outprice Microsoft and Sony on software licensing fees for NX console releases. Reductions to the monetary investment that needs to be made could certainly help. It might only sweeten the pot and probably wouldn't be enough to convince publishers to release something they would have otherwise not considered, but again, it's an easy proposal that Nintendo could make since, as I stated, they're making NO money right now because there aren't any 3rd-parties still there.

And one last thing: the very last known 3rd-party title, Project Treasure... seems like that was put on ice, think it is making a platform transition (in addition to design improvements, since it looked gross on first viewing)?



Where do you get "lack of trust" from? We're talking about corporate interests, not a bunch of besties. 3rd-parties walked away from Nintendo because Nintendo wasn't giving them the tools they needed to succeed. There's no lack of trust or betrayal involved, they're not invested in platform holders the same way fans are. If Nintendo gave them all of the tools to succeed, they would be given due consideration overnight, simple as that.



I think it does, but the problem as I see it is people wanting to talk in terms of overnight success, instead of talking in terms of incremental successes to rebuild the brand in the eyes of consumers, the press and the industry at large.



I am the same way. When people remember the GameCube, they remember Remake, RE4, Monkey Ball (before it went to shit) and Soul Calibur 2 just as much as they remember Smash, Luigi's Mansion and the like. There is a desire for content there, it's just not been even remotely tapped properly since that era.

I made the mistake of buying Injustice when it was released on Wii U, which didn't even get all the DLC (srsly, I got cheated out of Zatanna!!) and had a broken online component that couldn't even match you with friends. I repeat... it was a fighting game in which you couldn't play online with your friends. It smacked of the kind of lazy and braindead thinking when it comes to Nintendo owners and 3rd-party releases, as though Nintendo console owners should be grateful for a portion of the same experience that you could find on other consoles.



Did you actually think that wasn't going to happen?

Third parties walked away because the audience wasn't there. And when the NX Platform launches, the audience still won't be there (early on). To win back those third parties, Nintendo has to prove that such an audience exists on the NX Console & NX Handheld. That's all on Nintendo to do, because the western third parties are likely not to take that risk. And even if Nintendo tries to minimize the risk, there will be one or two publishers who will still be uncertain about the investment.

So does anyone else think the NX could be like a Gamecube with a built in GBA player? That would allow the console to play the handheld games, but it would also allow the console to have a bigger bump in specs than simply scaling up the handheld NX.

That wouldn't allow for NX Console games to be scaled down & played on the NX Handheld, which would be bad news for if Nintendo's more ambitious developers makes something like Xenoblade for the NX Platform. At this point, Nintendo needs their games to be in as many NX devices as possible. And given the downward spiral their console market has been going through, it'd be best to make sure that as many games are playable on the NX Handheld as humanly possible. This is assuming that Nintendo goes with the "multiple form factors with most of the same games" route.

 

[Neoxon]

Edit: Dammit, double post.

 

[-Horizon-]

Project Treasure is out in Japan.

...wow really? We've heard diddly squat about that game. Guessing it wasn't any good?

 

[The Giant]

...wow really? We've heard diddly squat about that game. Guessing it wasn't any good?

It's called Lost Reavers now, not Project Treasure.

 

[Maniel]

That wouldn't allow for NX Console games to be scaled down & played on the NX Handheld, which would be bad news for if Nintendo's more ambitious developers makes something like Xenoblade for the NX Platform. At this point, Nintendo needs their games to be in as many NX devices as possible. And given the downward spiral their console market has been going through, it'd be best to make sure that as many games are playable on the NX Handheld as humanly possible. This is assuming that Nintendo goes with the "multiple form factors with most of the same games" route.

Yeah after I posted that, I thought about it and realized it wouldn't allow for the scalability that Nintendo appears to be going for with their new systems. I'm just very interested in seeing how the games will be packaged at retail. They could be traditional, with handheld being cartridges and consoles being discs, or they could have cartridges for both. If they go for the tradtional route I wonder how the library will be shared.

 

[StereoVsn]

The lack of leaks in general has suggested to me that not many Western developers have it given the entire industry is a leaky bucket.

By this time from launch for the PS4 and XB1 we had 20+ page documents detailing their entire setup and weekly (or more) rumors.

This may indicate that they are not planning to launch in the West this year at all and will instead launch in Japan by the holiday season and maybe spring/summer of 2017 in the West.

 

[-Horizon-]

It's called Lost Reavers now, not Project Treasure.

I didn't even know it had an official name.

 

[Neoxon]

This may indicate that they are not planning to launch in the West this year at all and will instead launch in Japan by the holiday season and maybe spring/summer of 2017 in the West.

I could see the NX Handheld going to Japan first while the NX Console goes to the rest of the world, but I doubt that Nintendo would want to miss the holiday shopping rush. I mean granted, they would have Zelda U & (likely) Pokémon Z. But the rush of new devices would bring in much more cash than the 2 mentioned games would.

 

[Clefargle]

How is this scenario "very likely" when we don't even know what NX is?

Don't worry, Neoxon just says shit like that all the time without anything specific to point to. It's nothing new.

 

[Neoxon]

Don't worry, Neoxon just says shit like that all the time without anything specific to point to. It's nothing new.

I directly pointed to the downward spiral that most Nintendo home consoles take in terms of sales (while specifically noting the Wii as the outlier). It's nothing pulled out of thin air & is a very real situation.

 

[Vena]

This may indicate that they are not planning to launch in the West this year at all and will instead launch in Japan by the holiday season and maybe spring/summer of 2017 in the West.

I doubt they'd want to miss the western holiday season.

The lack of leaks in general has suggested to me that not many Western developers have it given the entire industry is a leaky bucket.

By this time from launch for the PS4 and XB1 we had 20+ page documents detailing their entire setup and weekly (or more) rumors.

You said this before and I agree with you. I suspect that Nintendo is taking a different approach this time around and playing for whatever long-game they've got in their head. I think they're as disillusioned with western support (now, at least, mid-gen) as we all should be and come to terms with. They're going to have come at the market with something other than "unprecedented partnerships".

I do, however, suspect they will attempt to snag as much of Japan as they can while there's still basically no market outside of the 3DS/Mobile, and attempt to also leverage that in west while rebuilding their brand off and away from the Wii/WiiU. This lines up with the WSJ leak on dev kits, as I suspect that leak came from one of the bigger companies out of Japan.

Of course, I don't know how to marry this with John's info with regards to the heavy NDAs and such, and the console being already shown off last year to people in the west. We haven't heard a word from that either, which is very strange.

 

[Nirolak]

I doubt they'd want to miss the western holiday season.



You said this before and I agree with you. I suspect that Nintendo is taking a different approach this time around and playing for whatever long-game they've got in their head. I think they're as disillusioned with western support (now, at least, mid-gen) as we all should be and come to terms with. They're going to have come at the market with something other than "unprecedented partnerships".

I do, however, suspect they will attempt to snag as much of Japan as they can while there's still basically no market outside of the 3DS/Mobile, and attempt to also leverage that in west while rebuilding their brand off and away from the Wii/WiiU. This lines up with the WSJ leak on dev kits, as I suspect that leak came from one of the bigger companies out of Japan.

Of course, I don't know how to marry this with John's info with regards to the heavy NDAs and such, and the console being already shown off last year to people in the west. We haven't heard a word from that either, which is very strange.

I do think Japanese developers have it.

Realistically, Nintendo hasn't had major traditional third party home console support in 20 years now, and Western developers aren't likely to make handheld games anymore, so focusing their efforts and kits into Japan wouldn't be shocking.

 

[Clefargle]

I directly pointed to the downward spiral that most Nintendo home consoles take in terms of sales (while specifically noting the Wii as the outlier). It's nothing pulled out of thin air & is a very real situation.

They may have mindshare issues, but that doesn't mean it's likely the next console won't sell well. The Wii is still part of the equation. You sound like everyone circa GameCube era. Home console gamers are fickle, they switched between Microsoft and Sony before, multiple times in fact. There is no reason to think Nintendo couldn't win back a significant market segment with the right pricing, games, and strategy. You're just extrapolating from simple trends that don't mean anything. I see this in so many threads you post in. Same thing happened with Bayo in the smash threads. It was "NINTENDO WILL NEVER PUT HER IN" until they did. Just stop preaching doom and see what happens.

 

[Neoxon]

I do think Japanese developers have it.

Realistically, Nintendo hasn't had major traditional third party home console support in 20 years now, and Western developers aren't likely to make handheld games anymore, so focusing their efforts and kits into Japan wouldn't be shocking.

Can't say that I disagree. Nintendo's pretty much on a different wavelength than western third parties, & it'd take years for Nintendo to readjust themselves & their audience to get back on that wavelength.

They may have mindshare issues, but that doesn't mean it's likely the next console won't sell well. The Wii is still part of the equation. You sound like everyone circa GameCube era. Home console gamers are fickle, they switched between Microsoft and Sony before, multiple times in fact. There is no reason to think Nintendo couldn't win back a significant market segment with the right pricing, games, and strategy. You're just extrapolating from simple trends that don't mean anything. I see this in so many threads you post in. Same thing happened with Bayo in the smash threads. It was "NINTENDO WILL NEVER PUT HER IN" until they did. Just stop preaching doom and see what happens.

And one of my arguments against Bayonetta (despite me being cool with her inclusion & me being a fan of her games) was the censorship that would be inflicted upon her by the ESRB & CERO. Bayonetta still did get censored, but not as badly as I expected.

Back on-topic, if this was the beginning of the generation, I'd agree with you. But we're well into the middle of the current generation, where most have already settled with Sony & Microsoft. The audience have already gone to those two or are aiming to follow their friends to either one. Nintendo could get a select few of those people with the NX Console, but nowhere near the majority given that the NX Platform is launching so late in the game. It's like I said before, I'm expecting the NX Handheld to pull most of the weight. So yeah, it's too late to win back a significant part of the market, & it'll take a long time for Nintendo to do so.

 

[Snakeyes]

snip

Thanks for sharing. That little spoiler is kinda surprising to me, even though it shouldn't be.

 

[chaosblade]

I do think Japanese developers have it.

Realistically, Nintendo hasn't had major traditional third party home console support in 20 years now, and Western developers aren't likely to make handheld games anymore, so focusing their efforts and kits into Japan wouldn't be shocking.

This is probably true, and that would be unfortunate for Nintendo if it is. Western third parties are probably the difference between NX home console being a Wii U 2 (total bomb) or a N64 (kinda sorta successful).

 

[Vena]

Can't say that I disagree. Nintendo's pretty much on a different wavelength than western third parties, & it'd take years for Nintendo to readjust themselves & their audience to get back on that wavelength.

Right now, its probably for the best for them to not try to fight the tide of where western development is headed, who they cater to, and what they expect. Its going to hurt people's illusions of grandeur but that's just where Nintendo has ended up after 20+ years of the road they've been on.

If Nintendo is going to want to attract the YMA (though I don't know how young) demographic that is carrying the PS4 and X1, they'll have to do it through different means than offering more of the same in a battlefield where either of their competitors can out spend them without losing a beat. They'll need to overtime carve out the software from their own development (such as expanding westward) to incorporate titles that turn heads for that demographic.

I do think Japanese developers have it.

Realistically, Nintendo hasn't had major traditional third party home console support in 20 years now, and Western developers aren't likely to make handheld games anymore, so focusing their efforts and kits into Japan wouldn't be shocking.

Seems we're on the same page, then, for most of it. I do wonder what your thoughts are, in general, on the idea that I supposed: attempting to leverage their Japanese strength in the West more profoundly. (I would prefer to see them expand, or do both, but I do not consider it a completely hopeless initial gameplan if they just do the supposed.)

We may be two years in, walking on three, but neither of the twins have actually carved out much of an audience there (I'd sooner say the PC has managed that far better this cycle) for what Nintendo could potential bring afield from their own development (particularly when you start pulling from both the handheld and the console development pipes) and key partnerships.

This is probably true, and that would be unfortunate for Nintendo if it is. Western third parties are probably the difference between NX home console being a Wii U 2 (total bomb) or a N64 (kinda sorta successful).

The problem here is looking at the NX as a standard console platform. The 3DS audience will also be in this.

And they'd be sooner more successful in waiting for Godot to save them in the west, than for AAAs (who are already heavily established and entrenched as is their audience) to give them anything more than lipservice.

 

[Snakeyes]

Probably EA as Acti would have some for Skylanders at least I'm sure. But perhaps they keep stuff compartmentalized as we know of others getting kits before E3.

Yeah, If I had to take a guess, the publisher is EA and the IP in question is probably Battlefield/Battlefront or Crysis.

One of the two biggest Western pubs? Check.
One of the few big name Western IPs that didn't make their way to Wii U early on? Check.
Rumored for later this year? Check.

 

[Vena]

Yeah, If I had to take a guess, the publisher is EA and the IP in question is probably Battlefield/Battlefront or Crysis.

One of the two biggest Western pubs? Check.
One of the few big name Western IPs that didn't make their way to Wii U early on? Check.
Rumored for later this year? Check.

Activision is probably one of the few guaranteed to be there day one, but with things like Skylanders (I'd imagine Ubisoft will be there as well with Just Dance, and some of its UbiArt Engine games). Don't expect Destiny, though, unless lightning strike Kotick's office and he suddenly becomes a diehard Nintendo fan.

One of the bigger titles I'd have hoped Nintendo would get from Activision, was going to be Overwatch but I don't see it happening unless someone at the higher end of the table has been paying more attention than usual to the goings-on in the West.

 

[Kimawolf]

They should just offer 3rd parties amiibos and the royalties from them for their characters lol.

 

[KratosEnergyDrink]

Can't say that I disagree. Nintendo's pretty much on a different wavelength than western third parties, & it'd take years for Nintendo to readjust themselves & their audience to get back on that wavelength.

Thirds just needs some good developer tools (Wii U was really lacking that), UE4 compatible, and some good launch games to get some market share early. Third party will go whereever they see some money to be made. Some moneyhatting would help too correcting the "wavelength" with thirds. Sony and Microsoft do this since years. Money is all the wavelength thirds need. This is business not a kindergarden.

Such things don't need "years" or trust or some esoteric adjustment from anyone. Markets, especially the video game market, could change really fast.

The only question is how much money Nintendo is willing to invest in NX to make it a success. I think it will be a lot.

 

[Snakeyes]

They should just offer 3rd parties amiibos and the royalties from them for their characters lol.

Jokes aside, that would be a pretty smart move.

 

[Serenitynow]

This is probably true, and that would be unfortunate for Nintendo if it is. Western third parties are probably the difference between NX home console being a Wii U 2 (total bomb) or a N64 (kinda sorta successful).

I think a lot of it rests on Nintendo's strategy of increasing the value of their IP and brand. For instance, if Nintendo can nail mobile and leverage it in a way that drives "casuals" to NX, puts Mario in theaters, makes more deals like the Universal one, etc., it'll certainly be a differentiator, I think. Kimishima recently said something along the lines of, "We want consumers to come in contact with Nintendo characters in their daily lives." I think a part of that quote-on-quote "Wii audience" can be recaptured by the expansion of the Nintendo brand. That, in addition to a killer "new concept" with NX, could push the NX past N64 territory. It's a lot of ifs, I know. Essentially, a lot of Nintendo's current strategy has to do with brand expansion - they talk about it all the time now. I'm personally not selling that aspect short in the grand scheme of NX's success.

And as Arkham said, if Nintendo can sell units, then some third parties will come.

 

[chaosblade]

The problem here is looking at the NX as a standard console platform. The 3DS audience will also be in this.

And they'd be sooner more successful in waiting for Godot to save them in the west, than for AAAs (who are already heavily established and entrenched as is their audience) to give them anything more than lipservice.

Edit: Meh, my post was dumb, why did I hit submit.

 

[Nirolak]

Seems we're on the same page, then, for most of it. I do wonder what your thoughts are, in general, on the idea that I supposed: attempting to leverage their Japanese strength in the West more profoundly. (I would prefer to see them expand, or do both, but I do not consider it a completely hopeless initial gameplan if they just do the supposed.)

We may be two years in, walking on three, but neither of the twins have actually carved out much of an audience there (I'd sooner say the PC has managed that far better this cycle) for what Nintendo could potential bring afield from their own development (particularly when you start pulling from both the handheld and the console development pipes) and key partnerships.

Heh, well, I think we saw the same situation and came to rather different conclusions.

I totally agree with the statement "but neither of the twins have actually carved out much of an audience (for Japanese games)", at least in the relative sense, but I feel that's because frankly there isn't much of an audience for Japanese games left in the West.

Ignoring Nintendo for a moment, we saw huge marketshare declines year after year last generation for Japanese publishers. The few games that still do sell in the West are largely still appearing on the PS4 and PC since those platforms do well in the West.

One of the only examples I can think of where that's not true is Monster Hunter, but in the grand scheme of things 1 million copies in the West is pretty modest, and it's on the 3DS because it's one of the few dedicated hardware megafranchises in the region and sells 80%+ of its copies in Japan.

 

[Neoxon]

It just needs some good developer tools (Wii U was really lacking that), UE4 compatible, and some good launch games to get some gamers early. Third party will go whereever they see some money to be made. Some moneyhatting would help too correcting the "wavelength" with thirds. Sony and Microsoft do this since years. Money is all the wavelength thirds need. This is business not a kindergarden.

Such things don't need "years" or trust or some esoteric adjustment from anyone. Markets, especially video game market, could change really fast.

Exactly, & there wouldn't be much money to be made with the Nintendo audience in its current state. As I've said before, your scenario would be a bit more true had it been the beginning of a new generation. But now, not only has Nintendo dug themselves into a hole in terms of their appeal for 15+ years straight, but this is also the middle of the generation. Even if their architecture is easy to work with, even if the NX Console works with UE4, even if Nintendo moneyhats some exclusives, all of that would be rendered useless as long as the games don't sell. It's up to Nintendo to train their audience to like those games & to ensure that when the 2nd wave of NX hardware rolls by, that the typical Nintendo fan is craving AAA western third party games.

 

[Deleted member 465307]

Regarding Western third parties, the only thing I'm counting on is another Activision/Skylanders partnership and MAYBE some kind of Ubisoft support close to launch.

 

[AcademicSaucer]

Or Nintendo gave up on trying to get western third parties at launch & are instead cultivating the audience on their own for the time being. The Wii U can't survive past this year, & the 3DS can't last past early next year. Both need successors in the near future.

Activision and EA are the 2 top western third parties, if they didnt even get fifa/madden or skylanders on board, why even try .

 

[Neoxon]

Regarding Western third parties, the only thing I'm counting on is another Activision/Skylanders partnership and MAYBE some kind of Ubisoft support close to launch.

I agree on the Skylanders part, but I'm not too sure about Ubisoft at this point (beyond Just Dance).

 

[Vena]

If it lacks western third party support AND all the games are also playable on a portable version I wouldn't be surprised if a console variant bombs worse than the Wii U.

But what if all the portable games are playable on it?

Heh, well, I think we saw the same situation and came to rather different conclusions.

I totally agree with the statement "but neither of the twins have actually carved out much of an audience (for Japanese games)", at least in the relative sense, but I feel that's because frankly there isn't much of an audience for Japanese games left in the West.

Ignoring Nintendo for a moment, we saw huge marketshare declines year after year last generation for Japanese publishers. The few games that still do sell in the West are largely still appearing on the PS4 and PC since those platforms do well in the West.

One of the only examples I can think of where that's not true is Monster Hunter, but in the grand scheme of things 1 million copies in the West is pretty modest, and it's on the 3DS because it's one of the few dedicated hardware megafranchises in the region and sells 80%+ of its copies in Japan.

Perhaps the reason for this difference is born from why I think last gen saw struggles and decline from (and in) Japan. Multifaceted reasons, no doubt, but one of the biggest was simply the conflict of realities between Western development (and the rising bar) vs. that of Japanese development outside of large corporations like SE (who, then, I would say were greatly mismanaged and mishandled their western IP strengths greatly). Couple that with HD (and the PS3s alien designs), the decline of many franchises through mishandling (examples of multi-car piles ups such as SO4 or FFXIII and everything that was born from it, the decline of Tales as a series in general), and delays, and you end up a dwindling mindshare. None of this has been helped by events like Capcom throwing all its money on the fire with their mobile plans, and the ever stranger handling of Resident Evil.

Even discounting Nintendo, we've still had successes appearing in the West on handhelds, which is where I think most of the audience ultimately collapsed to once the console space stopped meeting their needs last gen. SMTIV's successes, Fantasy Life, MonHun, Atlus as a whole has carved out a dedicated and seemingly sustainable audience, and such. Of course, I also think this is made possible because Nintendo's brought a good deal of their own products to market that attract similar audiences with things like Fire Emblem.

Also, mind, I didn't say they'd be successful with the strategy is suggested but more it was a question if it couldn't be a possible strategy. Success is another story.

Or perhaps I completely misread the changes of the market back then as I only really have the benefit of hindsight as back then I was a kid who didn't much care for the greater goings on.

 

[lwilliams3]

Now no one go scream the sky is falling.... but around thanksgiving I was chatting with two friends who work at my old studio (a Sr Designer and a Lead Env Artist, SO seasoned vets but clearly not leadership) about the Nintendo NX... And neither even knew it was a thing

So at the very least Nintendo has not shown it to all that many westen devs at that point. Or my friends are for once in their lives honoring their NDA over their FrienDA

Expect this vague news to be report, sir.

Thanks for reporting the lack of news. Seems that Nintendo is keeping this more secretive than the Wii U was at the very least.

 

[Nirolak]

Activision and EA are the 2 top western third parties, if they didnt even get fifa/madden or skylanders on board, why even try .

It's presumably EA given they have no children's titles and those are pretty much the only thing Western publishers make for Nintendo platforms still.

Activision has things like Skylanders and the Spongebob license so there's still some synergy there.

EA on the other hand has even stopped releasing most of their Legacy Edition sports titles.

Perhaps the reason for this difference is born from why I think last gen saw struggles and decline from Japan. Multifaceted reasons, no doubt, but one of the biggest was simply the conflict of realities between Western development (and the rising bar) vs. that of Japanese development outside of large corporations like SE (who, then, I would say were greatly mismanaged and mishandled their western IP strengths greatly). Couple that with HD, the decline of many franchises through mishandling (examples of multi-car piles ups such as SO4 or FFXIII and everything that was born from it, the decline of Tales as a series in general), and delays, and you end up a dwindling mindshare.

Even discounting Nintendo, we've still had successes appearing in the West on handhelds, which is where I think most of the audience ultimately collapsed to once the console space stopped meeting their needs last gen. SMTIV's successes, Fantasy Life, MonHun, Atlus as a whole has carved out a dedicated and seemingly sustainable audience, and such. Of course, I also think this is made possible because Nintendo's brought a good deal of their own products to market that attract similar audiences with things like Fire Emblem.

Or perhaps I completely misread the changes of the market back then as I only really have the benefit of hindsight as back then I was a kid who didn't much care for the greater goings on.

A lot of that stuff is small potatoes though. Moving 80-100K units of SMT4 in the US is fantastic for Atlus, but it's a non-event on an industry scale. I don't doubt that there will be 2-4 million people in the West who pick up an NX handheld for Japanese third party games or whatever, but I don't think it's a major audience when push comes to shove.