Nintendo filed a patent for a video game console with no disc drive

[kdotj24]

People on NeoGAF found that Nintendo recently filed a patent for a console with no CD drive. Basically, games won't come on CDs. However, it also looks like the games will come on a physical copy, as the patent apparently states that the console can read games off of devices such as an SD card. People are saying that this could be the NX, but there are also those saying that it may be something like a "Wii U Mini".

Source: http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/08/21/nintendo-files-patent-for-console-with-no-optical-drive

Edited August 22, 2015 by kdotj24

[Milo]

Clearly, this can only mean one thing...

Nintendo's returning to cartridges! =D

Time to start incorrectly and suggestively blowing on those carts again, baby!

EDIT: A brief heads up-reminder that next time, remember to show us the source.

Edited August 22, 2015 by Gabe

[PSI Wind]

Nintendo has a ton of patents that they never really end up using. This really doesn't mean anything at all.

[Tara]

I'm skeptical about this as well.  If Sony and Microsoft haven't given up on physical copies of games, then I doubt Nintendo will anytime soon.  They're usually late for any sort of innovation these days.

[Diesel]

Discs or no discs, I think this will flop hard. The fact they're already planning to release a new console has thrown consumers off, and their track record in recent years has been pretty bad. They should just stop making home consoles entirely; their games would be so better received on the Playstation 4 and Xbox One.

And "NX" is a terrible name, IMHO. It just makes one think of "Xbox". As for "Wii U Mini", I guess I could see the reasoning for that. The Wii U has doing alright ever since last holiday season, last I checked, so a name like that would make it seem less like they're abandoning the Wii U so soon. I think a name representing how the console is Nintendo's most technologically advanced to date would be better, though, as that may make consumers more likely to buy it, though. I'm thinking of something like "Super Wii", hmmm ...

Edited August 22, 2015 by Diesel

[Patticus]

This might be more protecting future ideas than actual plans for the next system. The infrastructure for a digital-only console isn't there in many areas, and won't be for some years to come.

[Guest]

read games off of sd card? this thing is just begging to get hacked

[JaidynReiman]

Discs or no discs, I think this will flop hard. The fact they're already planning to release a new console has thrown consumers off, and their track record in recent years has been pretty bad. They should just stop making home consoles entirely; their games would be so better received on the Playstation 4 and Xbox One.

And "NX" is a terrible name, IMHO. It just makes one think of "Xbox". As for "Wii U Mini", I guess I could see the reasoning for that. The Wii U has doing alright ever since last holiday season, last I checked, so a name like that would make it seem less like they're abandoning the Wii U so soon. I think a name representing how the console is Nintendo's most technologically advanced to date would be better, though, as that may make consumers more likely to buy it, though. I'm thinking of something like "Super Wii", hmmm ...

Its called "Code Name NX" for a reason. That's not its actually name, its just a Code Name. Geez people can get really ridiculous at times. They rarely use the code name as the final name for the console as is. Gamecube's code name was "Dolphin."

[Milo]

 

Nintendo has a ton of patents that they never really end up using. This really doesn't mean anything at all.

I wouldn't count it out so quickly. The console patent, aside from ditching a disk drive, also describes the console using a controller with a screen. Given Nintendo's interest in retaining Wii U architecture for the NX, the patent could definitely play a part in that, as it preserves the GamePad aspect of the Wii U.

Also with the whole history of NX's goal being to unifying handheld and console divisions and develop games for one platform instead of two, the idea of a Nintendo cartridge returning to cartridges or using carts for a console doesn't really seem too far-fetched, as Nintendo still uses carts for their handhelds (so you could theoretically make a game that could be used on either a Nintendo console or a Nintendo handheld, since they would both use the same type of media for games). And in light of this, the aforementioned controller with a screen could alternatively be a Nintendo handheld rather than a GamePad-the patent also describes the controller as being able to be plugged into the console so it can be charged.

Carts also have the benefits of significantly faster loading times and better durability over discs, and cart slots have fewer moving parts compared to disc drives. Not to mention optical media, in comparison, is constantly getting eclipsed in popularity by digital content and streaming media in contemporary times.

The previous post above was largely a joke post, but upon reflection of the possibility of using carts, I genuinely think this patent does gives a glimpse of what Nintendo might be doing with their hardware in the future, even if in a lot of ways it sounds "too good to be true".

Discs or no discs, I think this will flop hard. The fact they're already planning to release a new console has thrown consumers off, and their track record in recent years has been pretty bad. They should just stop making home consoles entirely; their games would be so better received on the Playstation 4 and Xbox One.

And "NX" and "Wii U Mind" are both terrible names. "NX" fails because it just makes one think of "Xbox" and "Wii U Mind" fails for the same reasons the name "Wii U" did; it just sounds like an accessory rather than a new console.

Nintendo's Iwata is on record for explicitly stating they won't stop making consoles anytime soon. The entire point of them being a console manufacturer is that the profits they make over their consoles allows them to design their products as they want, which they wouldn't be able to do by developing products for other platforms. That and unlike Microsoft or Sony, they're not conglomerates, so they wouldn't have any other (major) businesses to financially keep them afloat if they quit making consoles. Not to mention that going third-party hasn't really work out for Sega much from a quality standpoint-their new CEO just recently apologized for betraying fans trust through a lack of quality games and devaluing their brand over the last decade (which, coincidentally, was shortly after Sega was acquired by Sammy Corp.)

NX was never stated to be the final name; and we still don't even know if it will be a console or not.

And where are you even getting "Wii U Mind" from? It's not even mentioned in the patents or this thread.

Edited August 22, 2015 by Gabe

[Willsy]

Discs or no discs, I think this will flop hard. The fact they're already planning to release a new console has thrown consumers off, and their track record in recent years has been pretty bad. They should just stop making home consoles entirely; their games would be so better received on the Playstation 4 and Xbox One.

Firstly, it's perfectly normal for a company to start development on a new console as soon as they launch their current one. The Playstation 5 is actually already in development, and has been since development ceased on the PS4. By the time NX will finally release, it would have been at least five years since the Wii U launched, which is standard for Nintendo platforms (and formerly the whole industry) and has been for a while now. This should not throw consumers off now if it hasn't done so before. They literally only confirmed that they were working on a new console to stop the bullshit about them going third party from flying around. 

As as for that last sentence, how exactly? Their games are already critically acclaimed, if anything, having to develop for more platforms would be a detriment to quality. Nintendo were and still are doing fine in terms of hardware, with the Wii U being an exception (though they made a lot of stupid mistakes with that system which turned consumers off it). The 3DS has done rather well considering the boom in the mobile market, the New 3DS especially which has surpassed sales expectations for them. Overall, I do not see why they should have to go third party, they should continue to adapt their hardware and find a blue ocean to target that hardware at, rather than going for ones that are already too crowded. 

Edited August 22, 2015 by Wil348: Definitive Edition

[Tornado]

The idea is probably something like the Vita's game cards, if I had to guess.

[azoo]

I was going to mention that games of that size being released on cards sounded like a crazy idea, until I remembered USB sticks and SD cards are now pretty affordable even at sizes holding up to 32GB... so if we go to something like that over discs next time then I really wouldn't be too surprised, actually.

And before any of you doubt that, it's not as if this kind of thing is something Nintendo has never done before.

Edited August 22, 2015 by Azoo

[Mando-Whirl-Wind]

I was going to mention that games of that size being released on cards sounded like a crazy idea, until I remembered USB sticks and SD cards are now pretty affordable even at sizes holding up to 32GB... so if we go to something like that over discs next time then I really wouldn't be too surprised, actually.

Ya, I'm on that train of thought as well. Since at this point Nintendo works fine within 32GB, and even beyond that unlike the individually bought memory cards we normal consumers get Nintendo buys in bulk, has production facilities as well.

[Diesel]

Nintendo's Iwata is on record for explicitly stating they won't stop making consoles anytime soon.

That's not up to them, though. It's up to consumers. If fewer and fewer people buy Nintendo's consoles, they won't be making much money and eventually they'll stop making consoles altogether. Considering how poorly the Wii U has done, I think they'll drop out not too long from now.

The entire point of them being a console manufacturer is that the profits they make over their consoles allows them to design their products as they want, which they wouldn't be able to do by developing products for other platforms.

But if they make less and less of a profit, they'll have no choice but to stop, which I think will happen not too long from now.

That and unlike Microsoft or Sony, they're not conglomerates, so they wouldn't have any other (major) businesses to financially keep them afloat if they quit making consoles.

They can be bought by another company.

 Not to mention that going third-party hasn't really work out for Sega much from a quality standpoint-their new CEO just recently apologized for betraying fans trust through a lack of quality games and devaluing their brand over the last decade (which, coincidentally, was shortly after Sega was acquired by Sammy Corp.)

Just because Sega did poorly as a third party company doesn't mean the same would happen to Nintendo.

NX was never stated to be the final name; and we still don't even know if it will be a console or not.

I know it's the codename, but I misread the OP and thought it said it was gonna be the final name. My bad.

And where are you even getting "Wii U Mind" from? It's not even mentioned in the patents or this thread.

Misread the OP, my bad.

As as for that last sentence, how exactly? Their games are already critically acclaimed, if anything, having to develop for more platforms would be a detriment to quality. Nintendo were and still are doing fine in terms of hardware, with the Wii U being an exception (though they made a lot of stupid mistakes with that system which turned consumers off it). The 3DS has done rather well considering the boom in the mobile market, the New 3DS especially which has surpassed sales expectations for them. Overall, I do not see why they should have to go third party, because chances are if they did, they would just fade into obscurity like SEGA, who I don't think have much time left before dying out completely. They should continue to adapt their hardware and find a blue ocean to target that hardware at, rather than going for ones that are already too crowded.

Microsoft or Sony could buy them, so they'd still only develop for one console. Wii U is Nintendo's main console, and since it's not doing well, Nintendo's obviously not doing fine. And just because Sega flopped after going third party doesn't mean the same would happen to Nintendo.

I disagree when you say Xbox One and PS4's audiences are too crowded. I'm sure there are plenty of people who own PS4s and Xbox Ones who would love to play Nintendo's games; they just don't feel like buying another console to do so. Nintendo games would certainly sell if they were on Microsoft and Sony's consoles. There isn't much of audience for Nintendo home consoles, hence why Wii U has been bombing. Nintendo hasn't been very successful with home consoles lately, so I don't see the point in them continuing to make more.

Edited August 22, 2015 by Diesel

[Tornado]

 Yeah. I just bought a 32GB flash drive at Wal-Mart the other day for $11. Figure, two or three years from now when this console probably goes into final development the manufacturing costs on Nintendo's end for that much space but in ROM format will be, what, an tenth of that? Certainly won't be as cheap as any optical media, but you also have to factor in cheaper manufacturing costs by eliminating optical drive assemblies and a generally faster and more reliable readable source.

 

 

Microsoft or Sony could buy them, so they'd still only develop for one console.

 

I'm sure Microsoft and especially Sony's shareholders would love that

[Mando-Whirl-Wind]

I hate the oh sure Sega did badly, but they were failing before arguement, because Sega is the remembered example, because of how badly the others did. How about Atari? They did decently for awhile, but they technically no longer exist(their name was bought by another company around 2010-ish), or how about 3DO?

Also Nintendo still sells well, and they have good games, problem this gen is a simple naming mistake, and some bad marketing decisions, but a really solid system.

Also Cartridges are more reliable with longer lifespans too

[kdotj24]

 "NX" is a terrible name, IMHO. It just makes one think of "Xbox". As for "Wii U Mini", I guess I could see the reasoning for that. The Wii U has doing alright ever since last holiday season, last I checked, so a name like that would make it seem less like they're abandoning the Wii U so soon. I think a name representing how the console is Nintendo's most technologically advanced to date would be better, though, as that may make consumers more likely to buy it, though. I'm thinking of something like "Super Wii", hmmm ...

"NX" is the codename, just like the "Revolution" was the codename for the Wii, "Dolphin" for Gamecube, etc. If they wanna have good sales, they need to drop the Wii name, as it implies that it's either an add-on for the Wii (which some did believe), or its a "kiddy" console.

[azoo]

 Yeah. I just bought a 32GB flash drive at Wal-Mart the other day for $11. Figure, two or three years from now when this console probably goes into final development the manufacturing costs on Nintendo's end for that much space but in ROM format will be, what, an tenth of that? Certainly won't be as cheap as any optical media, but you also have to factor in cheaper manufacturing costs by eliminating optical drive assemblies and a generally faster and more reliable readable source.

Oh yeah, you've got a good point. I can definitely see this happening now. 

If Nintendo can do something like give us a 500GB or 1TB hard drive and make all the games packed onto these sort of storage cards then that'd be a pretty good idea on their part. The only thing that a disc-less console would be bad for is... well, backwards compatibility. Who knows how they'd pull that off whenever Nintendo's built a lot of goodwill off of it.. and it'd especially suck since the Wii U has had such a short life.

[Diesel]

"NX" is the codename, just like the "Revolution" was the codename for the Wii, "Dolphin" for Gamecube, etc. If they wanna have good sales, they need to drop the Wii name, as it implies that it's either an add-on for the Wii (which some did believe), or its a "kiddy" console.

Just because a console's name is similar to its predecessor's doesn't necessarily mean consumers will assume the console is just an add-on for its predecessor. Nobody assumed the PS2 was an add-on for the PS1, nobody assumed the PS3 was an add-on for the PS2, nobody assumed the PS4 was an add-on for the PS3, nobody assumed the Xbox 360 was an add-on for the original Xbox and nobody assumed the Xbox One was an add-on for the Xbox 360 (although the name "Xbox One" threw consumers off for other reasons).

The reason why people assumed the Wii U was an add-on for the Wii was because "Wii U" just doesn't sound like a successor to the Wii. If it was called something like "Wii 2", then consumers would know it's a successor. Likewise, if the NX's final name was something called "Super Wii U", consumers would probably know it's not an add-on.

Edited August 22, 2015 by Diesel

[kdotj24]

Just because a console's name is similar to its predecessor doesn't necessarily mean consumers will assume the console is just an add-on for its predecessor. Nobody assumed the PS2 was an add-on for the PS1, nobody assumed the PS3 was an add-on for the PS2, nobody assumed the PS4 was an add-on for the PS3, nobody assumed the Xbox 360 was an add-on for the original Xbox and nobody assumed the Xbox One was an add-on for the Xbox 360 (although the name "Xbox One" threw consumers off for other reasons).

The reason why people assumed the Wii U was an add-on for the Wii was because "Wii U" just doesn't sound like a successor to the Wii. If it was called the "Wii 2", then consumers would know it's a successor. Likewise, if the NX's final name was something called "Super Wii U", consumers probably know it's not an add-on.

Good point. Me, and many others thought the Wii U was an add on for the Wii, and I had a feeling people would still think that way. I do feel that they should get rid of the "Wii" name. It doesn't have to be an "edgy" name, but try a different brand name.

[Tara]

Oh yeah, you've got a good point. I can definitely see this happening now. 

If Nintendo can do something like give us a 500GB or 1TB hard drive and make all the games packed onto these sort of storage cards then that'd be a pretty good idea on their part. The only thing that a disc-less console would be bad for is... well, backwards compatibility. Who knows how they'd pull that off whenever Nintendo's built a lot of goodwill off of it.. and it'd especially suck since the Wii U has had such a short life.

A good possibility is that the console would have an optical disk drive built in, but none of the console's main games would support.  It would be there for the sake of backwards-compatibility and nothing more.

[Sean]

I don't think this would happen, but honestly I'd be okay with this. If the next system has a proper account system like Sony's then I don't have to worry about stupid shit like my digital games being tied to a console and thus I would opt for digital-only anyway.

 

The reason this won't happen is because Nintendo would immediately lose all public attention in retail. Consumers would look at the system and constantly ask why there are no games on shelves. It would also be a headache for people who frequent used game shops.

Edited August 22, 2015 by Sean

[Oscillo]

 

That's not up to them, though. It's up to consumers. If fewer and fewer people buy Nintendo's consoles, they won't be making much money and eventually they'll stop making consoles altogether. Considering how poorly the Wii U has done, I think they'll drop out not too long from now.

But if they make less and less of a profit, they'll have no choice but to stop, which I think will happen not too long from now.

What makes you think that the Wii U doing badly necessitates that every Nintendo console thereafter is going to descend in sales? Keep in mind that after the GameCube did relatively poorly against the PS2, the Wii came out & there's no way you could say that wasn't a success : S.

Edited August 22, 2015 by fOscillo

[Diesel]

What makes you think that the Wii U doing badly necessitates that every Nintendo console thereafter is going to descend in sales? Keep in mind that after the GameCube did relatively poorly against the PS2, the Wii came out & there's no way you couldn't say that wasn't a success : S.

I highly doubt Nintendo's next consoles will be as successful as the Wii. The gaming industry has changed since then; I don't think Nintendo will able to rely on gimmicks to sell their consoles anymore. 

Edited August 22, 2015 by Diesel

[PSI Wind]

A good possibility is that the console would have an optical disk drive built in, but none of the console's main games would support.  It would be there for the sake of backwards-compatibility and nothing more.

There's also a possibility of making one with a disc drive for BC that's a bit more expensive than the one without.