Nintendo hasn’t revealed its new console/handheld officially, but if we can believe the rumors of today, the NX will be a portable and console at the same time. Now, this doesn’t sound like something the community would instantly love but I think this new system could really work, time to take the rumors for facts and see the good in a portable future.
Handheld systems always work best
First, let’s start with the facts. When you mention Nintendo, a lot of people will bring back memories of the good old NES, SNES and Nintendo 64 days. Those were the days that Nintendo was one of the big players on the console market. The company had a lot of third-party support and the consoles were selling like hotcakes. Then came the GameCube, a powerful, more traditional console that didn’t sell great. Since Nintendo jumped over the 3D games with the Nintendo 64, the consoles weren’t selling that good anymore, due to the bigger competition of the PlayStation and later on Xbox.
Sure, the Nintendo Wii managed to turn the tides and quickly became Nintendo’ best sold console to date due to the gimmick of motion control. The Wii U, on the other hand, failed to convince the audience and even did worse than the GameCube. If we compare those numbers with the handheld number, you’ll quickly see that the Nintendo handhelds sold a lot better.
The Nintendo 3DS nearly sold 60 million units compared to the nearly 13 million of Wii U units, a big difference. If a company like Nintendo wants to survive, it’s almost certain they’ll need to take the handheld/mobile approach, Pokémon Go anyone?
This, of course, would mean those console gamers would feel like they are left behind, with no dedicated Nintendo system left to play their games on the bigger television screen. But why not combine both? Why not combine a system that is both handheld and console at the same time? That’s perhaps exactly what the Nintendo NX is and it’s something the competition isn’t doing. This means that Nintendo will yet again create another blue ocean where they can become leaders of the market, just as they did with Wii. Aside that, a powerful handheld could also come with a lot of advantages.
All games on one console
First things first, every Nintendo game that will release in the future, will be available on one platform. This means you no longer have to decide which Nintendo console you like most. Do you like to play Pokémon or the new Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild? Fire Emblem or Mario Kart? Metroid Prime or Art Academy? Well, it looks like all of those games will be available on one, instead of two Nintendo systems. Image the huge library of games Nintendo could create for this device in the first year of release alone. The teams aren’t forced to work on different platforms but can all bundle their strengths to create incredible experiences on one console.
Also note that the system will most likely use cartridges instead of discs and you know you don’t have to worry about loading times, which is a big plus nowadays. I can only image how the next big Pokémon game would look like in the palms of your hands.
Your adventure never stops
What Pokémon GO is currently showing us, is that gamers do like to take their adventure to the outside. It’s a bummer to be locked into your room and you need to stop playing if you travel or need to go somewhere. If the NX allows you to continue playing, even when you’re away from your television, I certainly see a bright future for the product. Does it sound like a high-end handheld that’s able to run Breath of the Wild in the palm of your hands, what’s not to like? Well, there are some things that concern me.
First of all, there’s the battery issue. If the device is meant to function on its own, it needs a screen. This combined with strong graphics, makes me wonder how long the battery would last. As the Eurogamer article stated, the device would use a mobile NVidia chip to guarantee a better battery life but I want to see before I believe. For those who actually own a Wii U, you’ll understand the troubles of a weak battery.
It’s a blue ocean
To conclude this Pause for Thought article, I would like to point out the biggest strength of the platform, it’s another blue ocean. At this point, nobody is making a dedicated console that can be carried with you to continue playing. Sure, PS Remote Control looks very similar but it doesn’t offer the same experience. What Nintendo is trying to do, is create another market where the competition isn’t as fierce. It’s still a bold move with the rise of mobile gaming but maybe Nintendo can work things around for the better. It’s very interesting to see what will happen next, but the last time Nintendo ventured into a blue ocean strategy, it became the best-sold console to date.
But…
Personally, I’m very curious to see how this NX will work and what kind of benefits there are to hook it on your television. If we read the rumors now, there’s not really an advantage or more power if you use the system as a console so I’m wondering how Nintendo will solve this marketing issue. That being said, I’m curious and excited to see what will truly become of the NX. The only things that’s getting me really worried are the third party support and lack of backwards compatibility due to the new chips and cartridge system. Without those, Nintendo will have to come with some kind of miracle to convince gamers to give this new product a shot.
