(Jun. 28, 2016 9:16 PM)KingofDarkness0 Wrote: [ -> ]so do you think ninendo should focus on handhelds and/or do a sega and produce software/games for xbox and playstation together?
I think Nintendo's focus on building a user-friendly platform that runs across multiple kinds of devices
that they manufacture, at an affordable price, is exactly the right approach.
I don't think Nintendo's biggest issues have been weird gimmicks nor hardware power. The fact is that Nintendo's biggest commercial successes, the Wii and DS, were totally out of left field and hard "weird gimmicks." Sure, you might think the Wii sucked (I think it's OK), it sold megatons and Nintendo wants to sell games and hardware to the widest audiences possible. The DS was a weird idea that turned out to be incredible design for a handheld console, and saw the focus on touch controls coming over
three years before the iPhone launched.
The Wii U Gamepad as a huge misstep, as unlike the Wii and 3DS, Nintendo didn't focus on providing a delightful experience. The Wii and DS were
fun to use and made interacting with games and software more accessible than their predecessors. But the Gamepad didn't enable anything. It was a me-too reaction to the rise of iPad gaming.
With so much of Nintendo's previously potential audience lost to mobile, and gaming enthusiasts being spoiled for choice with the PS4 and PC (not so much XB1), Nintendo has a really hard road ahead. But aside of making great games to go with it, I think here's what's important for the NX to succeed:
1. It needs to be affordable. One fact that gets lost a lot when discussing the Wii U is that it's
expensive. When it launched it was a shocking $350 (for the deluxe version, admittedly, but the $299 basic version was still expensive and obviously compromised — no game! Even though Wii Sports is why Wii succeeded! This likely further hurt perception of the console).
NX needs to launch at no more than $300 USD, and it needs to be bundled with a great game. We'll see how much Nintendo has learned.
2. It needs to provide a delightful experience. This doesn't mean it needs to have some weird gimmick. It could come with a normal controller. But the software needs to be outstanding and it needs to have features that people will love.
One thing I'd like to see is a Netflix-like subscription to Virtual Console, although I think a lot of people might disagree. I think something Nintendo should find some way of using extensive historical library to provide value to their console rather than selling them piecemeal.
I am sure they have much grander plans for Nintendo Account and their mobile games, so hopefully they can leverage those experiences on the console as well. Nintendo also has some interesting patents in cloud computing, and Nintendo acquired a mystery company a few years ago for $100 million.
You could assume that Nintendo are just bumbling fools and that nothing good could come of their next effort, but I wouldn't count them it. They've done a ton of brilliant things before, and the last few years have been a bitter lesson. I'm convinced they've learned something from it.