Dean Takahashi is reliable, but it doesn't sound like he has any actual sources for any of this. Just speculation
Wait, this is the same Dean Takahashi that used to write for seattlepi etc, and wrote the books on Xbox right? WTF
Backwards compatibility is so damn overrated... Come on Nintendo, be business-smart and just make remasters of great games like everybody else. Almost nobody will care about the remaining games enough to approve another potentially compromised system architecture.
The next Zelda game will most likely come to both the NX and Wii U just like Twilight Princess did with Wii and Gamecube. Anyway I see your point but I believe the majority of Wii U owners are hardcore Nintendo fans that never or rarely sell their consoles. I just don't think it's that big of a deal for current owners. It'll most likely be BC since Iwata stated it would absorb the Wii U's architecture so I don't think there's anything to worry about anyway.
Backwards compatibility is so damn overrated... Come on Nintendo, be business-smart and just make remasters of great games like everybody else. Almost nobody will care about the remaining games enough to approve another potentially compromised system architecture.
Don't understand the hardware talk, but this means the NX is going to be able to support Wii U BC?
If so, that is fantastic news ! The Wii U will be four years old if this thing launches next year, so having BC with Wii U games is very important so that way Wii U owners don't feel cheated.
The article states that AMD will be supplying the GPU and that the thing will run a x86 architecture (so it will mirror the PS4/X1 that way), so hopefully PS4/X1 ports of at least Indie games land on the NX then.
It seems like the NX based on that article, will be in-between a Wii U and a X1 power-wise (at least the home console version of the NX if it really is a hybrid console).....not bad; more powerful then the Wii U to more demanding games but not powerful enough to run most of the third party line up (so stuff like FFXV or KH3 might not happen on NX).
It will be a shame if third parties ditch Nintendo once again if the NX isn't powerful enough, but at least it will give Nintendo teams and independent developers stronger hardware to play with.
The article never said that, also that article has mistakes in it implying that the Wii U can currently run x86 based games......
It makes sense for them to go for BC if they're interested in creating some kind of nebulous, universal machine for playing all the games in their catalog. Assuming it is some kind of amphibious portable/home console, getting instant access to all the WiiU/Wii games and all the VC emulated on them, makes sense.
It makes sense for them to go for BC if they're interested in creating some kind of nebulous, universal machine for playing all the games in their catalog. Assuming it is some kind of amphibious portable/home console, getting instant access to all the WiiU/Wii games and all the VC emulated on them, makes sense.
ARM in home console to ease handheld game ports. x86 so that third party can port their games without loosing a lot of money.
I'm not sure backward compatibility would be guaranteed, given the Wii U's small install base it might be a good time to start fresh.
I suppose you could also look at it the other way, backward compatibility would give the Wii U games a second opportunity to bring in revenue.
Either way, I don't think an AMD APU would be all that surprising.
The Wii U's small install base is also a huge reason for backwards compatibility. I'm sure there are a lot of people who would like to buy a brand new Nintendo system that also has the ability to play big hits they may have missed such as Mario Kart 8.
The article suggests the Wii to Wii U transition went from powerPC to x86, which is flat out wrong, so it's probably not worth paying attention to.
Backwards-Compatibility seems pointless with the small install-base and the fact several game are already in small print runs.
They would be better off just remastering a few titles like Mario 3D World, Pikmin 3 and Tropical Freeze while having new Mario Kart, Smash and Splatoon installments.
There's not a large audience to entice and several Wii U games outside of the big ones are niche.
Remasters also sell to core Nintendo base that has already bought the Wii U games.
Backwards-Compatibility seems pointless with the small install-base and the fact several game are already in small print runs.
They would be better off just remastering a few titles like Mario 3D World, Pikmin 3 and Tropical Freeze while having new Mario Kart, Smash and Splatoon installments.
There's not a large audience to entice and several Wii U games outside of the big ones are niche.
Remasters also sell to core Nintendo base that has already bought the Wii U games.
They're already all on the eShop, doubt that would really be an issueBackwards-Compatibility seems pointless with the small install-base and the fact several game are already in small print runs.
They would be better off just remastering a few titles like Mario 3D World, Pikmin 3 and Tropical Freeze while having new Mario Kart, Smash and Splatoon installments.
There's not a large audience to entice and several Wii U games outside of the big ones are niche.
Remasters also sell to core Nintendo base that has already bought the Wii U games.
Well damn....might be time to take this with a bucket of salt.
How could anyone get that wrong?
Nintendo has already made the leap from IBM’s PowerPC to x86-based (AMD and Intel) architecture. ...It would make sense for Nintendo to...continue to use x86 architecture [in NX]
But with the 2012-era Nintendo Wii U, IBM provides a PowerPC processor and AMD provides the graphics chip. With Nintendo, AMD would have to come up with an APU that handled both the CPU and GPU functions and be able to handle the PowerPC processing as well (in order to run older Nintendo games).
So can we trust this article or not?
People keep saying it, but I dont believe this.
There's not an industry wide, decades long grudge just towards nintendo. big third parties are publicly traded companies that have shareholders. If Nintendo actually specced a machine third parties are developing their stuff for, youd see more games.
Remasters...as seen with PS4 and XBO...do sell. Thats definitely an option.
Unless I'm mistaken....couldnt NSMB U be considered a remaster?
Remasters...as seen with PS4 and XBO...do sell. Thats definitely an option.
Unless I'm mistaken....couldnt NSMB U be considered a remaster?
But what about VC games?
PowerPC is fine though I think it is wiser to move towards x86 and stick to that architecture long term with a unified OS and hardware architecture going forward, but this does make me question the form factor of the device a little. I hope they move away from the tablet gamepad of the Wii U, but if the NX is a console that has backwards compatibility with the Wii U things are a little weird. I think sacrificing Wii U BC and moving to x86 and killing the tablet gamepad is significantly wiser, regardless of whatever quirks the NX ends up with.
I'd much rather Nintendo put their effort into new games instead of pumping out re-masters of games that didn't get people to buy their system in the first place (I think they're fucking amazing but clearly the majority don't find them compelling enough to buy a system). Either put backwards compatibility or don't do anything. Putting out remasters of multiplayer games like MK and Smash is a bad idea anyway, seeing as how part of the appeal of those franchises is how they get new iterations every console generation.
Nintendo has an ever going struggle with their machines due to piss poor third party support. That means they're basically the only developers (outside of indies and 3rd party contractors) that support the console. Releasing remasters every now and then between new and big games would be a good way to keep their momentum going as they're relatively easier and cheaper to do.
Aonuma said it took them 6 months to work on WWHD and it actually sold pretty good (for Wii U standards anyway) so yeah, I'm not against remasters as long as they're worth the investment.
For example, currently it requires a huge amount of effort to port Wii software to Nintendo 3DS because not only their resolutions but also the methods of software development are entirely different. The same thing happens when we try to port Nintendo 3DS software to Wii U. If the transition of software from platform to platform can be made simpler, this will help solve the problem of game shortages in the launch periods of new platforms. Also, as technological advances took place at such a dramatic rate, and we were forced to choose the best technologies for video games under cost restrictions, each time we developed a new platform, we always ended up developing a system that was completely different from its predecessor. The only exception was when we went from Nintendo GameCube to Wii. Though the controller changed completely, the actual computer and graphics chips were developed very smoothly as they were very similar to those of Nintendo GameCube, but all the other systems required ground-up effort. However, I think that we no longer need this kind of effort under the current circumstances. In this perspective, while we are only going to be able to start this with the next system, it will become important for us to accurately take advantage of what we have done with the Wii U architecture. It of course does not mean that we are going to use exactly the same architecture as Wii U, but we are going to create a system that can absorb the Wii U architecture adequately. When this happens, home consoles and handheld devices will no longer be completely different, and they will become like brothers in a family of systems.
It of course does not mean that we are going to use exactly the same architecture as Wii U, but we are going to create a system that can absorb the Wii U architecture adequately. When this happens, home consoles and handheld devices will no longer be completely different, and they will become like brothers in a FAMILY of systems.
I'd much rather them continue to ignore those business smarts and invest in new games rather than remasters. Not sure why you would want them to go with the less consumer-friendly option.
PowerPC is fine though I think it is wiser to move towards x86 and stick to that architecture long term with a unified OS and hardware architecture going forward, but this does make me question the form factor of the device a little. I hope they move away from the tablet gamepad of the Wii U, but if the NX is a console that has backwards compatibility with the Wii U things are a little weird. I think sacrificing Wii U BC and moving to x86 and killing the tablet gamepad is significantly wiser, regardless of whatever quirks the NX ends up with.
I can see trying to get BC in so digital purchases can come across as smoothly as possible.
Nintendo hasn't released a backwards compatible home console that didn't require old controllers.Wii U bc wouldn't necessarily require a tablet controller as part of the NX. History states they'd make you keep your old gamepad instead.
Wii U BC could be like Wii BC on Wii U. the machine can run the games but you have to buy the controllers on your own.
just shrink down the wiiu parts and include them in the same console for your BC. Then add some brand new NX hardware. Shouldn't cost that much anymore in terms of parts right?