Phenomenal Flea
Member
Man, that would be kinda neat to see!
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Speculation based on trademark minutia: Nintendo NX to use cartridges
- Thread starter Smellycat
- Start date
Interceptor
Banned
Nope.
a) because its a dumb thing to do. You get a shitty handheld and a shitty console.
b) Nintendo told us: "It´s not a hybrid", "Its multiple devices, maybe even more than 2, sharing software like iOS and android."
So no, it wont be a hybrid.
An amount that would be a non-issue if the price was right.
Expect 30-64 GB game cards.
SD card transfer speeds are also pretty fucking bullshit, so I'd hope that's not the standard being reached for here...
Pancakes R Us
Member
This is what I want to know. Wasn't the whole point of moving away from them for home consoles due to expensive, proprietary format? Why go back to this? I appreciate that load times may be an issue, but they've become standard for consoles and some developers keep a tight reign on them. Also, some cart games still have load times, I think.
Oh man I'd love to have a little NX game cartridge that I can pop out of my console and put straight into my handheld to take with me.
I hope this is true, but they'd be pretty expensive wouldn't they? I guess to the consumer end that can be justified since the games play on both NX systems
I hope this is true, but they'd be pretty expensive wouldn't they? I guess to the consumer end that can be justified since the games play on both NX systems
Mr. Pointy
Member
I hope these carts are Neo Geo sized. The ROM chip should be the same as a 3DS, but the plastic casing should be huge and premium feeling.
Mihael Mello Keehl
Banned
HUELEN10
Member
No reason why the console wouldn't support external disks for storage like Wii U does. Have install options for every game ala Xbox 360, use the Card as an authentication tool on boot up and we're golden.
OT: My PS3, Wii, Wii U are all running on SSDs!
Less Moving parts, smaller box, other things
Carts of yesteryear are much different than carts of today.
YianGaruga
Banned
The only benefit that it has over discs is that you can use them in a handheld device. Every other benefit that people mention is not worth the extra cost.
I think it'd work pretty well myself. Would solidify a place for Nintendo in the market. But they've probably got something else up their sleeves.
WiiRevolution1
Member
If it uses cartridges, it essentially seems like 100% compatibility between home and handhelds imo.
And if thats the case...Zelda BOTW on a handheld...all of Nintendo games on a handheld are my dream. I can't keep getting two systems. Please just reveal the damn thing already instead of keeping my hopes up!
And if thats the case...Zelda BOTW on a handheld...all of Nintendo games on a handheld are my dream. I can't keep getting two systems. Please just reveal the damn thing already instead of keeping my hopes up!
SatoAilDarko
Member
Both handheld and home console play the same games.
I mean look at the announced 3DS games coming. The 3DS is winding down.
I mean look at the announced 3DS games coming. The 3DS is winding down.
And yet they're still way faster than optical discs. There's a reason all PS4 and Xbone games do a full install onto the HDD.
Maybe the NX handheld will be also the controller for the home console. No cartridge/disc-slot on the Hardware connecting to the TV.
I had an idea of having the NX being mostly a seperate small streaming box that can be optionally hooked up with a Wii and Wii U and a handheld with free-form display that can be used as a controller and as a dedicated handheld featuring remote play and partial Android features including a walled app store wich has both dedicatd software and smartphone games.
I had an idea of having the NX being mostly a seperate small streaming box that can be optionally hooked up with a Wii and Wii U and a handheld with free-form display that can be used as a controller and as a dedicated handheld featuring remote play and partial Android features including a walled app store wich has both dedicatd software and smartphone games.
okay new idea:
march 2017:
-launch with zelda nx, smash bros., pikmin 4, and new ip w/ console ($299.99)
november 2017:
-launch with super mario galaxy 3, super smash kart, and animal crossing w/ handheld ($199.99)
fill in the rest of the year with retro's game, splatoon nx, and super mario maker.
of course, both systems use cards.
march 2017:
-launch with zelda nx, smash bros., pikmin 4, and new ip w/ console ($299.99)
november 2017:
-launch with super mario galaxy 3, super smash kart, and animal crossing w/ handheld ($199.99)
fill in the rest of the year with retro's game, splatoon nx, and super mario maker.
of course, both systems use cards.
Corleth the Fey
Member
Nintendo can charge money manufacturing them. Profit!
OrbitalBeard
Member
I can totally see something like this happening.
YianGaruga
Banned
yes it's semantics. People mean the same thing
Ban Puncher
Member
Suck it optical, you crappy format.
Winnie the Pimp
Member
Team cartridges forever!!!
Man this would be amazing but i just can' see it...
Man this would be amazing but i just can' see it...
dangeraaron10
Unconfirmed Member
I hear of cartridges pretty frequently. I absolutely support them on the merits that the technology is now made leaps and bounds better than the old N64 carts we normally think of. No disc drive needed to save on cost, durable, faster load times, capacity no longer an issue in today's industry, and this reinforces Shared Library between console and handheld with "scaling" of fidelity already present on games running between Old 3DS and New 3DS.
Bring it on.
Bring it on.
Simbabbad
Member
- Proprietary format.
- Load times are faster.
- You don't have to bother with mechanical parts in your console, which are noisy and are the first to break, and you can make a very small, extremely silent console.
- You're ideally heading toward digital anyway.
- It's a lot cheaper than it used to.
- You can use the same cartridge for handheld and home console, which would make sense if home console NX and handheld NX share the same library (with different capabilities).
matrix-cat
Member
I still can't quite believe it'll happen, but I think it'd be really cool all the same. Faster load times, a smaller console and no more game installs or whirring disc drive would be fantastic.
the extra costs are only a thing in the beginning. the carts are made so they are compatible with multiple devices.
So while the cost is a little higher than for discs, you don't have to pay those multiple times. also, I'm sure Nintendo can eat the additional costs for the publishers for a while in order to make the NX more attractive to them
Interceptor
Banned
Handhelds need to be cost and energy efficient. So not exactly a thing you would connect to a TV to play high end games on. A console is the opposite.
Tell me how you would fit the power of a scorpio in a device as big as an iPhone, combining these two totally contrary engineering philosophies, with a battery life of 10 hours and then sell it for $199.
It doesnt work pretty well.
It doesnt make any sense.
Dark Cloud
Member
I want to play FFVIIR on a NX handheld. Omg that would be a dream come true.
How much would a cartridge cost compared to a disc at similar storage?
If Nintendo wants to build a small, powerful, low power consuming, silent device, cartridges would help all those points.
HUELEN10
Member
If they went with carts, who would they go with? Their ties with Masushita/Panasonic seem severed, and Matrix semiconductor is kinda shitty.
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-...50&s1=7336409.PN.&OS=PN/7336409&RS=PN/7336409
Maybe holo mini-squares?
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-...50&s1=7336409.PN.&OS=PN/7336409&RS=PN/7336409
Maybe holo mini-squares?
I just hope the console can still be powerful and the game would simply scale up on consoles and scale down on handhelds, like high/low settings on PC games. So Zelda: BotW would run like the WiiU game on the handheld but get a boost in resolution/framerate/AA/etc on the console.
OrbitalBeard
Member
Macronix
HUELEN10
Member
The N64 guys?!?!?
My guess: They are basically using 2.5" SSD drives (or smaller) with just enough capacity to store a specific game. The cartridge probably contains a chip for authentication which defines the game that is stored on it.
If data is lost, game files can be reaquired via download and stored on the cartridge. Save games are also stored on the cartridge.
If data is lost, game files can be reaquired via download and stored on the cartridge. Save games are also stored on the cartridge.
LelouchZero
Member
It will be interesting to see what becomes of this.
The DS/3DS guys.
As said earlier in the thread the New 3DS might have been a testbed for that.
It would also fit the bill as far as Nintendo technology innovation goes. It's not a gimmick, but it would be marketable like a gimmick would be.
Oh yeah! This would be right up my alley if this happened!
Right on time to capitalize on the main flow of 90s N64 nostalgia too! I would change my complete digital purchase pattern to physical media again for some titles. There's just something about cartridges that is incredibly more satisfying compared to discs.
And there are enough synergy effects for Nintendo too to switch to cartridges again:
Also the fact that Nintendo consoles were never up for physical media players helps the fact that this could be a thing. Sony and MS need disc drives. Sony to push their BluRay agenda and MS to not fall behind in the media capabilities. Nintendo never really bothered with that besides Netflix on the Wii.
Right on time to capitalize on the main flow of 90s N64 nostalgia too! I would change my complete digital purchase pattern to physical media again for some titles. There's just something about cartridges that is incredibly more satisfying compared to discs.
And there are enough synergy effects for Nintendo too to switch to cartridges again:
- Less shelf space
- even less shelf space if both systems are able to use the same games
- More space in the console for cooling/power instead of disc-drive
- No idea how it works out with licenses for cards compared to discs...
Also the fact that Nintendo consoles were never up for physical media players helps the fact that this could be a thing. Sony and MS need disc drives. Sony to push their BluRay agenda and MS to not fall behind in the media capabilities. Nintendo never really bothered with that besides Netflix on the Wii.
HUELEN10
Member
This idea is anti handheld/hybrid, so I like it.
It wouldn't be cartridges like the NES, SNES, & N64, but rather game cards like the DS & 3DS (since Macronix is supposedly the manufacturer for the NX cartridges, the same guys who did the DS & 3DS cartridges).
- Having a cartridge-based platform allows for the same physical copy to be used across the NX Console & NX Handheld, thus not forcing the platform as a whole to be digital-only to get the point of a shared library across (if that's the route Nintendo's going, which may end up being the case). This would also benefit Nintendo in the long-run because they only have to print one copy of a game rather than two, thus saving money overall.
- Using cartridges instead of discs also allows for Nintendo to avoid having to install game assets to the device's hard drive, which can help in saving space for the user. Nintendo has bypassed the need for installations for the most part with the Wii U (Xenoblade X aside), so Nintendo may want to continue this trend. Also by virtue of the faster transfer speeds, load times would be cut down by a considerable degree. Not to mention that you can put your save data on the cartridge itself.
- The use of cartridges for the NX Platform also cuts down on the number of moving parts, which would be a bigger benefit for the NX Console. Not only would said NX Console be able to last longer without breaking down, but Nintendo can cut costs down by not needing a disc drive. Said saved costs can be either diverted towards improving the NX Console (Ex: adding a better CPU, GPU, more RAM, etc.) or just lowering the price tag of the NX Console.
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