Nintendo Switch (Nintendo's next console)

"casuals" doesn't always mean Waggle Controls or Shovelware, nor does it necessarily mean "casual". Pokémon Go has a HUGE "casual" market though there's nothing casual about the way the Casuals are play it. It's like the way Kiss - despite the fairly soft and melodic nature of their body of work - are labelled Hard Rock just because they wear makeup, play guitar and sing about penises all day. Personally, I prefer the terms "dedicated" and "fickle" to describe the 2 major market segments but there you go... Anyway, bringing in the fickles just requires the right blend of hype, price point and undefinable hook.

And, at the risk of going on again about the P-Word, it's release and subsequent media explosion demonstrates how the Ninty IP pool and the nostalgic history it represents with Lapsed Gamers is all the bait a hook needs. So for example : A launch title that highlights the expected combination home console / portable console hybrid nature of the machine, eg. you can play PKGo on the handset on the move, with some sort of premium feature the phone version doesn't have - Trading would be a massive carrot and a nail-studded stick for non-owners (but maybe allow them to trade with NX owners so it's drawing them further in...) - and being able to plug your collection into a home console game, whether it's a Colosseum online battler or a Pokken brawler or hopefully something more ambitious (if they can convince Monolith to do an Open World RPG for them, droooool) would sell oodles of hardwares to the often rabid and capricious "Casual" market.

Can we do a quick recap? Trying to keep my head above all of this salt has left me confused.

Are we expecting genuine news on the NX this year? Is there a specific time/place where people think an announcement is most probable?

Corholio wrote: »

Am I the only one uninspired by that new Sonic game? It was always going to go back to 2D at some stage considering the brutality in which they have murdered the franchise game after game with the various 3D versions. The new one looks.....fine I guess but does very little for me and just seems a last ditch, crowd pleasing attempt at creating a Sonic game. I'd prefer an average ambitious Sonic game than a good throwback Sonic game to be honest.

They've had more than enough chances to give us an ambitious and good game in the same vein that Mario has consistently reinvented itself over the years but they've failed nearly every time.

I'm personally happy they've gone back to what they're good at.

I'd go as far to say if we don't hear something about the NX by the end of September, it'll be delayed again. I think we will, cos it seems Nintendo is super committed to the March 2017 time frame, but you never know. I was sure it was gonna be out for November.

The NX will be the next Duke Nukem at this stage!!

Eurogamer have said what the NX is (citing multiple sources)

Nintendo's upcoming NX will be a portable, handheld console with detachable controllers, a number of sources have confirmed to Eurogamer.

On the move, NX will function as a high-powered handheld console with its own display. So far so normal - but here's the twist: we've heard the screen is bookended by two controller sections on either side, which can be attached or detached as required.

Then, when you get home, the system can connect to your TV for gaming on the big screen.

A base unit, or dock station, is used to connect the brain of the NX - within the controller - to display on your TV.

NX will use game cartridges as its choice of physical media, multiple sources have also told us.

Considering NX's basis as a handheld first and foremost, the choice may not come as too much of a surprise - although we have heard the suggestion Nintendo recommends a 32GB cartridge, which is small when considering the size of many modern games.

Lots more here: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2016-07-26-nx-is-a-portable-console-with-detachable-controllers

Good to see they're partnering with Nvidia, who already have experience in this field with the Shield line. I have a Shield Tablet and Shield TV and they're both great machines.

Be interesting to see if the base unit gives the handheld a processing boost or if it's a just TV converter.

If it is more or less a dedicated handheld, I wonder what this means for the DS/3DS franchise?

I guess NX is just it's codename, so will we see it somehow fit into that? Maybe even a new Gameboy? :pac:

It's still a bit of speculation and conjecture, but given that Eurogamer have published it, I'd be a bit more inclined to believe this, and their multiple sources. Interesting that they're unsure if it's the X1 or it's successor though, or something inbetween. The detachable controllers is an interesting idea, a portable, (properly) multiplayer console could be very cool.

There was rumours bubbling for the past week that Eurogamer had some sort of scoop they were going to print any day now, so I guess this was it. The next few days will probably bring a lot more information I'm sure now that the initial 'leak' has flowed.

I'm not sure how I feel on a portable first type of system. Obviously the rumours about it being some form of handheld have been around for ages, but this seems to lean towards the handheld being a majority part of the system. I use handhelds but it's far from my primary gaming experiences, so I hope they haven't sacrificed the home system, not just not in power but also in importance, for a powerful handheld.

When I was reading the story alluding that the handheld would be the primary part of the NX, the old patent that Nintendo had about sort of...combining power with another source came to mind. I think it was 'supplemental computing device' or something like that. A sort of bridge between systems that can increase GPU or decrease depending on what's connected.