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Eurogamer: NX = portable w/ carts, detachable controllers, Tegra, TV Out, no BC, Sept
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Dr. Zoidberg
Member
"Developers will have the option to restrict gameplay to the device's included screen. This will be indicated on the back of the software box along with other information such as the number of players, required peripherals, etc."
That's the kind of bullshit I could actually see coming from Nintendo.
Has 3D been talked about much? (184 pages.... I'm sure it has...)
The New 3DS was originally not going to have face tracking 3D. Nintendo was developing the technology, though, and Miyamoto insisted it be implemented in the New 3DS... which raises the question of what they were developing it for if not a 3DS revision. It seems very plausible to me that, being a portable system, NX will have face tracking 3D again, and this was the system Nintendo was developing the feature for.
That sounds like a great asset to me. They could present all of their console titles, including Breath of the Wild, in glasses free 3D on the handheld. I know a lot of people don't like it, but I'd sure as hell love to be able to see the new Zelda in both 3D and HD, depending on which I feel like at a given moment.
If the system is down to one screen, it'll almost certainly be a touchscreen, which does make 3D a little more problematic. I can live without 3D, but it would be a shame to miss the opportunity to fully perfect it with a screen that's finally high res enough for the effect to really shine.
The New 3DS was originally not going to have face tracking 3D. Nintendo was developing the technology, though, and Miyamoto insisted it be implemented in the New 3DS... which raises the question of what they were developing it for if not a 3DS revision. It seems very plausible to me that, being a portable system, NX will have face tracking 3D again, and this was the system Nintendo was developing the feature for.
That sounds like a great asset to me. They could present all of their console titles, including Breath of the Wild, in glasses free 3D on the handheld. I know a lot of people don't like it, but I'd sure as hell love to be able to see the new Zelda in both 3D and HD, depending on which I feel like at a given moment.
If the system is down to one screen, it'll almost certainly be a touchscreen, which does make 3D a little more problematic. I can live without 3D, but it would be a shame to miss the opportunity to fully perfect it with a screen that's finally high res enough for the effect to really shine.
And your battery is dead in about 1hr
TwEE-N-Toast
Banned
Would be nice if it was backwards compatible with Wii U controllers at least.
PushTheButtonMax
Banned
I really wish Nintendo would just overreact to these leaks and do the reveal. They walk at their own pace though.
3D doesn't drain that much power. Especially not on the newest revisions, where Nintendo reduced the impact of the effect by a lot. Besides, you can simply disable it and save the power anyway.
LegendofLex
Member
Nintendo has been developing 3D tech for as long as 3D tech has been a thing.
Miyamoto loves 3D and their approach with the Mario games has been to try to push as many fans of the 2D games over to the 3D ones, which Nintendo loves more and pours more creative energy into.
I wouldn't read too much into it.
Here's a mockup I created for this concept, taking some creative liberties with it. This is with a 5" screen. It is a little slimmer and less tall than a 3DS, but wider with the controllers attached.
This is far and away my favorite mock-up so far, and the first to actually make the controller parts look like I might actually want to use them. I love the sleek look, and the size target you were aiming for. It all looks like it's really close to what this device should be.
I think Nintendo's going to try something to make it possible for you to have two players with those things, though (whether that's one-handed motion control, selling the controller parts separately, or something else).
And you're not the first to make the VR connection based on it having two controller parts + its own screen. Glad others are noticing that similarity, too.
With modern messaging apps, you almost don't even need traditional phone functionality for this thing to take on modern communication functions.
Elfforkusu
Member
I like it. I like it a lot.Here's a mockup I created for this concept, taking some creative liberties with it. This is with a 5" screen. It is a little slimmer and less tall than a 3DS, but wider with the controllers attached.
My opinions on this idea:
-The controllers aren't detachable so that two people can play with them, that's silly. They're detachable because it makes this the perfect competitor to phones which really only suck because they don't have proper controls, in which case it can be sold to young people buying their first phone which is where Nintendo's handheld market is currently being gouged out. The idea that it's "too hard", and Nintendo should abandon their biggest market to go after the saturated home console market mid-cycle is ridiculous. You want something hard? Try selling a $400 console to people who already own one. Meanwhile we're not going to run out of teenagers buying their first phones anytime soon and that could be a huge market for Nintendo.
-With the controllers detachable, this could be one of the best VR solutions out there if sold with a Galaxy Gear-like headset and maybe a motion tracking device, because you could take the controller bits off, place the device into the headset and use the motion controls from those two controllers similar to Vive's or Oculus'.
-Why are people complaining about power? This is an example of Nintendo focusing on power for the first time in a long time - if they're using the Tegra X2 especially, this is about the most powerful handheld you could possibly build. If Sony wanted to do their Sony thing of releasing a more powerful handheld right after to compete with it they would have a hard time. This would be the most powerful handheld ever, which is a huge departure from the DS and 3DS strategy.
-Combining their handheld and home console software production will partly eliminate software droughts.
I really don't think this is going to be a phone though. But i guess nothing's off the table right now?
ShockingAlberto
Member
At this point, if the reveal is either live or being filmed, they're basically stuck to this time frame. Because right now they're dealing with retailers, preorders, third parties, press timing, appointments, their own internal developers, etc. They are no longer exclusively on their own schedule. If they want to put their best foot forward, this can't just be abrupt reaction. Maybe in June that was possible, but not on the other side of the summer.
It's not that Nintendo is selling a phone, but the NX is expected to be compatible with Nintendo's mobile lineup. The controllers will get in the way if you try to play Pokemon Go or other future Nintendo mobile games on the NX. Removing the controllers will make playing Pokemon Go on the NX much more comfortable.
...Have you used the New 3DS? I can understand not liking the original model, but the N3DS face tracking works extremely well.
I find the effect adds much more clarity to games, and things generally look flat and muddled without it. It may lose it's "wow" factor very quickly, but it still does a lot to make the image easier to read. I always play with it on, it just doesn't look right to play in 2D anymore.
Even if we just think about third parties with kits Nintendo now has to determine what games are actually in production, which third parties are ready to announce and which they want to feature at the announcement. That's probably a lot of work right there.
On a mostly unrelated note I wonder how NX being a hybrid effects the possibility of the Beyond Good and Evil 2 rumour being true.
KratosEnergyDrink
Member
It is ok on the 3DS, and great on New3DS. If the old 3DS had this eye tracking most people would have enjoyed it from the beginning.
LordRaptor
Member
Why is it crazy?
Skiesofwonder
Walruses, camels, bears, rabbits, tigers and badgers.
3D doesn't exactly go well with touch screens. On the 3DS there were two screens to avoid the issue of breaking the illusion every 30 seconds with your finger, but the NX won't have such a luxury.
LegendofLex
Member
What if "more controllers" = "more brains," though?
We're probably far away from this, but ever since I saw the SCD patent I've always thought it'd be cool if the controllers themselves could offload some of the performance hit for multiplayer.
Aldric
Member
l remember Ancel saying they'd need PS4/Xbone level hardware to create the game they wanted to make, so if this is just an overclocked Wii U it might compromise that original vision.
Dark Cloud
Member
Nintendo is going to reveal in September is good. It gives them 6 months to advertise to launch in March.
To me, the NX only makes sense if it is a phone. I don't think anyone wants dedicated handhelds anymore, rapidly shrinking market.
Yeah, and that mockup makes perfect sense for smarthphone like play with detached controllers.
Elven_Star
Member
That would not be an overreaction. It's the right thing to do at this point.
It would have to compete with the Google Play store and the Apple App store.... nobody wants a smartphone that can't offer the same breadth of apps as those two. It would also need to be sold in verizon/at&t/T-Mobile stores among others, which is something Nintendo has no experience with.
There's just way too many barriers to entry. I'm not saying they can't do it, but I think this is a harder battle for Nintendo to win then gaining traction in the traditional console market. They'll have way better competitors, slimmer margins, and need to offer something unique that actually innovates as a phone - not just a games machine - in order to take any marketshare in that industry.
If they want to capture a blue ocean, I'm not sure that a smartphone is a realistic way to do it.
This is a company that shut down swap note because someone sent pornography over it. And now we expect them to make a device that people typically use for Tinder and dick pics? Nope, it just doesn't fit the profile of the company.
Their hardware is typically a closed ecosystem and chances are they would not want to hamper the performance of their hardware by overlaying an extensive OS over it. This wouldn't be "absorbing" the OS architecture of the Wii U at all either.
Little Monser
Banned
And retailers will have enough time for the pre orders too!
Not pornography, there was a ring of pedophiles using it to get kids.
I know I am getting stuck on this, but...
6 inches is not too big if it's not just screen size, but it's THE size. If the detachable controllers are actually touchscreen a with only have physical sticks and buttons are digital, a 6" device is the sweet spot.
FYI, haptic feedback touchscreen are rumored to be rolling out to IPhone 7 and already exist in new Mac hardware trackpads.
6 inches is not too big if it's not just screen size, but it's THE size. If the detachable controllers are actually touchscreen a with only have physical sticks and buttons are digital, a 6" device is the sweet spot.
FYI, haptic feedback touchscreen are rumored to be rolling out to IPhone 7 and already exist in new Mac hardware trackpads.
Jorok Goldblade
Member
Even as a shrinking market, Nintendo will do better there than trying to go head to head with Apple and Google.
LegendofLex
Member
What if NX is to game consoles what phones and tablets currently are to PCs?
Handhelds have never quite gotten there, not even Vita.
Yeah, I agree. They don't need to absorb all the activities you do on your phone... just give you a similar enough experience for the biggest ones (messaging, streaming, web browsing, gaming) while making it so you don't need to buy an expensive console to play their games.
Assuming the games can sell the hardware, they'll have gone a long way to solving one problem: the main activities people do moving them away to other devices.
An app store with just the big ones - Snapchat, Facebook/Instagram/Messenger, Twitter, Chrome and you have a substitute a lot of people would take.
Possible, but likely expensive and also shitty. Real buttons should not be ditched simply because phones and tablets don't have them. This is supposed to be a dedicated gaming device, not a multifunctional touch device. Games use buttons and D-Pads, so give us real buttons and D-Pads.
KratosEnergyDrink
Member
aside from the fact that the sides of the console, where the controllers would be attached, can't simply be flat. It may look slick, give the console a smartphone-like look, and probably make it more confortable to hold when not using the controllers, but they need a reliable system that ensures that the different parts remain together for when you do use the controllers. Kids are going to play with the thing.
KratosEnergyDrink
Member
That's the reason why Windows phones are so extremely successful...
I believe that part has been misreported or misinterpreted. It doesn't make any sense, yeah.
malboroking
Banned
Yeah, some of these people have unrealistic expectations for the success and adoption of a Nintendo phone.
We are talking Nintendo here. If the NX is a Smartphone it won't just be yet another Smartphone. They won't compete with Apple and Google on who has the most apps in their store, that's not what they do. What I expect is first and foremost a gaming machine that also features a SIM card slot and a very basic Smartphone OS. I'd expect the bare minimum of must have apps (if you take a look at the data most people just use like 5 apps anyway). Your Netflix, your Twitter your Facebook etc. Then they'll include a very strict Kids Mode or something for obvious reasons.
Smartphone capability to me is to offer people a way to not take two devices with them. People who just use a few apps and maybe don't care that much about ecosystems. But of course they'd need a good camera, a good music player etc. We'll see.
It would be perfect for me.
Nintendo is competing with smartphones whether it wants to or not because of the Apps stores and touch screen gaming.
That being said, I doubt NX will have be a Nintendo phone. For one, none of the rumors point to such a product existing. For another, Nintendo resisted adding all-in-one features like DVD playback capability when it was competing with Sony and Microsoft in the home console gaming space. They were adamant they were a gaming company first.
Going by past history and what we know, Nintendo will try to differentiate themselves through input method (e.g. physical inputs/click-wheels versus touch) and software. Whether that will be enough to convince parents and kids to devote the money - 200 to 300 dollars - and pocket/bag space to the NX in addition to the smartphone they already own is an open question ..........
Of course, there could be more to the NX than what we know or Nintendo could have shifted its philosophy. It will be interesting to see when the finally reveal the product.
That being said, I doubt NX will have be a Nintendo phone. For one, none of the rumors point to such a product existing. For another, Nintendo resisted adding all-in-one features like DVD playback capability when it was competing with Sony and Microsoft in the home console gaming space. They were adamant they were a gaming company first.
Going by past history and what we know, Nintendo will try to differentiate themselves through input method (e.g. physical inputs/click-wheels versus touch) and software. Whether that will be enough to convince parents and kids to devote the money - 200 to 300 dollars - and pocket/bag space to the NX in addition to the smartphone they already own is an open question ..........
Of course, there could be more to the NX than what we know or Nintendo could have shifted its philosophy. It will be interesting to see when the finally reveal the product.
nckillthegrimace
Member
Iwata said in one of those investor q and a sessions that they were examining the ramifications of region free and acknowledged it has no benefit to users, but, well, he's not around any more. Also, yes, to answer your second question.
I disagree completely. Availability of countless apps are too ubiquitous to ignore.
You think Nintendo's hardware had a third party problem as a console? The lack of third party apps is a far bigger problem for a phone than the lack of third party games would be for a Nintendo console.
If NX really is capable of playing Nintendo's own Smartphone games - those will have to be always online I assume - I don't see why to not just offer very basic Smartphone capabilities as well.
I completely agree, it doesn't need a deep OS, just basic phone functions, and the tipical apps. In other words, it shouldn't be a replacement for smarthphones/technology entusiast, just something convenient for your costumer, because it eliminate the problem of carring a second device.
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