The NX won't be as powerful as this gen's machines?

[shadowsupernature]

There is this rumor going on with Neogaf right now. According to one of the leakers, the NX isn't aiming to be very powerful compared to the PS4 or XB1. This is the same leaker that called the Uncharted Collection and the Fallout 4 Pipboy edition.

I would still take this with a grain of salt. But if this DOES turn out true, then Nintendo is out of their minds. I don't see them being even remotely competitive if they don't try to conform with the industry.

 

[Patrick]

They don't really need to be. Take a look at the Wii. From a technical standpoint it was a pile of crap even for it's time (8 years ago). Despite that, it still sold more than both the Xbox360 and PS3 combined during the first half of 2007. To this day, it still sold more than the Xbox 360 (101 Million units vs. 83.6 Million). I can understand why they choose a more modest route when it comes to hardware; it's not like they need much to succeed.

 

[utneqo7d]

They don't really need to be. Take a look at the Wii. From a technical standpoint it was a pile of crap even for it's time (8 years ago). Despite that, it still sold more than both the Xbox360 and PS3 combined during the first half of 2007. To this day, it still sold more than the Xbox 360 (101 Million units vs. 83.6 Million). I can understand why they choose a more modest route when it comes to hardware; it's not like they need much to succeed.

Exactly, Nintendo's aim isn't anywhere near better hardware as it isn't really meant for die hard gamers anyway, they have their own franchises which is the reason why people buy their console, not because it has better specs than other consoles, take the Wii U for example. They make more 'casual' games like Mario Party which don't need good specs anyway, but rather originality and freshness.

 

[CemeteryGates23]

I'd actually heard a rumor that it was set out to be more powerful and aiming for third-party development support, which I think is genius and would love to see what Nintendo could do with that. If this rumor turns out to be true, and not the one I heard previously, I might not be very interested.

While the argument is there that the Wii outsold Sony and Microsoft, it's also true that the Wii U again tried to be different and had very little success compared to last gen. I personally have both consoles and barely played my Wii while I'm very much enjoying the Wii U, but imagine what Nintendo could do with their unique IPs (without a doubt their main selling point), some strong machinery and all the major multiplatform franchises around?

 

[utneqo7d]

I'd actually heard a rumor that it was set out to be more powerful and aiming for third-party development support, which I think is genius and would love to see what Nintendo could do with that. If this rumor turns out to be true, and not the one I heard previously, I might not be very interested.

While the argument is there that the Wii outsold Sony and Microsoft, it's also true that the Wii U again tried to be different and had very little success compared to last gen. I personally have both consoles and barely played my Wii while I'm very much enjoying the Wii U, but imagine what Nintendo could do with their unique IPs (without a doubt their main selling point), some strong machinery and all the major multiplatform franchises around?

Would be a great thing if Nintendo would make it more powerful for third-party developers. Their own franchises are really great but they'll probably attract more gamers if other big titles would play on their console, which wasn't the case for the Wii U. That way their own franchise probably will get played more by gamers who really like certain big titles and don't have the money for an extra console.

 

[Ahab]

It would be a dumb decision, honestly. Remember when Nintendo used to have the better hardware? The Nintendo 64 was better than the Playstation with 3D engines. The Gamecube was way better than the Playstation 2 with graphics in general.

I think it's safe to say that the NX will be at least on par with PS4 and Xbox One. People nowadays are really nitpicky about frame rates and resolutions, and while Nintendo always put 60 fps on a high pedestal they certainly could use some more raw power for their machine. Not like I have a problem with how they managed the Wii U, because I really like the games in there, but they seriously need to make a good first impression because otherwise it will not sell.

 

[rockandgreen]

I think the NX will have worse specs than other modern consoles solely because, from past experience, the Nintendo gaming company always focuses on introducing new features to revolutionise gaming rather than improve on prexisting features such as the specs that make a console good. They will give the NX another reason to be popular, another selling point and that won't be its specs.

 

[JaiGuru]

I think the NX will have worse specs than other modern consoles solely because, from past experience, the Nintendo gaming company always focuses on introducing new features to revolutionise gaming rather than improve on prexisting features such as the specs that make a console good. They will give the NX another reason to be popular, another selling point and that won't be its specs.

Well the NX already exists. It's called the Switch and you pretty much hit the nail on the head. It does lag significantly behind modern consoles in terms of raw core component power. That said, they teamed up with Nvidia and essentially made a system on a chip that is surprisingly well suited for the types of games Nintendo makes. None of the games so far can compete with the visuals possible from PS4 or Xbox One, but they look good for what they are. It remains to be seen if the portability gimmick will carry the system, and I wont say I'm not a little skeptical. Having said that, it's selling very well right now. You cannot extrapolate lifetime sales numbers from those of the early months following a console's release because even the worst consoles usually sell pretty well right off the bat. I sincerely doubt we're looking at a repeat of the Wii U situation though. At a minimum Nintendo has a better advertising campaign and it has been coming hard with the major in-house titles that everyone wants from the company. In its first year we're getting the definitive version of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, the new flagship Super Mario game,a new Yoshi game, Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and Splatoon 2 with Metroid on the horizon. That's pretty reasonable for a console release year which tends to be the slowest, software-wise, in the hardware's life cycle. In fact, my biggest concern is that maybe Nintendo is letting stuff out of the gate a little too quickly! They're just rapid-firing out their major releases without smaller games in between which worries me that they're going to run into a dry spell by year 3 or 4.