I'll repost my own theory cause it seems to convince many
While i was thinking about that thing that bugs me, about the two detachable controllers and what would be the concept around that, i had some kind of revelation.
Cause i was lwatching the digital foundry vid and the guy talked about the two pads as if it was so huge to have two pads out of the box, and i was like.. Are you fucking kidding me.. Are we all pretending there is anything new about giving away a secondary pad ? I mean it's just a good deal, but local multiplayer was there all along..
Then i got it.
Maybe the NX is reallly centered about the idea of a completely easy to transport, (on the "go" you know), self sufficient device that allows for super fun things between friends, in a living room, in the street, in a park, at a friend's house... Maybe that's the whole marketing idea here. It's like the Wii was at some point, a family friendly device for immediate fun, except it's super flexible, everyone can have his own and play all sort of things, (and that means also why not, AR multiplayer board games for exemple). Like.. The NX would be, more like a set of card than a console in the spirit.
So you could play with a friend everywhere by docking the screen somewhere (maybe it has some kind of ipad skin that can become a support you know, that couldl actually make it pretty fashionable), but why not imagining you could also for example plug one to a tv, and having a friend come with his NX, and you would be able to play a 4 player game on tv, maybe more. And why not use it for their infamous asynchronous (is that it) gameplay, with some players on the tv and some others on their NW screen.
Think about it. We know Nintendo always try again and again. What they failed on GBA, then DS, then with the WiiU. All those multiplayer concepts with different configurations... They can finally have it, with the proper marketing.
Just one device, really small, simple, and it can be used for so many things to have fun with your friends. And those two detachable pads probably have gyros to, so that little NX device can also create Wii fun for everyone on the go. What if a NX can recognize multiple controllers, so you can for exemple be in a park with your friends, and everyone detaches the controllers and put the NX on the ground, and everyone is playing Just Dance in the wild..
basically, sorry i'm long.. But yeah the NX would be centered around the idea that it's super small, simple, cheap, and can be used for so many gaming ideas between friends (everything Ubi has been asking for) everywhere.
That's learning everything from the Wii, but also from Monster Hunter and the whole community aspect of the biggest gaming success in Japan. You make people play in group.
I can already see the 80's commercial. I can also see a Wii like sucess if they have the right software with it (some genius multiplayer party game on the go).
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And just to post a little exemple of the kind of thing that will make it huge and super mainstream.
Imagine you got kids, 2 kids, and you're in a dense traffic stuck in the car, it's raining. They're bored. They can take their NX, unplugged the controllers, put the screen between them on the seat, and play some game, i don't know, some tennis game on the screen with their two controllers.
Do you see the 80' commercial to ? With the 2 kids playing at the back of the car (they kept their belt of course!)?
I hope you read that in Don Draper's voice!
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While i'm at it, here are other potential (but maybe not) ideas of gameplay for that concept.
Keep one pad attached to the screen, that you hold in one hand, and have the other one free in your other hand, that you can use as a gun, or a sword i don't know, or to point things. Than now create a multiplayer game using AR where you're interacting with friends in the wild.
Now, do that with Pokemon. (Like you gives order with the free pad and motion control while you're looking at the AR pokemons interacting on screen).
Link that to Pokemon GO.
BOOM, NX sells 50 millions
I really think that configuration, of a small portable device with two pads and gyros, could be the thing Nintendo always wanted. Some sort of infinity creative device that reinvent itself all the time.
Just think about it, one pad plugged, and the other free, with motion control, and think about the game design ideas.