The Nintendo Switch Thread

[Indigo Rush]

Because they were promoting specifically the shoulder buttons.

 

You know that for sure?

[Marcello]

Because they were promoting specifically the shoulder buttons.

I don't get it. The fact that there's a screen on it apparently has a meaning, but the lack of face buttons has none?

[JaidynReiman]

I don't get it. The fact that there's a screen on it apparently has a meaning, but the lack of face buttons has none?

Its all in context. Ok, let's examine the barebones mockup. There's not a lot of buttons, but its clearly based on the GamePad. Obviously that's a central important factor. They also specifically point out in the patent how the shoulder buttons will work.

A lack of buttons doesn't mean those are the only buttons that they will be included, it just means they didn't bother putting them in. Especially when you have to consider that these are very early rough drafts and likely will look very, very different by the time it reaches the final stage.

 

The fact that it looks just like the GamePad is a very significant factor, though, because it still means they're looking at maintaining a touch pad controller for their consoles. The buttons don't really mean a whole heck of a lot at this point.

[Candescence]

I still wouldn't read into anything but the actual subject of the patent. I doubt Nintendo are gonna drop touch screen controllers, but the window dressing in patents mean absolutely nothing.

Also, the NX is not going to be a hybrid of any form. Not only is that an incredibly stupid idea for so many reasons, Iwata actually explicitly said it won't be a hybrid. It's gonna be a family of systems sharing a similar architecture and OS, with cross-platform compatibility between NX systems. 

[Phos]

The patent is probably for the scrollable shoulders buttons, and the rest is probably incidental, and it doesn't guarantee they'll be on the system when it launches. 

[Brad]

Fresh off the rumour mill. 

“Soon, we should be able to announce the game. I can’t say too much about the Nintendo deal, but it’s a really exciting initiative. It’s a really long-term initiative,”

- DeNA West chief executive officer Shintaro Asako

http://gonintendo.com/stories/244613-nintendo-dena-game-announcement-coming-soon-says-dena-ceo 

 

[JaidynReiman]

Fresh off the rumour mill. 

http://gonintendo.com/stories/244613-nintendo-dena-game-announcement-coming-soon-says-dena-ceo 

 

Why post this in the NX thread? Well, for one thing, this isn't a rumor. For two, this is related to DeNA and Nintendo's mobile plan, not NX. NX was simply brought up at the same time because they didn't want people to think they were dropping out of the console market.

[Brad]

Er, sorry I guess? I just saw DeNA and knew NX was part of their business move for the console so...

[Marcello]

Nintendo Sending Out NX Dev-Kits

TOKYO— Nintendo Co. has begun distributing a software development kit for its new NX videogame platform, people familiar with the matter said, suggesting the company is on track to introduce the product as early as next year.

The kit is used by third-party software developers to modify existing games for the platform or create new ones. Videogame console makers such as Nintendo like to have popular game titles ready when they start selling new devices.

Nintendo’s current flagship products are the Wii U, a console typically used in the living room, and the portable 3DS device. Both have been out for several years, leading analysts to predict that the Kyoto-based entertainment powerhouse will move fairly swiftly to bring out the NX.

“We are increasingly of the idea that Nintendo might launch the NX in 2016 because of the softness of 3DS and Wii U,” said David Gibson, an analyst at Macquarie Capital Securities.

A Nintendo spokeswoman said the company plans to disclose details of NX next year.

Square Enix Co. said in July that it planned to make the latest version of its blockbuster role-playing game Dragon Quest for the NX. That version, called Dragon Quest XI, is also planned for the 3DS and Sony Corp.’s PlayStation 4.

The exact shape of the NX hardware isn’t yet clear. People familiar with the development plans said Nintendo would likely include both a console and at least one mobile unit that could either be used in conjunction with the console or taken on the road for separate use. They also said Nintendo would aim to put industry-leading chips in the NX devices, after criticism that the Wii U’s capabilities didn’t match those of competitors.

Nintendo’s former president, Satoru Iwata, said in March that NX “is a platform dedicated for videogames.” Mr. Iwata died in July, and his post was assumed in September by Tatsumi Kimishima, a former banker who served as one of Mr. Iwata’s top lieutenants at Nintendo.

Mr. Kimishima is expected to carry forward the strategy of Mr. Iwata, a legendary figure for many videogame fans. In the months before his death, Mr. Iwata laid out plans to put Nintendo characters in games for mobile devices under a partnership with DeNA Co. and made a deal with amusement park operator Universal Parks & Resorts, which is part of Comcast Corp.

“Nintendo is no longer just a traditional videogame company,” said industry veteran Hirokazu Hamamura, a director at Kadokawa Dwango Corp., which publishes magazines about videogames.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/nintendo-begins-distributing-software-kit-for-new-nx-platform-1444996588

Awesome. Can't be too long until people start leaking some real details on this. The "industry leading-chips" line has me hopeful that it won't be completely underpowered. Though, if Nintendo really is launching the NX next year, this seems sort of late to be sending them out.

[PSI Wind]

I'm still personally expecting the NX to come out in 2017 to give devs a bit more time to get adjusted with it as well as let Zelda Wii U be the Wii U's final swan song. That, and 5 years would be the average amount of time between Nintendo systems. Even the Wii U was announced 5 years after the Wii came out.

[Mando-Whirl-Wind]

Yeah, this means 2017, it takes a year to get used to new hardware, and that's assuming they already have a product half way developed they plan to switch over to the new hardware. most games have a 2 year bake time from Nintendo. Considering that first parties are getting it now, yep we still have untill 2017.

First party will start transitioning, but we still have around a dozen major titles left for wii-u, since EAD's always had short turn-around, HAL's just about time for a new game, Retro has an almost ready to release project(3 years of development means too late to switch), Next Level also has a Wii-u game in the works from all we've heard, and that's not accounting for any under the radar third party partnerships either.

If this had said these had been sent out at the beginning of this year, ya holidays 2016 would have been possible, but as is, it's set for a 2016 concept reveal and mid 2017 release

[AshGreninJovan]

I got a bad feeling that Nintendo is still in trouble while they are working on NX because Sony is working on PS5 now. It's not so necessary that they should delay the NX announcement in the future because it was already planned before. I guess this is their destiny to do this. Let's see what the NX development goes.

[PSI Wind]

I got a bad feeling that Nintendo is still in trouble while they are working on NX because Sony is working on PS5 now. It's not so necessary that they should delay the NX announcement in the future because it was already planned before. I guess this is their destiny to do this. Let's see what the NX development goes.

Everyone knows that once a console is released, R&D starts coming up with the next console at least after a few months. Sony always was making the PS5 ever since the PS4 was out.

[azoo]

http://kotaku.com/report-nintendos-next-platform-nx-is-a-console-handhel-1736904323

The exact shape of the NX hardware isn’t yet clear. People familiar with the development plans said Nintendo would likely include both a console and at least one mobile unit that could either be used in conjunction with the console or taken on the road for separate use. They also said Nintendo would aim to put industry-leading chips in the NX devices, after criticism that the Wii U’s capabilities didn’t match those of competitors.

So what was that about me being crazy expecting this again?

I'm not saying I called it but... you know. I called it. Bj

 

[Candescence]

It really just confirms that the NX is going to have both a 'console' and a 'handheld' version with a shared library and cross-play, like a lot of people are expecting. Let's not entertain the 'hybrid' nonsense, the two devices are not gonna have the same specs, that would be completely ridiculous.

Edited October 16, 2015 by Candescence

[azoo]

I never thought it had the same specs. I did say however that I thought it was going to practically be the same thing otherwise and that they'd be bundled together and intended as the full experience rather than as two different, separate things.

[Tails spin]

http://kotaku.com/report-nintendos-next-platform-nx-is-a-console-handhel-1736904323

So what was that about me being crazy expecting this again?

I'm not saying I called it but... you know. I called it. Bj

 

let me add this pic to your comment as well

 

So I'm really curious to see if it will be a console / handheld combo. and if Nintendo wants to have the latest chip in the device I can bet it will cost a pretty penny. Better start saving some dough.

[JaidynReiman]

http://kotaku.com/report-nintendos-next-platform-nx-is-a-console-handhel-1736904323

So what was that about me being crazy expecting this again?

I'm not saying I called it but... you know. I called it. Bj

 

Kotaku also provided an updated that indicated its not necessarily part of the same bundle, but instead will be two separate consoles that can work together seamlessly.

 

I never thought it had the same specs. I did say however that I thought it was going to practically be the same thing otherwise and that they'd be bundled together and intended as the full experience rather than as two different, separate things.

Update - 10:40am: The reporter who broke the story for the Journal said on Twitter that NX platform is “likely to have... more than two devices.” That further emphasizes the idea that the NX could be a family of machines that work together rather than a single unified device. We’ve updated this article’s original headline “Report: Nintendo’s Next Platform NX Is A Console-Handheld Hybrid” to be more clear that, while the platform of the NX seems to merge ideas of console and handheld, we don’t know if there will be any one device that does that all in one. I apologize for confusion on that point.

I think it will be two separate consoles. A new handheld that can work separately from the NX, but you can also combine the two and transfer games between the two. Having it be a separate handheld also will help the cost. If you don't want the handheld, you don't have to, but you will be missing part of the experience. The handheld will be what releases next year, the console will release the following year. The handheld will also be able to work as a GamePad for the Wii U, though it won't be quite as seamless.

However, there probably WILL be a "bundled" option so you can get both at once. But I think they will work independently, but can also work together seamlessly. I think the console version will probably also support the GamePad as well if you don't want to buy the handheld.

 

let me add this pic to your comment as well

 

So I'm really curious to see if it will be a console / handheld combo. and if Nintendo wants to have the latest chip in the device I can bet it will cost a pretty penny. Better start saving some dough.

Well, for one thing, if they go with something that's very new, but not "the newest," its actually not that expensive anymore. I've heard that you can get PC builds better than XBone/PS3 for roughly only $450-$500 if you put it together yourself. And Nintendo would get good deals on it for buying the parts in mass.

Plus, the rumors of lack of a disc drive could save in wear and tear and drop the price down a bit, and they'd just provide an option external disc drive. (It would NEED an internal 1 TB HDD if they went with no disc drive, though. But then again, that is probably greatly desired anyway.)

 

Further proof that this would probably have the handheld and console sold separately. In fact, that would benefit the rumors of it launching next year, since again as I mentioned prior, the handheld can release next year. Some early NX games would launch next year and work just on the handheld, and maybe the handheld could even work with the Wii U as a GamePad replacement. Then the actual console drops in 2017. Because they release in separate years it would give people time to save up for the full experience, or once it drops, you could just buy both in one bundle.

Another advantage is, with a separate console, if you have friends with the handheld you can all use it as a GamePad instead of only one GamePad working on the Wii U. Otherwise most of it will probably be online, naturally.

Edited October 16, 2015 by JaidynReiman

[LongcrierCat]

A home console with a handheld version for on the go use? Gee. 

Where ever have I....

... seen that before?

[JaidynReiman]

A home console with a handheld version for on the go use? Gee. 

Where ever have I....

... seen that before?

Except this is actually prebuilt so the two can work seamlessly rather than tacking on a handheld that just doesn't work very well at all for the purpose it was made.

[LongcrierCat]

Exactly my point. Sega set this up to happen. They had an idea, but didn't fully succeed at executing it. But they knew they were onto something. 

Flash forward to the present day, Nintendo realizes that they were ahead of their time but things like the internet and it's technology were in its toddler years. Now you access a computer at almost any time of the day. Your tablet, phone, laptop, or personal computer. And it's all seamless. So now that we have this technology here right now? Well...

Why not do it again?

Edited October 17, 2015 by LongcrierCat

[JaidynReiman]

Exactly my point. Sega set this up to happen. They had an idea, but didn't fully succeed at executing it. But they knew they were onto something. 

Flash forward to the present day, Nintendo realizes that they were ahead of their time but things like the internet and it's technology were in its toddler years. Now you access a computer at almost any time of the day. Your tablet, phone, laptop, or personal computer. And it's all seamless. So now that we have this technology here right now? Well...

Why not do it again?

Oh, ok, lol. That makes more sense now.

[Hoppimike]

I think it looks interesting. I like Nintendo consoles in general and I think it would be nice to have one that's liberated from the Wii name/family to distinguish it in stores.

Other than that I thought the U was a pretty solid console and it's a shame it didn't do better.

[Junko]

Rumour has it that Nintendo's NX will enter mass production in Q1 2016 and while Nintendo apparently expect the NX to ship 20 million units in 2016, the console's upstream supply chain expects 10-12 million uniys. In addition, reportedly, Foxconn Electronics (manufacturers for the entire 8th generation of console gaming) are also manufacture the ushering in of the 9th generation, the NX. But Foxconn declined to comment.

[Komodin]

Alrighty, then, during an interview with Time, we received word from President Kimishima that what Nintendo is planning on doing with this system will not be like what's been done with the Wii and Wii U. That's good to hear, if you ask me.

http://www.theverge.com/2015/12/3/9841784/nintendo-nx-tatsumi-kimishima