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Report: NX Handheld Dimensions, Layout Info, Lack of Region Lock

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ASIS

Member
TBH my idea was placing the L and R buttons on the main unit, right where the CL and CR buttons are right now. The controllers being small would allow reaching those whitout much effort, however this would lose the L and R controllers while in NES mode.

Having those L and R buttons like they appear right know may be too much of a waste of resources for little payback, however I gave in at the request of many wanting to have L and R buttons in the NES configuration. To me having abxy and the trigger below to use much like the b in the remote would be more than enough for the configuration wich I would imagine wouldn't be used for games wich required complex inputs.

This is all true, but it also forces devs to rethink the control scheme all over again for multiplatform titles.

I know I know "lol 3rd party support on NX" but this is the one thing that's stopping it from being a true, 100% traditional controller AND a 100% split controller. It's such a shame to be blocked by the two extra shoulder buttons :(.

Clickable sticks can rot in hell for all I care
 
Well, I'm completely unhyped at this point. I mean, if someone gifts me an NX for my birthday, I'll probably play it for Zelda. But only if it's compatible with the Gamecube controller.

Yes, I'm feeling snarky tonight.
 

10k

Banned
It is funny at this point only Emily and LPVG are the only ones continuing and everybody else is so quiet for some reason. Where's IGN? Kotaku? Gamespot? What happened to all of these other big websites sources? But let's not turn this topic into who is right and who is wrong. I won't speak on this again.

Let's just wait and see. We're almost to the reveal of the NX.

I wanted to add I'm fine with the hybrid and I pretty much believe what Emily says.
There's a reason they went quiet. Usually when leaks of this nature happen, Nintendo or Sony or Microsoft will send a... "friendly" reminder of NDA's and the penalties for breaking them. So they scare the living daylights out of employees.

So perhaps the same sources who leaked to eurogamer and Ign and such went underground?
 

The Giant

Banned
NX speculation/launch guide:

1) Be aware of rumors and speculation.

2) Decide on one or more things the rumors suggest the device cannot do.

3) Emphasize the importance of these things in order to diminish the perceived worth/viability of the device.

4) Provide anecdotal evidence for the importance of the above things in order to further establish the universal and fundamental impact of their absence. It's important that you sell the fact that the missing and/or unwanted features will largely determine how the NX will be experienced by "gamers."

5) Kill time between posts by re-watching BotW footage.

6) Pre-order the NX once it is available for purchase.

All in good fun, btw. Love you all <3

I can do that right now at ebgames australia.
 

Malus

Member
This is a software advantage, not hardware related. Therefore, the same could be said if Nintendo went all out with either a handheld or a console. A hybrid was not necessary to realize that advantage.

I'm not being negative just because I promise, but these points should be discussed

If they went all out with a handheld you'd still have the problem of it being oversized in order to accommadate it's power, which I see as the primary issue. The issues with ergonomics remain to be seen. We haven't seen it yet, let alone held it. Of course they could just make a smaller, weaker and more traditional handheld, but if that wasn't coupled with a powerful home console option then it'd be a definite downgrade for me.

I can't imagine going all out with a console was ever in the cards, considering their home console sales performance relative to handheld. It's not really worth considering imo.

And then there's the option of doing both and trying to make a shared architecture. We all talk about it but I don't know how feasible it really is. Everyone references Xbone/PS4 -> Scorpio/Neo but the former are not handhelds.

At the end of the day I think the reason Nintendo is doing this hybrid thing is because they don't think they can sell a traditional console anymore. 10-20m sales may just not be worth their time to produce it when they can focus on their other business.

edit: That said, didn't Nintendo say in an interview that they were considering making the Wii U a hybrid type device? That confuses me considering the fact that the 3DS was still early in its life, and Wii sales should've had them optimistic about their home console biz.
 

Dr. Buni

Member
Man, these mockups don't look comfortable to hold at all!
I think this one does look fairly comfortable, more than a 3DS perhaps:
Ahaa! I'm totally with you on the ergonomics point. Here is something I did just now:

8f999998d7.jpg
 
A "huge" screen is a negative to you???
The bigger the better for playing any kind of Nintendo game.
Well, within reason.

Ideal screen size is a function of desired use. Some people want this to be a portable, others a conventional console, and still others a 'home' portable. Three considerably different use cases, and it's not really possible to make a device that's ideal for all people and all usage scenarios.

If your using it as a portable then sure, the large screen is almost certainly a major flaw. This sounds like a fairly large tablet sized device. That's way too big to be a good handheld gaming device, it's great if you want to carry it around the house but if you plan to carry it out with you on a regular basis then it's very easy to see how the NX isn't really a viable option.

A 3DS XL is about as big as you can plausibly go and still keep it portable on a daily basis, no one is carrying 8"+ tablets around with them every day and with a 6.2" screen + the controllers on each side the NX would definitely be in that range if not bigger.
If you're carrying it out with you battery life is also exponentially more important as you're much less likely to be within reach of a place to recharge the battery.

If you just want to use it at home though, and have a portable you can play while lounging anywhere in the house then a 6.2" screen could even be called a little smaller then would be ideal. It doesn't need to be pocketable, you're just carrying it to another room. And shorter battery life isn't a major problem as you're always near a wall outlet to charge it.

If you just want it as a console, then the screen and battery are a complete waste and bloating cost for no benefit at all. It'll just sit in one room hooked up to a TV all the time, so there is little need for any of that.
 

jax

Banned
Man, these mockups don't look comfortable to hold at all!
How do they look uncomfortable? It's just a longer version of this:

which, come to think of it, the NX should totally have cover plates.

You have to remember the key is pocketability. I'm sure you can plug it into the TV and buy a standard controller to toss in your bag for long play sessions.
 

AzaK

Member
As someone who isn't really a handheld gamer, the leaked NX stuff is pretty disappointing to me. I'm really hoping there's more to it than just being portable, having detachable controllers and marginally more power.

To be honest, I don't really see how this is very different from WiiU, which is weird to me since they are always distancing NX from WiiU in interviews and saying it's a completely different concept.

I know this is all just leaks and rumours, but I'd be pretty disappointed if this really is all it turns out to be. Unless they really blow away with software.

I'm not a HH gamer either but there's a couple of things I'm concerned about, regardless of form factor.

1) No mention of the dock to date (That I'm aware of). This would imply there's no augmentation going on when docked. Either from the dock or from the unit recognising being docked and up-clocking. I would have expected leaks about this if it was true.

2) If this is the case, then it would mean we are probably stuck with 720p games even on the big TV.
 

ASIS

Member
If they went all out with a handheld you'd still have the problem of it being oversized in order to accommadate it's power, which I see as the primary issue. The issues with ergonomics remain to be seen. We haven't seen it yet, let alone held it. Of course they could just make a smaller, weaker and more traditional handheld, but if that wasn't coupled with a powerful home console option then it'd be a definite downgrade for me.

I can't imagine going all out with a console was ever in the cards, considering their home console sales performance relative to handheld. It's not really worth considering imo.

And then there's the option of doing both and trying to make a shared architecture. We all talk about it but I don't know how feasible it really is. Everyone references Xbone/PS4 -> Scorpio/Neo but the former are not handhelds.

At the end of the day I think the reason Nintendo is doing this hybrid thing is because they don't think they can sell a traditional console anymore. 10-20m sales may just not be worth their time to produce it when they can focus on their other business.
You are right about the ergonomics. I admit I jumped the gun there, I was going by the mock ups.

But an all out handheld out not necessarily mean a weaker system. But you will easily get a better form, they will have more room to play with the system in terms of hardware. The battery life could potentially be better. So many things would change if they did not include the 'home console' aspect of it.

And I do agree, probably the stupidest thing they could do is go all out on a console.


The arMii?
SWiis ArMii Siistem.
 

Moltenix

Member
How do they look uncomfortable? It's just a longer version of this:

You have to remember the key is pocketability. I'm sure you can plug it into the TV and buy a standard controller to toss in your bag for long play sessions.

Ah, I should clarify. I was thinking more of when you detached the controllers and tried to use them separately. Just seems so small and compact!

It's not as bad when you have them attached I guess.
 

jax

Banned
My mockup is based around a smaller screen size, btw. Probably closer to the Vita in size.

Ah, I should clarify. I was thinking more of when you detached the controllers and tried to use them separately. Just seems so small and compact!

It's not as bad when you have them attached I guess.

I agree. I think the NX will end up having more of a bezel to compensate, similar to my first design. Somewhere in the middle of the two, with a split d-pad, coming right up.
 

Malus

Member
My hands are massive. :(

But that means you can palm a basketball. Pretty neat.

You are right about the ergonomics. I admit I jumped the gun there, I was going by the mock ups.

But an all out handheld out not necessarily mean a weaker system. But you will easily get a better form, they will have more room to play with the system in terms of hardware. The battery life could potentially be better. So many things would change if they did not include the 'home console' aspect of it.

And I do agree, probably the stupidest thing they could do is go all out on a console.

How do you achieve a smaller form and better battery life without sacrificing performance? Aren't these things directly related? Unless by better form you mean button configuation or some such.
 
I love Nintendo, Hype, Sony and great games but I love most you all, you make me laugh in a good way.

Theorizing, making assumptions, predicting possible/impossible hardware, teaching advanced economy... all that with bare knowledge of these fields. (Again no a critic but it's fun to see all that)
 

ASIS

Member
But that means you can palm a basketball. Pretty neat.



How do you achieve a smaller form and better battery life without sacrificing performance? Aren't these things directly related? Unless by better form you mean button configuation or some such.

Yes I mean button configuration and all that jazz.

I'm not an expert on hardware, in fact I barely know anything about GPUs and CPUs and all that, so I'll leave it to someone else to chime in and share his thoughts on the power front. But honestly, I'd much rather have smaller form and better battery life over power for a handheld.
 
I love Nintendo, Hype, Sony and great games but I love most you all, you make me laugh in a good way.

Theorizing, making assumptions, predicting possible/impossible hardware, teaching advanced economy... all that with bare knowledge of these fields. (Again no a critic but it's fun to see all that)

I must admit these threads wouldn't be as entertaining without Mucho Malo. God bless his soul.

I just can't wait for the inevitable reveal of NX.
 

dvolovets

Member
So many mockups... I'm very excited to see just how off-base all of us are haha. Nintendo always manages to surprise (for better or for worse, but in this case the anticipation is just getting ridiculous haha)
 
I just honestly hope there isn't too much space on the sides of the screen. I really don't want it look like a plastic toy.

But knowing Nintendo I don't know...
 

ggx2ac

Member
now that is the most feasible mockup yet. The rest make no sense ergonomically.

I disagree, the sides are too rounded for the size of the NX which is leaving a lot of unnecessary space.

Compare this to the PS Vita and you'll see the Vita is not as rounded as that mock-up.
 

Smellycat

Member
Has it been debunked? If not, this might be great as it gives us more hope we'll have something on or before that date!

From what I remember everyone basically agreed that the expo basically had the NX on there because they thought that the platform would be revealed by then and made available for the public to be demoed.
 
u2ztZjA.jpg
Next to a 3DS

Sorry, but those C-sticks are terrible ideas. They'd be so hard to use as they're placed (for split out controllers). The shape doesn't make sense either unless you have very small hands. There's no reasonable way to hold onto it and still use that lower slide pad, especially if it's a slide pad.

Likewise, I really hope it isn't a slide pad.
 

ggx2ac

Member
Has it been debunked? If not, this might be great as it gives us more hope we'll have something on or before that date!

There's nothing to debunk, it's a survey to gauge consumer interest in products for the expo. EGX listed it because it's something new from Nintendo even though it hasn't been revealed.

I'm sure the organisers would have loved to say that NX would be present so then they could sell more tickets.
 

MDave

Member
I disagree, the sides are too rounded for the size of the NX which is leaving a lot of unnecessary space.

Compare this to the PS Vita and you'll see the Vita is not as rounded as that mock-up.
The Vita has an inch thick bezel below the screen, don't forget. This mock up is closer to the size of a Vita then might think.

It's rounded and has empty space near the edges because of ergonomics. Enough room for your fingers to arch and reach the sticks/buttons comfortably. The opposite of that would be the og 3DS which is everything but ergonomic. Sharp flat edges and corners, controls on the edges, have to hold the og 3DS in a pinch like posture just to use the D-Pad!
 

ggx2ac

Member
The Vita has an inch thick bezel below the screen, don't forget. This mock up is closer to the size of a Vita then might think.

It's rounded and has empty space near the edges because of ergonomics. Enough room for your fingers to arch and reach the sticks/buttons comfortably. The opposite of that would be the og 3DS which is everything but ergonomic. Sharp flat edges and corners, controls on the edges, have to hold the og 3DS in a pinch like posture just to use the D-Pad!

If they're too wide then it will be hard to hold in the Wii Remote style.

They don't need to be circular in shape, elliptical makes more sense than circular.
 
I'm honestly starting to wonder if this is even a hybrid at all. Didn't Iwata straight up say it wasn't to make one machine? Plus, this tablet with detachable controls idea seems WAY too damn farfetched to even sound ergonomic or realistic. Even for Nintendo.

And it's not even a new concept. What I'm seeing is a Razer Edge Pro with a Nintendo sticker on it.
 

jingletard

Neo Member
How many of you guys actually play portables? I don't really deal with them at all since I don't commute on public transit and if I'm at home I'm either in front of a PC or my TV. I don't think I'd buy this simply based on the portability factor. I'd rather have a dedicated console so I hope it has that functionality in it when it launches.
 
I'm honestly starting to wonder if this is even a hybrid at all. Didn't Iwata straight up say it wasn't to make one machine? Plus, this tablet with detachable controls idea seems WAY too damn farfetched to even sound ergonomic or realistic. Even for Nintendo.

And it's not even a new concept. What I'm seeing is a Razer Edge Pro with a Nintendo sticker on it.

First product in a family of devices, we'll likely see a few form factors in the coming years.
 
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