Nintendo is all but forgotten in the console wars. Both the Xbox ONE and PS4 have outsold the Wii and the updated Wii U by a massive margin. In fact, the PS4 is officially the best selling console for 2015 and most likely 2016. The PS4 is also the fastest selling console of all time with the highest new adoption rate in years. With all this in mind, it seems like Nintendo made a fatal mistake. They decided to release the Wii a year before Microsoft and Sony in hopes of outselling and even converting many people with a next generation console before its competition was even out of the gate. At first, the new console gained a lot of attention but that soon fizzled out. Instead, an early release had an opposite effect. The Wii was massively unequipped and underwhelming compared to the PS4 and Xbox ONE when they were released. Hoping to revitalize sales, they revamped the Wii with a handy little controller that also acted as a second screen. The Wii U was unfortunately a failed endeavor. Nintendo has even halted production on both Wii and Wii U consoles because they simply aren’t selling anymore. But there is hope on the horizon for Nintendo fans.
Multiple sources including Gamestop’s CEO have said that a new Nintendo console is “imminent.” Rumors of the new console dubbed it the “Nintendo NX” which was originally “Project NX.”
What is it?
The Nintendo NX is a “brand new concept” according to late Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata. Iwata said in an interview last year, “As proof that Nintendo maintains strong enthusiasm for the dedicated game system business, let me confirm that Nintendo is currently developing a dedicated game platform with a brand-new concept under the development codename ‘NX’. It is too early to elaborate on the details of this project, but we hope to share more information with you next year.” Sadly, shortly after this announcement, Iwata passed away and he will not be the one to deliver the next generation console. Since then, there have been no more official updates on the project but Nintendo has been very busy with surveys and focus groups recently.
Release Date
There have been no official announcements from Nintendo but people have originally speculated that it would be released in 2017. This would keep with the release a year before the competitors timeline since it is speculated that both Sony and Microsoft will have a new console out by 2018. But, new rumors have the masses believing that the new console might come out sometime this year.
With sales at a dismal level, it is thought that Nintendo would want to take advantage of this year’s Christmas shopping season to boost sales. Though, you should take this with a grain of salt because Nintendo is known for misdirection and surprises when it comes to new releases.
Design
Not much is known about what it’ll look like but best guess is that is will be similar in size to the Wii U if not a bit sleeker. There have been some artist renderings that are very convincing but it’s all speculation.
What we do know, is that Nintendo has filed a patent for an oval touchscreen device that looks an awful lot like a controller. Earlier rumors have said that the Nintendo NX will be released with a home console and a portable handset component but that seems less likely as time goes by. What is likely is that this patent is some second generation Wii U second screen controller. An anonymous Nintendo employee has said that when the NX is released, it will come with multiple controllers.
Hardware & Software Specs
With developer kits most likely floating around in secret backrooms of game developers, the rumors surrounding the hardware and software specs are probably a bit more reliable. There are rumors that instead of a Nintendo native OS, the NX will be using some variant of android. This is due to the fact that Nintendo is working closely with a mobile gaming platform company. They are working on a mobile app but rumors claim that they might be working on an OS for the NX as well.
The hardware for the Wii and Wii U are notoriously lacking. They simply couldn’t compete with the competition. Though Nintendo will be making some hardware updates, it is likely that the new console still measure up to the latest specs. But that is because Nintendo is aimed at a more family friendly environment as opposed to the hardcore gamer. Most likely it’ll run at 1080p at 60fps and will be capable of streaming 4K videos. Other rumors indicate an AMD GPU and somewhere around 6-8 GB of ram. All of this is a welcome improvement over the Wii.
Price
Finally, we come to the bit that will determine adoption. Historically, Nintendo has usually priced their consoles lower than that of high spec gaming consoles like the Playstation and Xbox. For example, the Wii cost $250 when first released. The Gamecube, N64, SNES, and NES all cost $200 when released.
But, because we expect much more hardware packed into the new console it only makes sense that the price will go up. Best guess is that the NX will cost around $400 which is $100 more than the Wii U. That might seem like a huge increase, but you should keep in mind that all other consoles have charged more with every new generation console as well. This is price of keeping up hardware with universal rivals like gaming PCs.
Latest Comments