Hello everyone. We all want to know more about NX, but it doesn't look like anything is coming anytime soon. However, there are a few facts that can be considered together to create a clearer picture of what Nintendo's planning. All of this is under the assumption that there will be at least two NX devices running the same OS, as Iwata hinted long ago.
I'll start by saying this: I personally believe that the patent that the fakes were based on are close to what we'll actually see from the NX. In other words, no face buttons. I doubt that the Game Informer guy received bad info or lied. That said, the patent was for a handheld, not a controller. Additionally, the patent mentions additional physical buttons on the back of it as well as having grips. I think that, at best, the NX Portable (hereby referred to as NXP) will end up being almost exactly like the patent, at best with two face buttons and haptic touch otherwise. It also won't look as sleek as the second fake did. I expect a screen resolution of approximately 1260x540.
So, what of the console? Mr. Miyamoto offered some very important input on the matter after E3 last year [in an interview[(http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2015/06/19/415568892/q-a-shigeru-miyamoto-on-the-origins-of-nintendos-famous-characters).
So unfortunately with our latest system, the Wii U, the price point was one that ended up getting a little higher than we wanted. But what we are always striving to do is to find a way to take novel technology that we can take and offer it to people at a price that everybody can afford. And in addition to that, rather than going after the high-end tech spec race and trying to create the most powerful console, really what we want to do is try to find a console that has the best balance of features with the best interface that anyone can use.
According to this, Wii U's Gamepad caused them to set the price higher than they really wanted to. This implies that Nintendo may want to offer NX at a cheaper price point than Wii U. Unfortunately, it also sounds like they still have no interest in putting out a competitively powerful console. The still want to be "unique" with some sort of gimmick... such as a freeform touchscreen controller with haptic feedback and no physical buttons. From this and other sections of the interview, I've come to the conclusion that the NX Console (NXC) will be significantly weaker than XBox One in order to hit a price point of $250. (By the way, while I'm on the subject, it's not reasonable to expect a console SoC with 14/16nmFF technology this year from any company due to yields needing another year or so to get where they need to. The upgraded versions of PS4 and XBO might be able to do it since shortages won't hurt them too badly, but I think both of them will wait until spring or summer next year, though MS might aim for this holiday still.) This is the price that brought them success with the Wii, after all. If you're hoping for a powerful console, you are going to be disappointed.
Now, you've probably noticed something quite strange here. How could Nintendo possibly offer such an advanced controller and still hit a $250 price?This is the major part of my theory. I've narrowed it down to two possibilities, and I'll leave it to you guess which is more likely. What should be noted is that, in both cases, the NXP is the unique controller for the NXC. Not something similar, but the controller itself. This would explain why the patent only mentions a handheld, and why that Andy guy from GI didn't specify that he hear the controller would lack face buttons. From here, I see two scenarios for how the NX will be sold.
Scenario #1
- NXP - $150-200 (somewhere in that range)
- NXC with standard controller - $250
- NXC + NXP bundle - $400
This is probably the scenario that most people would want. It would mean that, at the very least, XBox One ports could run at 720p and reduced settings, assuming that the XBox One version runs at 900p. This might be a bit of dream scenario and not even possible though. In this case, while most games made by Nintendo, indies, and devs that make otherwise less demanding titles would be shared between the two form factors. A few Nintendo games and most AAA ports would only be playable at home, however.
Scenario #2 (grab a seat and think happy thoughts)
- NXP - $150-200
- NXP with [a microconsole acting as the NXC] - $250
This is, unfortunately, what I think will end up happening if Nintendo really is planning two devices. Both devices would use the exact same SoC ([which is supported by the fact that AMD only has three semicustom designs in development and two of them have to be the XBO+ and the PS4k respectively), though the home unit would run it at higher clockspeeds. The home unit would not be able act on its own, instead requiring the handheld to work with it and provide increased performance. Both units would be a little more powerful than Wii U individually, and combine should be able to offer at least 50% higher performance than Wii U, possibly around twice as powerful. That is, sadly, not very much. I'm expecting a bigger jump than the GameCube -> Wii transition, but possible a smaller one than even XBO -> XBO+. So, gimmicky controller and a lack of power, but at a lower price. The bright side is that this would mean a single library, which will be playable on the handheld on the go or at 1080p at home with identical or better graphical settings and no performance loss. Still, it would mean that there wouldn't be any other controller options. With that said, I would not rule out the console being able to work on its own completely, though it would obviously suffer from lower performance than when paired with the handheld. If that is possible, I'd expect a price not much higher than the PSTV.
So, there you have it. I personally feel that the only way one of these things won't happen is if Nintendo is intentionally misleading us somewhere. I feel like I missed something, but I always do. :/ If you want me to clarify any of my points, feel free to ask. Also feel free to call me wrong, dumb, or drunk. Don't call me Shirley though. Hopefully this can bring a little bit of nice discussion.
Submitted by MrBamHam | #Specialdealer Special Offer Online Shopping Store 2016
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