Nintendo President: NX is Not a Successor to the Wii U or 3DS, It's a 'New Way of Playing Games' - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 16 May 2016 / 13,286 Views
Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima in an interview with The Asahi Shimbun, and translated by a user on NeoGAF, talked about Nintendo's upcoming console - the NX.
"It’s something very new," said Kimishima when asked about the NX. "The hardware, the software lineup, all of it is something I’d like to play for the first time myself."
The console is missing the holiday period in 2016 and releasing in March 2017. The reason for this is to have a steady lineup of games post launch.
"It’s for the purposes of our game development schedule," added Kimishima. "When people finish the launch titles, they’ll want things to buy in spring, on summer break, at Christmas. As such, it’s not simply a question of when the hardware’s ready; rather, we need to ensure our software lineup is also in a good place."
"That was indeed a learning experience for us," he said about the lack of Wii U software. "However, it’s also true that we were struggling with the exchange rate at the time as well."
The NX is not a successor to the Wii U or the Nintendo 3DS. Kimishima describes it as a "new way of playing games, which I think will have a larger impact than the Wii U, but I don’t feel it’s a pure replacement for the Wii U."
He was asked about how well he expects the NX to sell and while he couldn't provide exact figures he does realize Nintendo will need strong interest in the NX from its customers.
"The NX is still an uncertain quantity, so any numbers are tentative," said kimishima. "However, it’s true it will be difficult unless we foster a strong interest in the NX in our customers. In addition, I have high hopes for the sales of our smartphone apps."
"It’s true there is a certain expectation for the prices of Nintendo consoles. Our developers put a lot into them, but we can not sell at a loss. The final price is determined by balancing these two conflicting ideas. I don’t believe it’s as simple as 'because this is a new platform, we can make it more expensive.'"
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A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel dedicated to gaming Let's Plays and tutorials. You can contact the author at wdangelo@vgchartz.com or on Twitter @TrunksWD.
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I like the idea!
I don't get people that get too scared about comments like these... Geez guys It'sa videogame console not the fate of the world!
Lol what a surprise, what he means with this ? , now i'm more curious about the NX.
I've stopped listening to Nintendo's word. I'm going to start listening to their actions.
Let's just wait to see! They said the same thing about the wii u
Guys cmon, there's no way what he's saying us accurate. Several mainline games have been moved to nx. How could it possibly be very different? I'm sticking to tablet and console hybrid
Waiting until 2017 so that enough games can be ready for the NX is a smart move, and you only have to look at how long ago Nintendo stopped planning new games for Wii U to realise that they have been working on games for NX for some time. However, with talk of custom chips and the abandonment of X86 architecture combined with "a new way of playing games" Nintendo will once again fail to capture the mainstream in my opinion. 3rd parties will not port a large number of games to the system if it's difficult to do so.
Take Starfox Zero for example. I have been playing the game for a few weeks now and the control "innovation" is horrible. That game plays like a poor imitation of an N64 game that came out 19 years ago but could have been fantastic with traditional controls. By trying to show you how clever the Wii U gamepad is they've ruined that game entirely.
I have always loved the fact that Nintendo take chances but would a high powered Nintendo console with a traditional controller and great Nintendo software be too much to ask for?
As long as the delay is to guarantee a first year without software droughts, I'm fine with it. But I'm weary of the "New Way of Playing Games" part, it sounds like the Wii and WiiU when first announced, and people might not see that as a good thing.
I'm guessing they'll replace the whole controller with touchpad and the touchpad is in fact the next handheld console and home console both in one (very large screen). So basically you don't need a TV screen at all. And They'll probably throw in optional controllers too.
Well it's clear they are not going to be continuing the "DS" or "Wii" naming convention, so in that way he's right. But whatever NX is it is a gaming system primarily, which makes it a successor. What does "A new way of playing games" mean? Does it mean a totally different UI that was not part of the Wii, or Wii U or any past generation UIs? Or does it mean a different way of delivering game content (streaming, digital only)? Or a bit of both? There is a reason why buttons and analog sticks have weathered the motion control and touchscreen storm, they are a very good way of controlling a game.
Well it's clear they are not going to be continuing the "DS" or "Wii" naming convention, so in that way he's right. But whatever NX is it is a gaming system primarily, which makes it a successor. What does "A new way of playing games" mean? Does it mean a totally different UI that was not part of the Wii, or Wii U or any past generation UIs? Or does it mean a different way of delivering game content (streaming, digital only)? Or a bit of both? There is a reason why buttons and analog sticks have weathered the motion control and touchscreen storm, they are a very good way of controlling a game.
I'm intrigued because I'd rather Nintendo do something unique. If they are considering just another basic console, maybe they should go 3rd party.
/smh
Kimishima, you're scaring me. A new way of playing? I know that very well could be PR talk, but I'm concerned it means another gimmick. You can't sell at a loss? Even at launch? That tells me this will likely be another underpowered console. Prove me wrong Kimi.
So you preffer power instead of fun? You are scared of a new way of playing even if it becames the most fun thing in the wordl. You just want more of the same with more power? Thats a ... limited way of thinking.
I'm sorry? Since when are power and fun mutually exclusive?
Please dear God Nintendo, do not get people confused again as to if the NX is an addon for the Wii-U rather than it's replacement, I grew sick to death of people asking me was the Wii-U tablet an addon for the Wii console or a standalone handheld.....
It's really my number 1 hope for the system now, to have a clearly defined name to distinguish it from the Wii altogether, DS,DSi,3DS,2DS,New3DS... Nintendo and console names recently are not helpful for their Soccer mum non gamer purchaser.
The title of the article has 'NX is not not a successor', which means that it is a successor. I assume that's a mistake?
Welp... it was nice knowing you Nintendo.
Awfully premature I would think.
Some people are like a cube.
@padib
What are you talking about?
