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Eurogamer: NX = portable w/ carts, detachable controllers, Tegra, TV Out, no BC, Sept

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Neoxon

Junior Member
With Pokemon hype at the highest since gen 1 it wouldn't surprise me if they remake Blue and Red again for NX.
But said hype won't be around for long, at least not long enough for the NX to drop. Plus I believe Diamond/Pearl are next in line to get remakes on the NX (likely with Gen 8).
 
OK, so in an attempt to help this thread get to WUST levels of insanity, what about this as an idea (Taking rumours, patents and insane desires into account).

There is no augmented dock (a-la SCD) as we have been discussing previously but the dock itself can handle more than one NX being docked into it. When additional units are docked, then THOSE become effectively the SCD's.

I see a few advantages over an actual augmented dock.

1) Just one dock SKU to sell. I was thinking an augmented would be optional therefore requiring a basic HDMI/Charge dock for most users.
2) Nintendo can make money selling multiple units
3) People get multiple handholds to share amongst their house but get the advantage of combining them for the "console" experience.
4) Going forward Nintendo don't have to sell more beefier docks, they just upgrade the NX. I think this might be easier to swallow for people than having to buy a new dock for more power.

The software engineering side would be a bit of a nightmare but they could simplify it if all the secondary unit did was provide additional GPU, forgoing the CPU side.

I would also guess price would have to be very reasonable if they were going to go this route as I doubt families would want to buy 2xUS$250 consoles.
This has been considered, at least talking from my side. Yet is not often mentioned because it doesn't solve the issues people wonder about. To explain:

The problem is having the handheld game be displayed on the TV screen. This means an increase in resolution is needed to avoid bluryness and image artifacts. The asumption now thanks to the Eurogamer rumor, is in the realm of Tegra X1 performance, something in that range would need to run constrained when in portable form due to heat and battery limitations. So the more down to earth expectation is to have the chipset working at full capacity only when docked. The other alternatives are a possible overclock with active cooling or another SOC or GPU to increase visual performance substantially.

Is not a good compromise that to achieve improved resolution on TVs at the same level of visual complexity that the consumer would need to buy 2 of the same device. The other solution would be to compromise the game design or visuals for the low powered handheld mode at HD resolutions, so it would work the same on both handheld and TV.

Disclaimer: im not ruling the possibility entirely, just explaining what te limitations are.
 

LordOfChaos

Member
Again, this depends on the benchmark used. By blu's matrix mult benchmark, the A53s at 1.5GHz would actually comfortably beat the Jaguars at 1.7Ghz in XBO, although they might not by other benchmarks.



If you're still reading this blu, any chance I could see what you did here? If KNC is doing worse than Haswell it's obviously not something that is making good use of the vector instruction set on KNC. Similar Haswell+ should do a fair bit better than anything previous if AVX2 is being used, but I'm guessing the workload is just not hammering FLOPS in a way that it shows up.
 
His tweet changes nothing. Ubisoft is calling it a family platform, not a platform for everyone. Thus, they will focus on family-oriented games for it. Simple as that imo.
What's the rest of the family going to do when members are constantly taking the NX out of the house as a portable?
 

KrawlMan

Member
What's the rest of the family going to do when members are constantly taking the NX out of the house as a portable?

I do wonder how this does anything for the group gaming dynamic. All that we know atm sounds like a great machine for playing and connecting with other owners.

I assume we're missing something otherwise the at home dynamic is unchanged
 

AzaK

Member
This has been considered, at least talking from my side. Yet is not often mentioned because it doesn't solve the issues people wonder about. To explain:

The problem is having the handheld game be displayed on the TV screen. This means an increase in resolution is needed to avoid bluryness and image artifacts. The asumption now thanks to the Eurogamer rumor, is in the realm of Tegra X1 performance, something in that range would need to run constrained when in portable form due to heat and battery limitations. So the more down to earth expectation is to have the chipset working at full capacity only when docked. The other alternatives are a possible overclock with active cooling or another SOC or GPU to increase visual performance substantially.

Is not a good compromise that to achieve improved resolution on TVs at the same level of visual complexity that the consumer would need to buy 2 of the same device. The other solution would be to compromise the game design or visuals for the low powered handheld mode at HD resolutions, so it would work the same on both handheld and TV.

Disclaimer: im not ruling the possibility entirely, just explaining what te limitations are.

I didn't specifically mention whether the unit would overclock or not when docked as I was just talking about getting more power with a dual-dock system. What I would like to see is a system that clocks up when docked, but ALSO having a dual dock system. So based on what people have said so far, we might get a 500GFlops handheld and then start getting up to 800-1TFflop when docked (Probably with active cooling). Add in the ability to dock another device and you start to hit some good floppages when all's said and done. Obviously it's not the same as one device doing it all, but could be a way to allow the power hungry gamer to get what they want, while enabling the units to act alone for families - assuming price is managed of course.

The dock itself, if not augmented may be pretty cheap to make. Power, HDMI, couple of external USB with 2 USB-C/Thunderbolt ports for docking up to 2 units. There's work to be done on the API of course to present this to developers, and the bandwidth won't be as high as RAM but it would certainly start looking mighty attractive.

I'm not sure how much removing screen and controls would save but they could even do a "dumb" unit that you dock along with the real one, which is effectively just control logic, RAM and GPU, although that would add another SKU which may confuse things.

If I was looking at getting an NX, something like I proposed would be VERY attractive and I would personally pay US$399 for that setup. I could game with XBO/PS4 level graphics, and then me, my wife or children could have their own personal game machines for living room/bed play etc.
 
This thing needs to also be a rock solid media player if it is to compete against tablets for parent money. If it can function as both a gaming system and a media center, portable and dockable (e.g. kids' room or main TV), I could see this become a bit more interesting.

Certainly iPads can be docked, but it's never not clumsy (especially for gaming).

Things to include:
- Apps/channels from Netflix, Hulu, Disney XD etc.
- Apps/channels from national broadcasters (e.g. SVT Play, BBC iPlayer)
- A solid YouTube app
- Easy transfer from PC
 

tr1p1ex

Member
Anyway let me crush some dreams.


You aren't going to see GTA V. Nor AAA western support.

Not going to be as powerful as the X1. Be lucky if it is noticeably more powerful than the Wii U.

Not going to be a multimedia power house. Not Nintendo's forte. Don't expect more than Netflix, YouTube and Amazon.
 
Anyway let me crush some dreams.


You aren't going to see GTA V. Nor AAA western support.

Not going to be as powerful as the X1. Be lucky if it is noticeably more powerful than the Wii U.

Not going to be a multimedia power house. Not Nintendo's forte. Don't expect more than Netflix, YouTube and Amazon.

Good thing I have a PS4, PC or X1 to play GTAV. I'll be getting amazing Nintendo experiences and exclusives on NX, which I'll enjoy.
 
Anyway let me crush some dreams.


You aren't going to see GTA V. Nor AAA western support.

Not going to be as powerful as the X1. Be lucky if it is noticeably more powerful than the Wii U.

Not going to be a multimedia power house. Not Nintendo's forte. Don't expect more than Netflix, YouTube and Amazon.

Who would expect GTAV or western AAA games on Nintendo's new console? I didn't see anyone asking for that. No one wants it.

Also, WiiU worked like a charm as a multimedia player. It was the most comfortable by far thanks to the gamepad.
 
Has anyone considered yet that the two detachable controllers might not actually be two controllers?

Perhaps its like two halves of a single controller, so that when the console is docked you "snap" them off and put them together so you can play from the couch using a standard gamepad?

I share your same concern, but in addition to what G.ZZZ wrote above me, as well as some other possible scenarios people have bandied about regarding how it could work, I'm guessing Nintendo might also be wary that if you lose 1/2 your controller you might not have a controller at all for the NX at home (unclear if a buildable controller would serve as the primary at home controller or not), or on the go, whereas at least if you lost one of the two detachable controllers, you could still play with a full remaining controller using the other, and it's also hard for me to picture there being replacement left side and replacement right side SKUs if they're not identical on each side of the proposed buildable controller. Just spitballing here; like you I think a buildable single controller could potentially be cooler and make more sense.
Ninendo won't do it for NX, however there's a way to have a symmetrical controller that can both work as a traditional 2 handed pad and as a Wii Remote/Nunchuck as well. i have been thinking for a way some time ago and even posted it in this thread, but is worth repeating since you guys are curios:

wiisnes_gafv1xrp.jpg


http://m.neogaf.com/showpost.php?p=205211923

Please, just focus in the concept. In the picture opted to use trackpads around the sticks because they are more flexible and simplifies the interface. It also has the aesthetic factor of looking like a SNES PAD. But you can put normal buttons near the circle pads instead and it would work the same and make the top portions even thinner if needed.

The user just snaps the botton ends of each wand together and they have a 2 handed pad. This wands would be a lot shorter than a Wii Remote so it has a nice size even when the 2 halves are attached. Another nice thing is that they only need to manufacture one controller and sell them in pairs.

If Nintendo uses something similarfor the NX but with better engineering and presentation they would achieve:
  • Wii Remote type motion gaming.
  • Traditional 2 handend gaming.
  • Multiplayer out of the box for Wii type experiences.
 

tr1p1ex

Member
Who would expect GTAV or western AAA games on Nintendo's new console? I didn't see anyone asking for that. No one wants it.

Also, WiiU worked like a charm as a multimedia player. It was the most comfortable by far thanks to the gamepad.

The GTA V pipedream was brought up a few posts ago. Dreams of western 3rd party support are always bubbling just below the surface. Don't kid yourself. :)

WiiU wasn't a multimedia player. It streamed the basic (3 or 4 most popular) OTT services fine.
 
The GTA V pipedream was brought up a few posts ago.

WiiU wasn't a multimedia player. It streamed the 3 basic OTT services fine as stated.
Aren't online features more important like a party chat for example? I think people are overlooking internet features that gamers want today like a voice chat across the board.

I want to make sure things like that are implemented
 

Hilarion

Member
I do expect the NX to have the type of 3rd party support I care about, AKA the support of the 3DS extended. I'd be shocked if Ace Attorney 7 or Monster Hunter 5 or the next Yokai Watch game or the next Layton game etc. aren't on the NX. As long as that exists, I have all the third party support I need and all the third party support that makes the 3DS the current platform with far and away the best library.
 

BD1

Banned
Anyway let me crush some dreams.


You aren't going to see GTA V. Nor AAA western support.

Not going to be as powerful as the X1. Be lucky if it is noticeably more powerful than the Wii U.

Not going to be a multimedia power house. Not Nintendo's forte. Don't expect more than Netflix, YouTube and Amazon.

I would argue the audience for western AAA support on a Nintendo platform is miniscule anyways. NX needs Nintendo games (lots of them), the occasional third party exclusive and the big mainstream casual games. Namely EA and 2K sports.

If priced correctly, that is a machine that could move a lot of units.
 

AzaK

Member
Who would expect GTAV or western AAA games on Nintendo's new console? I didn't see anyone asking for that. No one wants it.

Also, WiiU worked like a charm as a multimedia player. It was the most comfortable by far thanks to the gamepad.

I god-damn f'ing do! I love GTA and I adore Zelda and Metroid. Why wouldn't I want one console for all of those? I have a family so I don't have tonnes of disposable income. I don't want multiple machines in my entertainment centre with their charge cables and docks and whatnot.

Gimme one machine to rule them all and I'm in. Doesn't have to be the highest-power level either, just needs ALL the games.
 
I would argue the audience for western AAA support is miniscule anyways. NX needs Nintendo games (lots of them), the occasional third party exclusive and the big mainstream casual games. Namely EA and 2K sports.

If priced correctly, that is a machine that could move a lot of units.
I agree with this for the most party. I wouldn't say western audience AAA support is minuscule lol.

I would say Nintendo will have a lot more games for the NX now that they've combined everything (from the rumor). Also, we should continue to see third party exclusive like a Bayo 2. But the biggest thing Nintendo NEEDS from third party devs are sports sports sports and Call of Duty. They need to have the yearly titles like Madden, FIFA, NBA and Call of Duty. They may not get the big AAA western games, but please Nintendo you need these 4 games at the very least from third party.
 

tr1p1ex

Member
Aren't online features more important like a party chat for example? I think people are overlooking internet features that gamers want today like a voice chat across the board.

I want to make sure things like that are implemented

I can't see Nintendo doing voice chat because of a) kids and family and b) Japan. I would have to also crush the voice chat dream.
 

tr1p1ex

Member
I would argue the audience for western AAA support on a Nintendo platform is miniscule anyways. NX needs Nintendo games (lots of them), the occasional third party exclusive and the big mainstream casual games. Namely EA and 2K sports.

If priced correctly, that is a machine that could move a lot of units.

You don't have to argue that. IT's just a fact. There hasn't been any AAA western 3rd party games on the Wii U for a year or two. and you can count the rest of the AAA western 3rd party games for the Wii U on one hand.

NX will get every Nintendo game.

Not going to get any EA or 2k sports games.
 

jdstorm

Banned
I can't see Nintendo doing voice chat because of a) kids and family and b) Japan. I would have to also crush the voice chat dream.

Voice chat is availiable on most Wii U games. It's just up to developers to implement it. The game pad even has a microphone in it so you can do voice chat without having to purchase any additional hardware
 

Plinko

Wildcard berths that can't beat teams without a winning record should have homefield advantage
Anyway let me crush some dreams.


You aren't going to see GTA V. Nor AAA western support.

Not going to be as powerful as the X1. Be lucky if it is noticeably more powerful than the Wii U.

Not going to be a multimedia power house. Not Nintendo's forte. Don't expect more than Netflix, YouTube and Amazon.

Source?
 
Who would expect GTAV or western AAA games on Nintendo's new console? I didn't see anyone asking for that. No one wants it.

Also, WiiU worked like a charm as a multimedia player. It was the most comfortable by far thanks to the gamepad.
Don't care about gta, bit I'm sure many want it. I do want the cod games and other AAA multi play games. I only play Nintendo consoles.
 

Neoxon

Junior Member
Why though? If they're the same damn game why?
They're on two different systems. We don't know how similar the NX will be in terms of wireless communication or online infrastructure compared to the 3DS (especially since the 3DS has a super-dated online infrastructure, specifically its Friend Code system). Sure, the PokéBank will cover transferring your own Pokémon from Gen 7 to Gen 8, but that still leaves the question of peer-to-peer trading. I'm sure it's not impossible, but it's the mystery of the unknown right now. And as stated earlier, Game Freak likes to take their time with adopting new hardware. This isn't to say that a port of Sun/Moon is impossible, just unlikely given what we know about Game Freak & some of the unanswered questions about the NX (plus the potential issues that Nintendo has rumored to run into with supposed ports of Wii U games). And since Nintendo seemed to be okay with Gen 5 having sequel games on the DS despite the 3DS being in full-swing, I'm not sure if they'll force Game Freak to speed up their NX-adoption time-table. I mean, I could see another studio porting the game if they can get 3DS-NX local trading to work properly, but I'm not sure if that's likely in of itself.
 
They're on two different systems. We don't know how similar the NX will be in terms of wireless communication or online infrastructure compared to the 3DS (especially since the 3DS has a super-dated online infrastructure, specifically its Friend Code system). Sure, the PokéBank will cover transferring your own Pokémon from Gen 7 to Gen 8, but that still leaves the question of peer-to-peer trading. I'm sure it's not impossible, but it's the mystery of the unknown right now. And as stated earlier, Game Freak likes to take their time with adopting new hardware. This isn't to say that a port of Sun/Moon is impossible, just unlikely given what we know about Game Freak & some of the unanswered questions about the NX (plus the potential issues that Nintendo has rumored to run into with supposed ports of Wii U games). And since Nintendo seemed to be okay with Gen 5 having sequel games on the DS despite the 3DS being in full-swing, I'm not sure if they'll force Game Freak to speed up their NX-adoption time-table.
Yeah but we dont know.. so your previous statement of saying "it wont" doesnt make sense. They already rumored it to be a hybrid after so many its not a hybrids
 

Neoxon

Junior Member
Yeah but we dont know.. so your previous statement of saying "it wont" doesnt make sense. They already rumored it to be a hybrid after so many its not a hybrids
My previous statement is that if they can't get 3DS-NX trading to work, then a Sun/Moon NX port won't happen. I still stand by that since Game Freak prides their mainline Pokémon games on trading with anyone who has a mainline Pokémon game of that generation booted up (among other things). Having the NX sealed off into its own ecosystem would be counter-productive to that. However, if they can get said 3DS-NX interaction to function properly, maybe it'll have a chance, but said chance would still be hampered by Game Freak's history of slow adoption of new hardware.

This is exactly why I was hoping for Pokémon Z to serve as the 3DS's swan song, so Sun/Moon could have been out during the NX's first year. But alas, that's not what happened.
 
My previous statement is that if they can't get 3DS-NX trading to work, then a Sun/Moon NX port won't happen. I still stand by that since Game Freak prides their mainline Pokémon games on trading with anyone who has a mainline Pokémon game of that generation booted up (among other things). Having the NX sealed off into its own ecosystem would be counter-productive to that. However, if they can get said 3DS-NX interaction to function properly, maybe it'll have a chance, but said chance would still be hampered by Game Freak's history of slow adoption of new hardware.
They wont have the NX sealed in its own ecosystem if that happens..

If the trading is in it will be between both consoles as long as the game is on. Do you understand what I am saying?
 

Neoxon

Junior Member
They wont have the NX sealed in its own ecosystem if that happens..

If the trading is in it will be between both consoles as long as the game is on. Do you understand what I am saying?
And what I'm saying is that if Nintendo can get the 3DS & the NX to interact with one another in a way that Game Freak can enable inter-system trading, then the odds of a Sun/Moon port would go up. But even then, there's still the issue with Game Freak's history of adopting new hardware (mentioned earlier). As such, I'm not getting my hopes up for anything Pokémon from Game Freak on the NX until Gen 8, likely around 2018 or later. If Game Freak makes sequel games for Sun/Moon, then bump that time-table to 2019.
 

tr1p1ex

Member
Voice chat is availiable on most Wii U games. It's just up to developers to implement it. The game pad even has a microphone in it so you can do voice chat without having to purchase any additional hardware

Yeah if a developer wants to implement their voice chat service they can do it. But Nintendo isn't going to provide that. And Nintendo won't put it into their games. They don't even let you type "poop" in Miiverse without a stern warning.

And you can't use the mic on the gamepad for voicechat.
 

Neoxon

Junior Member
Yeah if a developer wants to implement their voice chat service they can do it. But Nintendo isn't going to provide that. And Nintendo won't put it into their games. They don't even let you type "poop" in Miiverse without a stern warning.

And you can't use the mic on the gamepad for voicechat.
Smash 4 & Mario Kart 8 say hi.
 
While the "Will GameFreak make a NX Pokemon game on time" discussion has been on for awhile, I do think there's a fairly big difference between DS->3DS transition and 3DS->NX.
DS had 150 Million units sold, 3DS has almost a third of that. Additionally, 3DS could play both Black and White and the sequel, NX is reported to not have BC so any further Pokemon release exclusively on 3DS would be actively repelling consumers.
NX is also a very important system for them, so being slow on the up take is likely not an option. I can see Sun and Moon skipping NX since its out 4 months before the system launches, but I would hope that they have started working on an NX title, at least the tech and making the models.
Not sure if Sun and Moon being an impressive step forward after a year of skipping releases is a sign that the tech is being put in use or if it's a worrying sign that they put a lot of work into a 3DS engine and they'd like to get more out of it.
I thought it would be interesting to kind of reboot the franchise with a remake of Red...again, but with better visuals, free form camera, maybe new combat, etc.
TL;DR:
Staying on 3DS has fewer benefits, does more damage due to lack of BC, and It's important for NX to have a good launch year
 

tr1p1ex

Member
Smash 4 & Mario Kart 8 say hi.

Oh yeah, but those are only in between matches. smash is only with friends. Not sure about MK8.

But the gist of my point is "Xbox Live" isn't happening. Baby steps.

Maybe this gen one Nintendo 1st party game lets you chat with strangers while playing.

I think if you're looking for serious "voice chat" then the NX isn't going to be the place to be.
 

RedSwirl

Junior Member
Anyway let me crush some dreams.


You aren't going to see GTA V. Nor AAA western support.

Not going to be as powerful as the X1. Be lucky if it is noticeably more powerful than the Wii U.

Not going to be a multimedia power house. Not Nintendo's forte. Don't expect more than Netflix, YouTube and Amazon.

Didn't say I actually thought GTA V would happen on NX. I'm straining to think of anything Take-Two has shipped on Nintendo hardware since the Gamecube (if that) except maybe Chinatown Wars. I was just speculating on the technical possibility of it running, and the precedent of it being essentially a handheld version of the game. I think EA will at least do Madden and FIFA 18 on NX though, even if they're just shitty token ports. You have to admit this hybrid idea has a lot of potential for conventional sports games, but so did the Vita.

AAA western support in the long term isn't happening though I agree. I don't think NX will be powerful enough for big western publishers to bother porting down games, but I do think we'll notice a significant difference from Wii U when we see what Nintendo accomplishes on the system. The first real test will be comparing the NX versions of Zelda and Smash. Nintendo needs to buffer that loss by appealing to indie and mobile devs. Indie devs will want to support NX for the same reason they support Vita, and both might see eShop as a good alternative to app stores stuffed with shovelware.

Nintendo's problem with multimedia stuff is really just a problem of not getting good software support, which sucks as always. I'd at least want to see an eBook/PDF reader.
 

Neoxon

Junior Member
While the "Will GameFreak make a NX Pokemon game on time" discussion has been on for awhile, I do think there's a fairly big difference between DS->3DS transition and 3DS->NX.
DS had 150 Million units sold, 3DS has almost a third of that. Additionally, 3DS could play both Black and White and the sequel, NX is reported to not have BC so any further Pokemon release exclusively on 3DS would be actively repelling consumers.
NX is also a very important system for them, so being slow on the up take is likely not an option. I can see Sun and Moon skipping NX since its out 4 months before the system launches, but I would hope that they have started working on an NX title, at least the tech and making the models.
Not sure if Sun and Moon being an impressive step forward after a year of skipping releases is a sign that the tech is being put in use or if it's a worrying sign that they put a lot of work into a 3DS engine and they'd like to get more out of it.
I thought it would be interesting to kind of reboot the franchise with a remake of Red...again, but with better visuals, free form camera, maybe new combat, etc.
Another good point. Sun/Moon would have been out for 4 months by the time the NX drops, so the hype would have died down by then.

That said, I'd love for Game Freak to have Gen 8 ready for the NX for Late 2017, but I'm not getting hopes up. As for a Gen 1 remake (again), as stated earlier, Gen 4 is next in line for a remake. Plus there likely won't be much GO hype to capitalize on by the time the NX rolls by.
 
And what I'm saying is that if Nintendo can get the 3DS & the NX to interact with one another in a way that Game Freak can enable inter-system trading, then the odds of a Sun/Moon port would go up. But even then, there's still the issue with Game Freak's history of adopting new hardware (mentioned earlier). As such, I'm not getting my hopes up for anything Pokémon from Game Freak on the NX until Gen 8, likely around 2018 or later. If Game Freak makes sequel games for Sun/Moon, then bump that time-table to 2019.
Ok but what if it has 3DS BC? Article say no Wii U BC
 

tr1p1ex

Member
Didn't say I actually thought GTA V would happen on NX. I'm straining to think of anything Take-Two has shipped on Nintendo hardware since the Gamecube (if that) except maybe Chinatown Wars. I was just speculating on the technical possibility of it running, and the precedent of it being essentially a handheld version of the game. I think EA will at least do Madden and FIFA 18 on NX though, even if they're just shitty token ports. You have to admit this hybrid idea has a lot of potential for conventional sports games, but so did the Vita.

AAA western support in the long term isn't happening though I agree. I don't think NX will be powerful enough for big western publishers to bother porting down games, but I do think we'll notice a significant difference from Wii U when we see what Nintendo accomplishes on the system. The first real test will be comparing the NX versions of Zelda and Smash. Nintendo needs to buffer that loss by appealing to indie and mobile devs. Indie devs will want to support NX for the same reason they support Vita, and both might see eShop as a good alternative to app stores stuffed with shovelware.

Nintendo's problem with multimedia stuff is really just a problem of not getting good software support, which sucks as always. I'd at least want to see an eBook/PDF reader.

WE agree no 3rd party support. I'm not counting the small possibility some gimped full priced version of an already released 3rd party AAA title makes it to the NX. That just doesn't count.
 
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