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What we know so far about the Nintendo NX with sources

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How about a new Tales game instead? Nostalgia will only get you so far.

The only two I see coming, if any (remember Baba isn't exactly fond of releasing Tales games on Nintendo hardware), would be Berseria (the newest) or Vesperia ala Abyss 3DS.

I'd be shocked if we saw an original exclusive (at the time) entry on NX. Last one on a Nintendo system was... Graces on Wii? Reve Unitia on 3DS was technically a port of Tactics Union on mobile, but at least it was by Jupiter! :p
 
I was thinking that Nintendo could actually work with Bandai Namco and create/revive their own exclusive line of games by the Tales team, the Sword of series which would've began with Sword of Legendia on Wii.

Basically the Sword of series would exclusive to Nintendo and the Tales of series would be exclusive to Sony. Nintendo would help fund and publish the Sword of series.

I dunno, that'd be kind of cool to see.
 
I'm enamored with the cross-compatibility idea for NX (a handheld and a home system that share games), I think it could have a lot of really nice benefits, benefits that have been discussed in this thread many times already. However, there's one big issue with it that's been on my mind, and with people discussing pricing already, I hope it's ok to throw it into the ring.

How will individual games be priced?

Nintendo's standard home console game price is $60, for handhelds it's $40. Though each hypothetical platform would presumably incentivize buyers to buy the other, there are inevitably going to be people that have only one (probably skewing towards the handheld, because duh). How is this going to be handled? If a game is compatible with both home console and handheld, the obvious solution is to price it at $60, but then you've greatly raised the price for buyers that only want the handheld version of the game. Setting the price at $40 would cut into the traditional home console profit, which Nintendo likely needs to continue producing games at even Wii U levels of production value, to say nothing of going beyond them. So what do you do here?

Setting everything at $60 is obviously untenable, so that's out. So do you lower everything to $40 and regress in production value?

Do you stock two versions of every game at retail, the home console version at $60 and the handheld at $40? Then you're creating confusion with what is supposedly a universal system and creating additional costs to manufacture, deliver and stock all those units. You could soften this by having the $60 home console unit also work with handheld, a la the higher end games in Sony's Cross-Buy model, but I have a feeling you might be dancing on razor-thin margins there. That feeling seems justified by the fact that PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale is the only $60 Cross-Buy game Sony ever released to my knowledge (please correct me if I'm wrong). This also still doesn't alleviate the confusion issue entirely (one could argue it might even exacerbate it), and doesn't help the cost issues much if at all.

Do you rely heavily on digital, with some sort of upgrade plan? Buy the handheld version at $40, then spend $20 to upgrade it for cross-compatibility? This doesn't seem like a feasible solution simply because of digital's weakness in the US, and it's still going to confuse buyers. Perhaps it could work as a supplementary model, but it's not going to be enough to support the whole platform.

I'm really at a loss here. There doesn't seem to be a solution that isn't at least seriously messy. A truly universal solution “feels” great, but a universal $40 price point is the only to achieve that, and that's probably unfeasible. The best option I can think of is that $60/$40 two SKU model with the $60 SKU being cross-compatible, with the digital upgrade plan in place if you bought the handheld version digitally, but this model seems to put a severe damper on the benefits of universality in addition to the weaknesses I already talked about.

Am I missing something obvious? Or does anyone else have other ideas? Either way, I'm very much anticipating the reveal of what this will be, like everyone else.
 
Also, it helps alleviate some of the stress if one of the NX-platforms would falter. Obviously, hardware costs money to design, manufacture etc. so it's not good if sales are poor (especially if there's a bunch of manufactured, unsold stuff hanging about in storage facilities), but the losses won't be as big because you aren't creating a lot of software for that specific failing hardware whose sales will suffer because of a low install base; what matters is the total install base of all NX-platforms that have access to the specific software. There doesn't have to be any of this "well, we have to satisfy the people that actually bought this failed system, otherwise people will be mad"; you are satisfying them every time you make games for any of the consoles if they are compatible. No special attention needed.

This, plus HD game development isn't getting any cheaper, or less manpower intensivee. That creates a big issue when games sell less than before but cost much more to make (as with the Wii U.)
 
I can't see Nintendo going in hard to get exclusive games from Japan. I'm sure they'll get a few, but I think the argument in Japan for Nintendo is "your multiplatform strategy involves three Sony devices, two of which will soon be obsolete and the third of which is just now catching on. And what if you could mitigate the high costs of PS4 development by bringing those games to our new handheld? We have a good track record there and you'll have some leverage against Sony. You might even reach a new market. So come on."

The argument to major Western publishers is...uh...

I think they'll continue to focus on indie games by widening engine support, highlighting great titles, and doing cool bonus things like Nintendo character cameos and amiibo support.
 

atbigelow

Member
I'm enamored with the cross-compatibility idea for NX (a handheld and a home system that share games), I think it could have a lot of really nice benefits, benefits that have been discussed in this thread many times already. However, there's one big issue with it that's been on my mind, and with people discussing pricing already, I hope it's ok to throw it into the ring.

How will individual games be priced?

Nintendo's standard home console game price is $60, for handhelds it's $40. Though each hypothetical platform would presumably incentivize buyers to buy the other, there are inevitably going to be people that have only one (probably skewing towards the handheld, because duh). How is this going to be handled? If a game is compatible with both home console and handheld, the obvious solution is to price it at $60, but then you've greatly raised the price for buyers that only want the handheld version of the game. Setting the price at $40 would cut into the traditional home console profit, which Nintendo likely needs to continue producing games at even Wii U levels of production value, to say nothing of going beyond them. So what do you do here?

Setting everything at $60 is obviously untenable, so that's out. So do you lower everything to $40 and regress in production value?

Do you stock two versions of every game at retail, the home console version at $60 and the handheld at $40? Then you're creating confusion with what is supposedly a universal system and creating additional costs to manufacture, deliver and stock all those units. You could soften this by having the $60 home console unit also work with handheld, a la the higher end games in Sony's Cross-Buy model, but I have a feeling you might be dancing on razor-thin margins there. That feeling seems justified by the fact that PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale is the only $60 Cross-Buy game Sony ever released to my knowledge (please correct me if I'm wrong). This also still doesn't alleviate the confusion issue entirely (one could argue it might even exacerbate it), and doesn't help the cost issues much if at all.

Do you rely heavily on digital, with some sort of upgrade plan? Buy the handheld version at $40, then spend $20 to upgrade it for cross-compatibility? This doesn't seem like a feasible solution simply because of digital's weakness in the US, and it's still going to confuse buyers. Perhaps it could work as a supplementary model, but it's not going to be enough to support the whole platform.

I'm really at a loss here. There doesn't seem to be a solution that isn't at least seriously messy. A truly universal solution “feels” great, but a universal $40 price point is the only to achieve that, and that's probably unfeasible. The best option I can think of is that $60/$40 two SKU model with the $60 SKU being cross-compatible, with the digital upgrade plan in place if you bought the handheld version digitally, but this model seems to put a severe damper on the benefits of universality in addition to the weaknesses I already talked about.

Am I missing something obvious? Or does anyone else have other ideas? Either way, I'm very much anticipating the reveal of what this will be, like everyone else.

I think you will see far more thought put into game pricing instead of the typical "just charge $60" mindset. Nintendo has already gone crazy experimenting with pricing titles on Wii U and 3DS.

My guess is that Nintendo (themselves) will go with a 40/50/60 breakdown for how they see the game selling. The best Wii U game (DKC:TF) was only $50, for example. And the cheaper the cards cost to manufacturer, they greater range you'll see in pricing.

Obviously digital-only titles will range from anything.
 

Snakeyes

Member
How will individual games be priced?

Nintendo's standard home console game price is $60, for handhelds it's $40. Though each hypothetical platform would presumably incentivize buyers to buy the other, there are inevitably going to be people that have only one (probably skewing towards the handheld, because duh). How is this going to be handled? If a game is compatible with both home console and handheld, the obvious solution is to price it at $60, but then you've greatly raised the price for buyers that only want the handheld version of the game. Setting the price at $40 would cut into the traditional home console profit, which Nintendo likely needs to continue producing games at even Wii U levels of production value, to say nothing of going beyond them. So what do you do here?
Handheld games going up in price based on increased development complexity is nothing new (Gameboy and GBA games used to cost $30, DS brought it up to $40 and we now see several 3DS games hit the $50 mark), so a good solution would be to price the games based on their budget. If the NX handheld is a portable Wii U and devs choose to harness most of its power, they'll end up with Wii U-level production values and will have to price the game higher to compensate.
 
Hmm with unified library. I don't see why average consumer will want both nx platforms. Most will stick to one nx hardware. Kinda like ps4/vita....u less Nintendo has a bundle ;d?lol who am I kidding.
With a unified library Nintendo would probably be happen enough if the the consumer buys just one.
How about a quality port of FF15?

Plus megaton Persona 5 announcement
I don't think XV will make it. Probably out before the console launches. I think SE has their hands full with the console ports as is
 

javadoze

Member

DVox6YX.png


My hopes have been raised!

It's all downhill from here, isn't it?
 
D

Deleted member 465307

Unconfirmed Member

He says to not expect it in his write up and then sends that tweet. I'm guessing that means:

1) (most likely) He's telling people that they can choose to expect whatever they want in a whimsical way, kind of in the way the people might encourage someone to hope for unrealistic dreams because there's a small chance they could come true.

2) He has learned something since posting that article that tells him that his initial guess was wrong.

EDIT: Or it's referring to Miitomo. Either way, I think he's saying he doesn't know what will be there, so don't count on him.
 
He says to not expect it in his write up and then sends that tweet. I'm guessing that means:

1) (most likely) He's telling people that they can choose to expect whatever they want in a whimsical way, kind of in the way the people might encourage someone to hope for unrealistic dreams because there's a small chance they could come true.

2) He has learned something since posting that article that tells him that his initial guess was wrong.

EDIT: Or it's referring to Miitomo. Either way, I think he's saying he doesn't know what will be there, so don't count on him.

Before the earnings are released, it is within the realm of possibility that we get an incredibly brief press release saying the NX is x,y, or z and they'll talk about it in June or whatever. The WSJ may have gotten wind of that.

...but it seems unlikely that they would have received that tip within ten minutes of posting an article.
 

AdanVC

Member
Either way it's obvious NX will be mentioned at the meeting. It's already 2016 and investors are literally going desperate after the last meeting where Miitomo was delayed to march. Kimi will definitely talk about NX I can feel it! He could either talk very briefly about it's main feature and finish the megaton by announcing at least how and WHEN are they gonna fully reveal it. If nothing of that happens I'm just gonna throw my amiibos out of the window.
 

Somnid

Member
I don't think they'll talk in any concrete terms about NX at the investor brief. Either announce and announcement (stop bugging us until E3) or some sort of service layer things that can dove-tail off of Miitomo talk. If I were them I'd throw a curveball with some QOL info, keep people on their toes.
 

BruceCLea

Banned
Before the earnings are released, it is within the realm of possibility that we get an incredibly brief press release saying the NX is x,y, or z and they'll talk about it in June or whatever. The WSJ may have gotten wind of that.

...but it seems unlikely that they would have received that tip within ten minutes of posting an article.


giphy.gif
 
I wouldn't be surprised if they don't talk about NX on Tuesday. The only thing I would expect to hear about NX at those meetings is saying that they will unveil the system at E3 at April's meeting. Perhaps we'll hear more about Nintendo's mobile games and the new Nintendo Network.
 

Griss

Member
The obvious thing for Nintendo to say is
"We realise there's has been a lot of speculation about our new system in the media, therefore we can tell you that we hope to discuss it further during Q1 of this year (Apr-Jun). We cannot comment further at this time for competitive reasons. Until that time we will be focusing our marketing efforts on another excellent year for 3DS and Wii U software as well as our entry into the mobile gaming market."

Anyone hoping for more than that is gonna be let down.
 

Malus

Member
1) (most likely) He's telling people that they can choose to expect whatever they want in a whimsical way, kind of in the way the people might encourage someone to hope for unrealistic dreams because there's a small chance they could come true.

Hell naw. He knows what he did.

Give me my delicious donut shaped tidbit of info Nintendo.
 

javadoze

Member
The obvious thing for Nintendo to say is
"We realise there's has been a lot of speculation about our new system in the media, therefore we can tell you that we hope to discuss it further during Q1 of this year (Apr-Jun). We cannot comment further at this time for competitive reasons. Until that time we will be focusing our marketing efforts on another excellent year for 3DS and Wii U software as well as our entry into the mobile gaming market."

Anyone hoping for more than that is gonna be let down.

The best I can hope for is an announcement of when they're likely to make some kind of announcement.
 
Nintendo can't afford any leaks. Otherwise the NDAs wouldn't be so strict this time around. They need to announce it officially on their terms soon. Therefore I think we'll get something decent at the meeting in a couple days.
 
The obvious thing for Nintendo to say is
"We realise there's has been a lot of speculation about our new system in the media, therefore we can tell you that we hope to discuss it further during Q1 of this year (Apr-Jun). We cannot comment further at this time for competitive reasons. Until that time we will be focusing our marketing efforts on another excellent year for 3DS and Wii U software as well as our entry into the mobile gaming market."

Anyone hoping for more than that is gonna be let down.
That would be a wrong move
 

Oddduck

Member
I'm only expecting something along the lines of, "We plan to reveal more details about NX at E3 or GDC or (insert date here)".

But hey, maybe Nintendo will surprise us and give us a few more details.
 


Given the history, the best I think we can expect from an investor briefing would be:

* Clarification of whether NX is a portable or home system
* One feature or high-level concept given in vague terms that could lead to some insight into the philosophy of the system.
* An announcement of the announcement


eg: "Nintendo is releasing a portable with more than one screen. We will have more to show at E3."
 

10k

Banned
The obvious thing for Nintendo to say is
"We realise there's has been a lot of speculation about our new system in the media, therefore we can tell you that we hope to discuss it further during Q1 of this year (Apr-Jun). We cannot comment further at this time for competitive reasons. Until that time we will be focusing our marketing efforts on another excellent year for 3DS and Wii U software as well as our entry into the mobile gaming market."

Anyone hoping for more than that is gonna be let down.
Yup.
That would be a wrong move
Maybe but it's most likely what's going to happen.
 
Given the history, the best I think we can expect from an investor briefing would be:

* Clarification of whether NX is a portable or home system
* One feature or high-level concept given in vague terms that could lead to some insight into the philosophy of the system.
* An announcement of the announcement


eg: "Nintendo is releasing a portable with more than one screen. We will have more to show at E3."
They've given 2 out of 3 of these. They have stated a few times that NX refers to both the next console and handheld. They've also been giving vague hints that NX refers to the next console and handheld which will have similar architecture and OS so that they can share libraries to some extent, they have specifically cited the iOS and Android OS game development scene as an example of what they are thinking of doing.
 
They've given 2 out of 3 of these. They have stated a few times that NX refers to both the next console and handheld. They've also been giving vague hints that NX refers to the next console and handheld which will have similar architecture and OS so that they can share libraries to some extent, they have specifically cited the iOS and Android OS game development scene as an example of what they are thinking of doing.

They haven't actually said that. That's just a point of speculation based on what Iwata said a few years ago.
 
The shared library is also false.
All of that is speculation.

They have, however, suggested a pair of systems between which porting assets and code would be simpler than it is at present, to reduce dev time on games. Of course, the logical potential there is to offer at least some of your library on multiple platforms, like, say Tipping Stars. For some games (Mario spin-offs like Golf or Party and some eShop games) being able to be sold across two platforms would potentially mean more sales or at least free up teams to work on more games overall because they'd no longer need to make two different versions of Mario Spin Off #14 for Wii U and 3DS.

And even if they weren't necessarily making the same games available, imagine if we'd gotten Smash sooner this generation or with more content because they didn't need to spend as much dev time porting code and rebuilding assets for the portable version.
 
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