swerve said:
Who told you about the renewed focus on the hardcore?
I don't think journalists aren't credible. I think both they and their sources don't share Nintendo's internal idea about the system or all the facts. The facts that they do have allow them to interpret it as a hardcore focused system. I imagine Nintendo will spin it very differently themselves.
The Wii ship may have passed, but to write off the 25 million Mario Kart and NSMBWii and WSResort players would be very foolish. To continue with the Wii's biggest successes on a bumped up system with some new interesting controller would seem less foolish.
Every console has a purpose, of course. I'm just saying that the new console's purpose is likely to improve on the failings of the past one, which did pretty damn well despite being technically inferior to the competitors. It may well be that Nintendo's belief is still that technical supremacy - or even parity - is less important than other features such as networking and messaging.
I don't think I said the social aspect has to be separate from power. A lot of focus in this thread is on tech specs, which we not only are unlikely to get next week, but the comparisons with potential future systems from the other guys maybe next year and maybe the year after are not likely to be as important to Nintendo than making a machine which allows them to execute on their vision for a home console.
Here is one scenario how nintendo could be thinking about this whole cafe scenarion.
First they thought about the whole scenario of how their home market has been gearing toward handheld gaming. How to capture some of this market to rekindle their interest in to a home console gaming. Well maybe they formulated an idea to create an console that could act as a proxy for streaming content in to a handheld. Giving a possiblity for an handheld like experience while retaining the technical benefits of a closed home system.
Another is that when they do that, this allows them the possibility to create software that alows them to deliver handheld multiplayer like experience in a home console form. Mimicking/expanding on that kind of experience by making the controller itself a handheld like design while maintaning lower price point per proxy system (under $60 per controller). As well as alowing people to personalize their controller as their own and maybe retain that personalization and bring it with them through a central identification system/software that allows that.
The advantage of this is, that they can now market this thing with strenghts of and handheld as well as a new kind of multiplayer /personal experience for familes at homes + Plus give new the hardcore multiplayer and the handheld gamer that mainly plays at home ect. And While doing this , at the same time having a higher fidelity /resolution graphics from the home consoles with lover pricepoints compared to the high price of entry for a family to use multiple ds sytems. Plus having the best graphics compared to any system that gives this kind of experience. Handhelds, consoles that provide family entertaiment, ect.
But also it has one big thrump card, all those multiplayer ds /psp games. That require multiple Systems to be multiplayer enabled. Well this thing could mimic that 4 player multiplayer handheld experience if its wireless. While maintaining under $60 price tag per controller. Becouse all the hardware is in the proxy and its streamed to these co-handheld systems that act like they were different consoles. That could be marketed to make the family feel like they all have their own personal cafe proxy handheld system whitch through they can acces content. While retaining the multiplayer social aspect and value of gather to play at the same room on front of the big screen. If marketed right, this could light up interest at japan, that seems to often scoff at traditional console systems. And if marketed right firing off new development and creating a possibity to create higher fidelity handheld like experience at home.
This whole thing if done right, is pretty marketable like the wii was , show people enjoying their own hanheld with high end graphics at home. Play together or from different rooms or alone with only your personal cafe controller (When all cafes come togher, its like a gathering at a cafe). Create easy ways that the consumer can instantly see how the new system is different from the ones before it , just like with the wii it was. Even if thes games never come, it could be a system that could gain traction and be unique experience for this system alone and create a new blue ocean to nintendo to expand to. Having enough differentation in its experience, so that it does not have to compete in pure specs with the hd twins. Having its own unique multiplayer /controller features as its selling points for the software that it receives.
So to be able to do this, they would need to have a gpu that can render and stream content to multiple controllers (a lot of fillrate). I think this is part of the reason why they chose to have extra power. But also becouse that extra power could be put to use in Nintedos first party efforts that extensively use those multiplayer aspects of this new controller. (Devs were hinting a forminable power, but not so much if the systems main feature is being used).
Another use is to be able to rerelease/resell key software through their new digital service system that is developed by external partner in co-op mode. There is a possiblity that they could start a rerelase hd catalog of wii games enhanced , allow fours sword to be played with 4 cafe controllers or mario kart ds to be downloaded from virtual console and played in 4 player mode at home. Gamecube/Wii games Wich have new cafe features and render at higher resolutions. But im not so sure about this, but a virtual console+ like service might happen, where you could acces that old content upscaled and maybe having little bit extra image quality. (This part is wildly speculative and very unlikely to happen, but i just put it all up there just in case some of this might happen in some form or another).
Another is the possibility to nintendo finally wanting to work they way trough of becoming a plattform whitch receives its own versions of the popular third party franchises this gen. As well as having a rendering piplene that could handle what these devs needs to be able to port and co develop next gen software to cafe platform as well, in tandem with the others. While retaining the possiblity for extra cafe features to balance the lower quality shaders.(I dont know if devs have any reason to implement or support this system this way next gen, but if nintendo puts enough effort and support, some of this might happen).
As far as the online system goes, maybe you can acces and view content through your personal controller from the anywhere at home. Register that controller as a unique console and play your galaxy at bed with it , donloaded from cafes digital service. Or play the games in a traditional way with big screen in mutliplayer ala mario kart wii (Only this time Smash bros, F-Zero, Pikmin, ect are now multiplayer enabled to just like mario kart.)
The online would have system built to be able to people to acces the whole online experience this way. So more online multiplayer content and software to provide more functionality out of this hardware that is more multiplayer and more network enabled in its games and in its overall software functionality.
Basically Nintendo is always looking ways to expand the ocean. There is a bossiblity that they have also thought how they could incorporate features that are found within the new an popular ipad with to this thing. (mentioning about apple being their primary competitor somewhere) People have mentioned the tablet idea. Maybe cafe could also be a portable tablet that gives you acces to Online services like internet and social networking through its software interface. but that remains to be seen how far nintendo is willing to go through in this arena depends on the third party they are working with and also their own vision whatever this kind of stuff is included in it. Or will they just want to stay in the game part of the spectrum. But i would imagine a browser functionality and a ability to stream video content from a the main machine or controller alone would be nice.
The last one is that there is a possiblity that 3ds could work as a controller for this thing , giving it some extra functionality perhaps. They system might having the compatibility for wii motion controls and pheripherals from the wii. Maybe they release a new pheripheral for this crowd for cafe ala balance board or will they incorporate motioncontrol and the new other gimmicry to the controller itself and see what of it will catch on remains to be seen.
Cafe could be an 3ds, NGP, IPad and network enabled HD Console media content streaming hub with multiplayer proxy functionality with these aspects as well, all at the same time. That would give it an edge when it comes to having wide variety of software being ported /developed to it. But also if they incorporate the functionality for measuring pulse ect.
They might have a next gen fitness system gimmic on their hands that draws in the new pheriheral must get crowd.
All this would require pretty significant software development to be able to pull off. Will nintendo go the whole distance. Well we can at least still dream about some of this materializing
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