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Eurogamer: NX = portable w/ carts, detachable controllers, Tegra, TV Out, no BC, Sept

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The_Lump

Banned
Even if there isn't anything to be shown, they could do what Sony did and reveal the controller only with the name and a bunch of trailers and specs.

Yeah, because a half baked reveal without giving people a clear image of what NX is is exactly what Nintendo need to do again ;)
 
Talking in absolutes when we have nothing confirmed and no evidence seems like a bad idea to me. Unless it's to win a personal bet. I strongly believe the handheld will be Nvidia based thanks to NateDrake and Eurogamer (proven track records), but since the NX is a platform as Nintendo have said in the past, that means there could be a home console in the future that uses the NX platform with completely different AMD chips. This dosnt contradict NateDrake and Eurogamer. It makes sense to stick with the same chips supplier for future iterations, but it's also smart to make a platform that doesn't rely on the same chip supplier going forward in the future. And still keep backward and forward compatibility. Nintendo made reference to iOS and Android after all.

Without entirely ruling out the possibility of an NX microconsole or even a more powerful console iteration down the road, let's be real here: not one credible source has reported that NX is anything but a portable-console hybrid. Not one.

The only reason why there's any "debate" over the veracity of Eurogamer et al.'s reporting is because a certain vocal minority of Nintendo fans have, for one reason or another, become unhealthily invested in a particular conception of what NX should be, to the point where they've become downright desperate to dismiss or discredit anything that suggests Nintendo might have different ideas.
 

javac

Member
Kimishima has gone on record to say that Directs will be different in the future so even if it is a direct I assume that they'll switch it up a little.
 

E-phonk

Banned
I think it's safe to assume that the NX cardriges would be very similar to the DS and 3DS ones. Macronix was already talking about their NX involvement. So I guess there will still be loading times.

Traktor handled that question a few months ago, going by the current Macronix technology on smaller nm:

Macronix's 45nm XtraROM can currently achieve a read cycle time of 25ns (or 40MHz), and, going by past trends, we could expect their upcoming 32nm XtraROM to hit around 16ns (or 62.5MHz), which is what would almost certainly be used if Nintendo were to go the game card route with NX. On a 16-bit parallel interface, that would give Nintendo 125MB/s sequential reads, and although it's tricky to estimate IOPS values (strictly speaking they're only OPS on ROM), the RAM-like interface and low access latency means you should be able to get close to peak read speeds with random access patterns. For 4K random reads (a typical measure) you'd be looking at possibly 25,000 IOPS.

If they switched to a serial interface, the bandwidth could push up much higher. With 32-bit reads over an 8-bit, 250MHz serial interface they could get 250MB/s sequential reads and potentially 50,000 IOPS. Even 64-bit reads over a 500MHz interface, giving 500MB/s sequential and 100,000 IOPS would probably be technically possible if Nintendo wanted it. Moving to higher speed interfaces would certainly add to the cost, but only by a fairly small amount, and the matter will largely be a question of what Nintendo feels is enough. Given that a 16-bit parallel interface places the game cards firmly above PS4 and XBO's internal HDDs in terms of performance, that may well be enough for Nintendo.
 

ggx2ac

Member
I'm thinking it will be a digital event, they have to make it sound special and include the Treehouse live if they are doing this in the US. People are not going to be satiated with just a reveal.

So yes, this relies on functioning NX units available and a press event so the press can get time for hands-on with the device.
 
Do 3DS games have loading times outside of saving the game? Overtime I use a PS4, I'm shocked by how long everything takes.
Yes Ridge Racer 3D was a bad early example. Most of them keep loads very short and having less memory to load into helps.
Digital Storage needs to step up a gear next time, hopefully not with a proprietary format..
 

Aostia

El Capitan Todd
I would think Nintendo would want to be super clear and communicative about what the NX is and what it can do in order to avoid any Wii U-esque confusion, and inviting the press to come actually see it, hold it and experience it would greatly help them clarify their messaging. I guess you never know with Nintendo though.

I agree.
but that doesn't mean that if no invite will be sent out this week, NX will not be out in March.
Because they can TOTALLY choose to do a Digital Event, a Direct or to send out the invites later and have the conf in late September or even later.
The only official things we know is that Nintendo already chose to do Digital Events to reveal hws, that we will know about NX details later in the year (that ends on December 31st 2016), that the console will be out in March.
The most reliable unofficial thing we know is that it will be unveiled in September (that ends in September 30rd 2016)
So...yep, I agree that a conference with the press could be better (even if I see no difference in having a pre-recorder and post-producted video/direct/digital event with the Press event right after, as already happened other times), but that doesn't mean that Nintendo will do that or nothing.
 

Eolz

Member
Woah, I missed a lot of pages, so sorry if I'm missing something important, but I wanted to reply to this post first:

I respect your opinion and find it even understandable

but the fact is that if the EG rumor is true, it actually is a portable, successor of the 3ds, and by a tech point of view seems pretty hot

As home console not that much, but neither was the wii, that despite that thanks to many factors (price, lineup etc..) ended up being a very hot console to me

So if this time we will get a "wii like" home but with the advantages of having all nintendo teams on it, all classic nintendo portable japanese third party support on it and being able to buy just one hw..

I would say that the propositions would be pretty neat

It is not just a home console for sure, so judging it that way seems at least strange and probably you would not do you any favor in looking at it that way only

I completely agree that it is starting to sound like a great handheld (even if I'll miss the dual screen setup if it is confirmed), and I hope its ergonomics will be at least as good as the new 3DS. This will be a definite buy on this side for me.

It's just the console part where I'm not sure about (unless there's some hidden console coming later and this is just something to have your vita tv/super gameboy easily), and on several points. They'll have to do a lot to convince people about that, and I doubt they can recreate a wii effect.
Not because like some others like to say, it was lightning in a bottle and/or just luck (it wasn't), but because it'll be insanely hard (if not impossible) to make most of the audience that transitioned to mobile gaming come back. It'll be good if they can have an X1 or even a PS3 on their hands (in terms of sales performances, not price).


Edit for some replies just above: I really can't stand treehouse live anymore. If they have to do a direct or digital event, just use the usual suspects and interview some good top guys like at E3 two years ago (I think? The one ending on Splatoon).
 

ahkdigital

Neo Member
Until what time are we expecting any sort of information to come today (even though it could come in the following days)?

I know it's coming up on 11 pm in Kyoto.
 

Aostia

El Capitan Todd
Woah, I missed a lot of pages, so sorry if I'm missing something important, but I wanted to reply to this post first:



I completely agree that it is starting to sound like a great handheld (even if I'll miss the dual screen setup if it is confirmed), and I hope its ergonomics will be at least as good as the new 3DS. This will be a definite buy on this side for me.

It's just the console part where I'm not sure about (unless there's some hidden console coming later and this is just something to have your vita tv/super gameboy easily), and on several points. They'll have to do a lot to convince people about that, and I doubt they can recreate a wii effect.
Not because like some others like to say, it was lightning in a bottle and/or just luck (it wasn't), but because it'll be insanely hard (if not impossible) to make most of the audience that transitioned to mobile gaming come back. It'll be good if they can have an X1 or even a PS3 on their hands (in terms of sales performances, not price).


Oh, I agree and as I stated, I find this "impression" one of the most understandable among the many bizzarre "opinions" I read on the web ;p
I was just trying to say that if the EG rumor is true, it basically would be a huge leap for a Nintendo handheld, that will have of course the negative side of a non-existant leap on the home console side of things.
But that is something that already happened with the Wii, that for many/many reasons was able to be a better product than the Wii U, and nothing assure us abot the fact that, even if they will actually develop another proper home console, that wouldn't be still with a small bump in specs over the Wii U.
So, being able to purhcase just one HW, or a "modular system" of hws to play both on the go and on tv, if the lineup will actually be able to match our expectations (one console to play them all!!! :p ) and the price point will be spot on...we could even have some advantages over a DS/Wii situation
 
I agree.
but that doesn't mean that if no invite will be sent out this week, NX will not be out in March.
Because they can TOTALLY choose to do a Digital Event, a Direct or to send out the invites later and have the conf in late September or even later.
The only official things we know is that Nintendo already chose to do Digital Events to reveal hws, that we will know about NX details later in the year (that ends on December 31st 2016), that the console will be out in March.
The most reliable unofficial thing we know is that it will be unveiled in September (that ends in September 30rd 2016)
So...yep, I agree that a conference with the press could be better (even if I see no difference in having a pre-recorder and post-producted video/direct/digital event with the Press event right after, as already happened other times), but that doesn't mean that Nintendo will do that or nothing.

Oh I never meant to imply that's what I thought. They could easily do a reveal in October too, or even January (though Kimishima said they'll talk about NX in 2016, so at least they didn't initially plan for January) but as of right now September 13th (or one of the days that week) makes the most sense to me.

Of course if they miss that week they have 6 months to reveal it so I wouldn't assume a release delay. Especially considering they almost never actually delay console launches (I think N64 was the last one?).
 
Tuesday at 2PM EST it seems. So that's a potential goal today... hopefully. :(



Maybe it wouldn't matter if they didn't do September 13th THREE TIMES!

September 13th, 2006: Wii event (note it was 9PM EST on the 13th when it the event was in Japan)
September 13th, 2011: 3DS event
September 13th, 2012: Wii U event

The thread dates for the last two are the 21st and 23rd of August, so this week, so to speak in their respective years.

I wouldn't worry too much about announcement/reveal/release date relationships just yet. I am looking forward to that Please join us tweet though. Hurry up!
 

MuchoMalo

Banned
Even if there isn't anything to be shown, they could do what Sony did and reveal the controller only with the name and a bunch of trailers and specs.

Sony did that 10 months before launch. If the hardware isn't ready for a public demo 6 months before launch, it's not ready for a March launch.

I don't know, man. I wouldn't put it past them to have a Direct for the reveal, and a press event at a later date...or even the week after.

A week later would be pointless, and more than that would mean that it's either not ready or they have no confidence in it. If press don't get hands-on time with NX next month, it will not launch in March. Mark my words.

Are we ignoring the last few years of Nintendo Directs and Digital Events?
I know that NX is a brand new console, but

  • Nintendo skipped a live conference at E3 (the most important fair of the world, I'd say) since 2013
  • Nintendo announced the New 3DS/XL with a Direct
  • Nintendo announced a 2DS with a PR sheet
  • Nintendo announced the original Nintendo 3DS with a PR sheet (not saying that this will be the case here of course: timing before release are too tight)
  • Nintendo announced the NES classic with a PR sheet

In none of those hw-related occasion the press had the chance to actually test the hw itself, being forced to wait weeks/months to do that and give direct impressions.

Why would any of those have ever needed a press event?

Another day. Another no announcement. Oh well there's always tomorrow lol
SgeRI.jpg

There's no reason why there needs to be a livestreamed press event. They could just have a private showing to press shortly before and embargo all coverage until after the Direct (or whatever they call the hypothetical prerecorded stream) is over.

Whether there should be a livestreamed press event is, of course, a different question.

I meant to "press hand-on event," not necessarily a live event. Nintendo isn't gonna show NX and then not allow anyone to touch it until launch unless they've gone mad.
 

Vanillalite

Ask me about the GAF Notebook
I agree.
but that doesn't mean that if no invite will be sent out this week, NX will not be out in March.
Because they can TOTALLY choose to do a Digital Event, a Direct or to send out the invites later and have the conf in late September or even later.
The only official things we know is that Nintendo already chose to do Digital Events to reveal hws, that we will know about NX details later in the year (that ends on December 31st 2016), that the console will be out in March.
The most reliable unofficial thing we know is that it will be unveiled in September (that ends in September 30rd 2016)
So...yep, I agree that a conference with the press could be better (even if I see no difference in having a pre-recorder and post-producted video/direct/digital event with the Press event right after, as already happened other times), but that doesn't mean that Nintendo will do that or nothing.

The problem is you don't do major hardware reveals during the Holidays especially for hardware not coming out in said Holiday. It just gets burried PR wise.

Hence why Sept was the logical choice. January could make sense in the current market that announces and releases in a shorter time frame, but Nintendo already said they have more to say this year. Plus if they unveil to positive vibes people might hold off on their spending for NX. If people only have so much flexible cash they might just spend it on something else this Holiday before the January review if they don't even know wtf it is yet.

So yeah Sept is the ideal time. Oct would be cutting it super close. Nov and Dec are death nails for product unveilings. January wouldn't be bad, but you'd miss out of getting people ready pre Xmas cash wise.
 

Noi_

Banned
Tbf to me Nintendo of America usually does their big announcements at the beginning of the work day.

Well there's always tomorrows morning in Japan, it's nearly midnight there... I wouldn't be surprised with getting a late announcement.(btw I don't mean i expect one, I mean I don't think nintendo making a late announcement would be too out of the question
 
Well there's always tomorrows morning in Japan, it's nearly midnight there... I wouldn't be surprised with getting a late announcement.(btw I don't mean i expect one, I mean I don't think nintendo making a late announcement would be too out of the question
Yeah, I guess NCL would be the ones to make the announcement.

But let's say their holding an event won't the press get invitations first, then Nintendo would announce the event?
 

Aostia

El Capitan Todd
Why would any of those have ever needed a press event?

As the Sony's NEO event?
The New 3DS / XL was the equivalent.
But, just to come back on the point...it is not true what you wrote, that if they don't send out an invite, the reveal will not happen.
It is simply wrong, looking at Nintendo past years of marketing and communication.

The problem is you don't do major hardware reveals during the Holidays especially for hardware not coming out in said Holiday. It just gets burried PR wise.

Hence why Sept was the logical choice. January could make sense in the current market that announces and releases in a shorter time frame, but Nintendo already said they have more to say this year. Plus if they unveil to positive vibes people might hold off on their spending for NX. If people only have so much flexible cash they might just spend it on something else this Holiday before the January review if they don't even know wtf it is yet.

So yeah Sept is the ideal time. Oct would be cutting it super close. Nov and Dec are death nails for product unveilings. January wouldn't be bad, but you'd miss out of getting people ready pre Xmas cash wise.

I'd agree about September or January.
Hope for September.
Even if at this point, with all this secrecy-strategy, it would be fun to arrive in late January without any actual hint :D
 

maxcriden

Member
Kimishima has gone on record to say that Directs will be different in the future so even if it is a direct I assume that they'll switch it up a little.

FWIW he said that late last year and we've had at least one traditional Direct since then, so it's possible they're sticking with them for the tkme being after all.

Especially considering they almost never actually delay console launches (I think N64 was the last one?).

FWIW I agree with you, but I did just want to clarify that since the Trev leak was unquestionably legit, there has been at the least an internal delay for NX from this Holiday season to March 2017. Granted, who's to say how many other internal HW delays have occurred since N64, so I don't think that really refutes what you were saying, just wanted to mention it for posterity.
 
I really love these Nintendo new hardware speculation threads.

The things that are posted here (eg mock ups) are usually much more interesting than the final hardware is.

It's like waiting for christmas together, with the chance of getting another pair of socks and pants instead of that fancy BMX you wanted to badly.
 
FWIW he said that late last year and we've had at least one traditional Direct since then, so it's possible they're sticking with them for the tkme being after all.



FWIW I agree with you, but I did just want to clarify that since the Trev leak was unquestionably legit, there has been at the least an internal delay for NX from this Holiday season to March 2017. Granted, who's to say how many other internal HW delays have occurred since N64, so I don't think that really refutes what you were saying, just wanted to mention it for posterity.

Wii U was likely supposed to launch in Q2 2012.

But it's been twenty years since they last significantly delayed a platform from an officially announced date or timeframe, and fifteen years since they last delayed a launch at all, AFAIK (the NA GC launch slipped about two weeks).
 

georly

Member
While it could be announced later today, Nintendo tends to make major announcements by 9 AM ET.

Tbf to me Nintendo of America usually does their big announcements at the beginning of the work day.

I thought they usually make big announcements by 9AM PT? Which would be noon ET. Or am i misremembering?

I've never really thought about it, but when does NCL make big announcements? 9AM kyoto time?
 
I thought they usually make big announcements by 9AM PT? Which would be noon ET. Or am i misremembering?

I've never really thought about it, but when does NCL make big announcements? 9AM kyoto time?

It's definitely 9 AM Eastern for NoA. That's not to say they stick to that 100% of the time, but Nintendo Directs, for example, are almost always announced by then.
 

Plinko

Wildcard berths that can't beat teams without a winning record should have homefield advantage
While it could be announced later today, Nintendo tends to make major announcements by 9 AM ET.

Tbf to me Nintendo of America usually does their big announcements at the beginning of the work day.

I clearly remember some Nintendo Directs being announced in the afternoon (although I still think we don't hear any announcement about NX until September).
 

georly

Member
It's definitely 9 AM Eastern for NoA. That's not to say they stick to that 100% of the time, but Nintendo Directs, for example, are almost always announced by that time.

I guess I'm thinking of Eshop going live at noon.

I clearly remember some Nintendo Directs being announced in the afternoon (although I still think we don't hear any announcement about NX until September).

I think that's when they're big international directs and maybe they're waiting for NCL to announce theirs. I think a couple of times NOA has announced theirs first, but usually NCL does it and then NOE and NOA follow suit.
 

MuchoMalo

Banned
As the Sony's NEO event?
The New 3DS / XL was the equivalent.
But, just to come back on the point...it is not true what you wrote, that if they don't send out an invite, the reveal will not happen.
It is simply wrong, looking at Nintendo past years of marketing and communication.

You're right. NX is the same as a revision, and a revision is the same as a major upgrade to visuals and gameplay experience. We'll just get a press release and nothing until launch, not even press impressions. Makes total sense. Why not compare it to game releases as well?
 
Nintendo publicly announced their Wii U event in 2012. They even made a YouTube video.

Well keep in mind Sony apparently still hasn't officially announced their Neo event, we only heard reports based on press invites. Obviously Sony isn't Nintendo and the NX isn't Neo but Nintendo doesn't really need to announce the event 3 weeks ahead of time. It actually wouldn't surprise me too much if the invites are sent out under an NDA and we might not actually hear about them for a while.

FWIW I agree with you, but I did just want to clarify that since the Trev leak was unquestionably legit, there has been at the least an internal delay for NX from this Holiday season to March 2017. Granted, who's to say how many other internal HW delays have occurred since N64, so I don't think that really refutes what you were saying, just wanted to mention it for posterity.

Right, as you said internal delays are certainly possible but Nintendo does not often delay their officially stated hardware launch dates. Still expecting March even if it's not revealed until January.

Edit: Perfect gif, Kodaman
 
I clearly remember some Nintendo Directs being announced in the afternoon (although I still think we don't hear any announcement about NX until September).

There have definitely been a couple announcements later in the day, but they're quite rare. Of course, NX is a special circumstance and Nintendo's gonna' do whatever they want, so they may break convention.
 

Dystify

Member
Wii U was likely supposed to launch in Q2 2012.

But it's been twenty years since they last significantly delayed a platform from an officially announced date or timeframe, and fifteen years since they last delayed a launch at all, AFAIK (the NA GC launch slipped about two weeks).

I think Nintendo wouldn't have said "March 2017" if they weren't 100% sure of it. If there was any doubt whether they could get everything ready in time they would have just said "2017".

There's a chance that they were mostly sure (but not 100%) of the March launch date and chose to announce this to appease their shareholders. I don't want to believe this though. I say (/hope) Nintendo will release NX in March, just as they planned.

Well keep in mind Sony apparently still hasn't officially announced their Neo event, we only heard reports based on press invites. Obviously Sony isn't Nintendo and the NX isn't Neo but Nintendo doesn't really need to announce the event 3 weeks ahead of time. It actually wouldn't surprise me too much if the invites are sent out under an NDA and we might not actually hear about them for a while.

If there were press invites sent out under an NDA I'm sure at least someone would at least make some kind of remark even if they don't directly tell us about it.
 

Aostia

El Capitan Todd
You're right. NX is the same as a revision. We'll just get a press release and nothing until launch.

Ooook, are you trying to push me toward the Ignore button? Just tell me, so I don't waste more time in writing/reading.

I'll not explain it again, it is just funny to see how many posters disagreed with your "or they send invites or the nx will not it the market" sentence and still you go on with just me...


Btw, back on topic: I think people is trying too hard to predict the probably most unpredictable company of them all, both in terms of contents/products and PR/marketing/communiction.
There isn't an actual pattern, so it is really hard to find it out.
 

maxcriden

Member
Wii U was likely supposed to launch in Q2 2012.

But it's been twenty years since they last significantly delayed a platform from an officially announced date or timeframe, and fifteen years since they last delayed a launch at all, AFAIK (the NA GC launch slipped about two weeks).

Good tip on Wii U, thank you, I wasn't aware of that. That was during the period I wasn't as into Nintendo or video games. Anyway, to your second point, I completely agree--I tried to articulate that in my post to Skittzo, apologies if it didn't come across.

Right, as you said internal delays are certainly possible but Nintendo does not often delay their officially stated hardware launch dates. Still expecting March even if it's not revealed until January.

Edit: Perfect gif, Kodaman

Totally agree! Though, I'd be astonished if they didn't reveal till then. OTOH, Nintendo does like to astonish.
 
If there's no announcement today I'm done predicting when the announcement will come. It's too unhealthy for me to keep obesssing about this announcement. I'm just going to let it come when it comes.
 
I think Nintendo wouldn't have said "March 2017" if they weren't 100% sure of it. If there was any doubt whether they could get everything ready in time they would have just said "2017".

There's a chance that they were mostly sure (but not 100%) of the March launch date and chose to announce this to appease their shareholders. I don't want to believe this though. I say (/hope) Nintendo will release NX in March, just as they planned.

They never promised shareholders, prior to this past April, anyway, that NX would launch this FY.

That was implicit in Iwata's past assurances that this FY would see a return to "Nintendo-like profits," but only implicit, and Kimishima had already noticeably backed away from that.
 

maxcriden

Member
Regarding press invites under NDA, I believe Nate told us he'd let us know if he got anything, but I'm not sure if that extends to a situation where the invite itself was under NDA. It would certainly be understandable if he couldn't tell us in that scenario.
 

Neoxon

Junior Member
A week later would be pointless, and more than that would mean that it's either not ready or they have no confidence in it. If press don't get hands-on time with NX next month, it will not launch in March. Mark my words.
After promising a March 2017 release multiple times, I doubt that Nintendo would want to run the risk of pissing off the investors even more with another delay.
 

MuchoMalo

Banned
After promising a March 2017 release multiple times, I doubt that Nintendo would want to run the risk of pissing off the investors even more with another delay.

Which is why I can't see how there wouldn't be a press hands-on in September or October at the latest. Which, by the way, is what I've been trying to say and I corrected myself in an earlier post to make that more clear, so it would be nice if people would take it that way instead of acting like I'm targeting them FFS.

Either way, if I'm wrong and Nintendo holds a digital even with no press hands-on until near launch, I will not touch this thing at launch because it would mean that they are not confident in it at all.
 
Honestly, what would be the point of a press invite NDA? We know there's an NX and we know when it's scheduled for release. Would a reveal date, leaked a few weeks before, affect their current sales that much? Are NOA banking on a few weeks of Nintendo Select sales and the new 3DS Mario sku to the degree that an unveil date would be detrimental?
 

ekurisona

Member
what chance do you guys think there is for nx being pushed back to Q4 '17? would like to hear some discussion on if this is actually a possibilty-
 
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