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PE X Nintendo #78 - Does Xenoblade Chronicles 3D Point to the Nintendo NX’s Future?

PE X Nintendo 78 MS

On this week’s show: I discuss Fast Racing Neo, NPD sales, Super Smash Bros. and whether Xenoblade Chronicles 3D points to the Nintendo NX’s future. Yo, subscribe to PlayerEssence for a chance to win a DLC code for Mewtwo on the 3DS!

Author: Francis@PE (20572 Posts)


  • PRIMUS

    I will be the gentleman and state this, Francis you guys are in need of a write right. This article been up since Sunday. You have us at work and school checking every hour for updates lol.

  • Prime313

    I do not think that we should be seeing any speculation about the NX at this time. Other than its code name (which I must say is the sexiest code name Nintendo has ever used) we have no facts about it. There is little predictability when it comes to Nintendo consoles, especially home consoles. Last I checked, even though we have many signs and statements that lead to that conclusion, there has been no definite statement by Nintendo that the NX will be a hybrid. Not to mention, even if the NX is going to be a hybrid, it will be done in a very unique/not expected way. ALL currently suggested ideas have huge problems in the areas of price, consumer appeal, and processing power. Nintendo is a business; as such they probably aren’t going to choose any of the methods we have suggested. If the NX is a hybrid console, it will not be executed the way we think it will.

    • Chazprime

      Agreed.

      I believe Nintendo has already denied that they’re developing a hybrid at one of their investor’s meetings.

  • getagrip

    THOSE CALLING CONTROLLERS STANARD AND INSISTING NX SYSTEM HAS ONE KINDLY F@@K OFF AND BUY A PLAYSTATION

    GAMING CANNOT EVOLVE IF THE CONTROLLER DOESNT EVOLVE WE NEED MULTI CONTROLLERS AND OR MULTIPUL ABILLITYS

    TWIN ANOLOG AND BUTTONS IS HIGHLY RESTRICTIVE AND OBSOLLETE I DONT WANT OBSOLETE

    EXAMPLE BAYONETTA IS BEST WITH THE SO CALLED STANDARD PAD

    FPS GAMES ARE BETTER WITH WII REMOTES AND CHUCKS

    PIKMIN IS BETTER WITH WII REMOTES AND CHUCKS

    SPLATOON WOULD BE GREAT WITH WII REMOTES BUT 9 AXIS NOW OFFERS A MOUSE LIKE AIM-CAMERA

    SECOND TOUCH SCREENS OFFER TIGHT TACTICAL INTERACTION

    AND DUAL SCREENED MULTI PLAYER ETC

    the list goes on and on CONTROLLERS HAVE ALWAYS EVOLVED STOPPING AT DUALSHOCK IS NOT BIG AND CLEVER ITS BLATANT FANBOYING

    IF YOU WANT A BOX AND A COUGH STANDARD PAD GO BUY A OBSOLETE STATION

    WIIU OFFERS AMAZING THINGS AND CONTROLS AND A HUGE RANGE OF CONTROLLER CHOICE

    PS4 HAS A 4 GEN OLD PAD WITH A LIGHT BULB SLAPPED ON IT SORRY THATS A JOKE

  • ei8bit

    I do agree what francis says in his video. But my other thoughts on NX, the controller i think will be like Google’s Modular Phone. You can detach and attach parts on it. It’s perfect way for left handed people or people who likes xbox controller design output and maybe you own design like gamecube style controller output. hahahaha… And their console needs to be powerful steambox. So that 3rd party has no excuses for not letting their game on the system. Also Using optimization software, just like what AMD EVOLVED and NVIDIA EXPERIENCE did on the PC. Imagined that it will automatically optimized console graphics to mobile graphics. With cloud technology for save backup, your good to go where ever you are with NX hybrid console. I know theirs always disadvantages. I’m scratching my head about the pricing.. and the dual LCD on the controller on mobile. Nintendo really abandon dual screen on the go? Hope Nintendo will surprice us.

  • PS3RULEZ890

    The NX will be an online platform with a docking station for the N3DS.

    The online platform will be a network that combines the Miiverse and the E-Shop with a unified account system that helps to keep track of everything you do in games as well as keep track of the games you have played.

    With the docking station one can seemlessly update their data in an instant and transfer content about with a file management system so one can play 3DS stuff on the Wii U and any compatible Wii U on the N3DS.

  • Hardin Twentyfive

    All Nintendo needs to do is give the handheld the power of the Gamepad, plus some more, and we got it. Take the Wii U, give it some new armor and gloss, beef it up, and bam. $350-$400.
    Easier said than done though

    • TheChosen

      I wouldn´t buy the next Thing if the only Thing it offers is “more power”. I don`t care about power, sorry. I do care about Features. Gamecube was the worst console Nintendo ever made, and that is not only my opinion, but the opinion of many Million N-fans.
      CW says it, Neogaf proofed it- WiiU is currently on top rated as best console ever. Right after N64 and SNES.
      I like WiiU because:

      Having BC, having cool Features, which even PCs don`t have For example Street View on WiiU is much better and faster on WiiU, than on PC - if i do some Google-Street View Search, i am not using my PC or damn smartphone any longer for that Thing, i am using 360*-view on my WiiU because ist much higher Resolution- having exclusive Content which you don`t see on PCs/Smartphone-versions- and it runs much faster on the console- than even on High-end PCs.
      What i also like about WiiU- having hundreds of 1st-party games which are perfect. And thirdparty is still coming like Lego, C.a.r.s, we might also get another CoD (rumours might be true, since ist Treyarch and they will Need all Money they can get xD)- i can live with that. And we get Fatal Frame 5, Bizerta, many exclusive Indie-games and a LOT of perfect 1st-Party-games.
      What i didn´t like about gamecube:
      no bc, no Internet, not enough good 1st-party-games (mostly bought it because of thirdparties like Sonic Adventure 2 or others), no new t hings- just nearly the same old button-layout-Controller as on N64 and nothing more. No thanks, i don`t want another gamecube.

      • Hardin Twentyfive

        Yea, that’s also needed as well. Actually, more important.

  • awang0718

    Unless Nintendo makes some huge, significant advancements in the hardware and online/digital gaming space, I can’t imagine NX being a handheld/console hybrid. I agree with what gaugheyad has written. The NX will more then likely cannibalize itself, and people would not be fully satisfied with the NX’s “jack of all trades, master of none” approach.

    An even more likely, and worse, situation would be that consumers would purchase the ‘handheld” portion of NX and ignore the “console” version of NX in favor of buying the next Xbox or PlayStation. The NX will serve as gamers’ handheld, and Xbox/PlayStation will serve as gamers’ console. This generation’s predicament will thus repeat itself: a successful handheld + a struggling console. Nintendo doesn’t want that to happen ever again…”

    If Nintendo ever wants to make a handheld/console hybrid (despite me not liking the idea), they need to show me that they are capable of doing that. Having a fully unified account system and cross-buy between Virtual console titles would be the way to start, but that has yet to happen and doesn’t seem like it will happen until the Nintendo/DeNA Club Nintendo replacement comes to fruition. That may take some time, eroding the idea that NX will some kind of handheld/console hybrid. More then likely, it will be Nintendo’s next handheld, the 3DS’s successor.

    • uPadWatcher

      I have to disagree with you. The core reason why Nintendo have code named their future proof system “NX” is they’re making a cross console… a combination of a home system and a handheld system. While they’re maintaining the dual screen like the Wii U has now, the NX game pad could be doubled as a portable handheld when you’re playing it on the go.

      • awang0718

        The name “NX” is meaningless. The Wii U was codenamed “Café.” Did the console have anything to do with cafes/? The Gamecube was codenamed Dolphin. Did the console have anything to do with aquatic sea life??

        If you are suggesting that the NX gamepad will also be the next Nintendo handheld, then that means the next handheld will ditch the dual screen design that made the DS/3DS so unique. Backwards compatibility will get thrown out the window, and NX will end up being super expensive ($500-$600), since Nintendo is selling a console and a handheld/controller components in one single box.

        Nintendo’s next console will likely NOT have a mandatory Gamepad to cut down costs and prevent any instant association with the Wii U. It would be nice to see their next handheld be able to act as a controller for the console, provided you have both products, but the console should have a standard controller as the default.

        • TheChosen

          First:

          If the next console isn´t going to have a Gamepad, it won`t be wiiu-compatible at all. One Point for me to not buy it! I didn`t like the gamecube because of no BC, no Internet, no good 1st-party-games and other missing Features.

          Second: “It would be nice to see their next handheld be able to act as a controller for the console, provided you have both products, but the console should have a standard controller as the Default.”
          If the Gamepad isn´t included in the box, no one is going to make games for it specifically tailoring it to the console! Thats how it goes!
          See? PS Move had about 10 games being made over the time, just like Kinect. Why? Because it wasn`t in the box! Wiimote the other way round, had over 300 games exclusively made for it! Thats how it goes.
          No one cared about THQ making some “Gamepad” to draw some things on it! WHY? Because it wasnt in the box from the beginning! That means, developers aren`t going to make games for it! That means => no Support. THQ died because of that “thinking”.
          If you make something mandatory you will have much better Support. If you include something in the box, it will be supported by nearly every developer. If you don`t, it won`t - just that simple.
          And btw: I wouldn`t buy the handheld. So if i only decide to buy the console i wouldn´t be able to Play the console with “Gamepad”-Support. See the big Problems? Ist like PS Vita + PS4. I wouldn`t be able to Play games which require a 4DS/3DS-successor/NX. Thats a big Problem. And thats why developers then would make no more Gamepad/NX-requiring games.
          How Long has Sony said “PS4 will Support ALL PS Vita-games”. how Long huh? 3 years? And what happened? The complete opposite happened! Nearly NO game of PS Vita supports the PS TV or PS4, since they all require specific parts of the unique Features.

          • awang0718

            I am positive Nintendo’s next platform will skip the mandatory Gamepad. They are indeed a business, and it would be devastating if their next console also pulled in Wii U-esque sales figures. I myself enjoy the Gamepad, but Nintendo’s mass-market instincts will likely kick in and force them to remove it as a mandatory controller.

            Making an accessory mandatory does NOT mean support. The Wii U Gamepad has been significantly underutilized in almost all of their games from 2013 and onward. Most of the time, the Gamepad screen is just a map, inventory, or a replica of what is displayed on the TV screen. (MK, SSB, SM3DW…) Sometimes it isn’t used at all (DKC:TF). Nintendo treats the Gamepad like the bottom screen of a DS/3DS, when it has so much more potential.

            Backwards compatibility is only an issue for a few select Wii U games, such as Nintendo Land and ZombiU. like I said, most Wii U games do not require the Gamepad. If people want to play ZombiU on the next gen console, then they will need a Gamepad. If not, then no Gamepad needed.

          • Chazprime

            I don’t see the next console having a gamepad either. If Nintendo themselves admit that they have yet to utilize it well, it stands to reason that they’ll scrap it next generation for a better controller (like the Pro controller).

        • getagrip

          theres no such thing as a standard controller AND THATS GOING BACKWARDS NOT FORWARDS

          YOU JUST DISCRIBED PLAYSTATION LOL

          • awang0718

            Perhaps I shouldn’t have stated “standard controller.” Perhaps I should have said “controller without a touchscreen in the middle.”
            “Forward” and “backward” is subjective. Nintendo is a business. They will do what needs to be done to make the most amount of money. Another console that sells like the Wii U is NOT what the company will want.

      • getagrip

        so dual screened console SINGLE SCREENED HANDHELD dude try thinking a bit first

    • getagrip

      thats the whole point of NX unified account THATS WHAT IT IS please come back down from mars dude

  • gaugheyad

    First off, I didn’t watch the video as I rarely watch such videos. However, the misleading question attached to this article is stretching into click-bait.

    Considering that Nintendo has a long history of porting previous generation home console games to their portables, I highly doubt that it means anything at all.

    The GBA saw a lot of SNES ports. Did that foretell that the GC was going to be a hybrid system? The DS saw a port of Super Mario 64. Was the Wii a hybrid system because of that? The 3DS has a port of a Wii game. Why isn’t the Wii U a hybrid system?

    None of this points to the NX being this “hybrid” system that people started pretending existed simply because, once again, they ignored what Nintendo said right to their faces. XC being on the 3DS is no different from SM64 being on the DS or all those SNES ports being on the GBA.

    I think a hybrid system would be really cool. Do I think it would be a good business idea knowing how the market operates today? Nope. It would cannibalize itself and make it far more difficult to put out enough software to satiate both markets. People who prefer console gaming would want everything to be more console like. People who like handheld gaming would want everything to be more handheld like. It’s near impossible to create a single game that would satisfy both markets without having to be heavily modified. One or even both markets would quickly lose interest as the system would have absolutely no focus.

    The hybrid system that people wan’t isn’t going to happen. At least not in the way they seem to think it should.

    • http://playeressence.com/ PlayerEssence

      If you didn’t watch the video, you don’t have much grounds to formulate a argument as you don’t even know what I said.

      Second, I suggest u look up what clickbait actually is. As IN THE VIDEO you didn’t watch, CLEARLY shows WHY I titled the video the way it is.

      But you didn’t watch it, SO it flew right over your head.

      “I think a hybrid system would be really cool. Do I think it would be a good business idea knowing how the market operates today? Nope. It would cannibalize itself and make it far more difficult to put out enough software to satiate both markets.”
      That is a blind quess with no proof to back up anything I said in the video. Since you didn’t watch, you’re making wild stabs at what you think I said.
      More than happy to discuss this with you further, but i suggest you watch the video before accussing me with clickbait titles and throwing out what YOU THINK I said.

      • gaugheyad

        Considering you don’t even know what the NX is, you’re premise from the very beginning is flawed. You’re insinuating that XC 3D has anything to do with the NX in the first place and since you have no idea what NX is you can’t even begin to guess.

        Excuse me for calling a duck a duck but your title is treading on click-bait. I say so because I would rather not have to abandon another forum because of the direction this site decides to go in. It’s dangerous. Stop it.

        As for me not watching the video, at least I stated that I didn’t, unlike most people. If others want to ignore my reply after that, that’s their prerogative. And it’s my prerogative to be able to post on a topic without having to watch the attached video. Especially when the video is most obviously full of pointless supposition, which it would have to be since, once again, nothing is known of the NX except that it’s going to be a dedicated gaming platform.

        As for my reply, it wasn’t to the video, it was directed at the idea et al. There is no way to make it work the way people seem to want it to. Since you felt the need to attack my post, I obviously hit on at least some of what your video covers. Otherwise, why even mention it?

        Let’s put it another way. BOTH of us are wildly speculating since absolutely nothing is known right now. I could be right, you could be right, no one could be right. In the end your attempt to conflate the existence of XC 3D with the possible form factor of the NX is even more absurd than most of the other ideas I’ve heard on the subject.

        Interestingly you don’t try to contradict me, you simply try to sweep it under the rug. Sorry, but that doesn’t work. I actually laid out valid reason why you title is obviously broken and yes, click-bait. If you don’t understand why then it may already be too late for this site.

  • Saleem Rasul Abdul Aziz

    If the NX is a hybrid system I dont think it will be sold at the 299 price point any longer. Nintendo makes bank on the sales of both systems so merging them together will preclude the possibility of a cheap system. I dont doubt that it would probably go for 399.99. The ability to run as a handheld alone will be worth the price right there. It would also be an opportunity for the NX to deliver more horsepower.

    My biggest question will be the architecture, will they continue to use their own ARM based systems or adopt X86. I personally hope not as X86 seems to be horribly inefficient. You only need to look at the twins to see that. With 8gb they should run much much better then they are especially when you take into consideration that it is a closed system.

    • TheChosen

      If NX is a hybrid System i as a N-fan would no longer buy the System. Sorry, i don´t Need a “hybrid”. I want specific tailored games for my platform! Not some multishit which i can Play on my pc as well.

      • Saleem Rasul Abdul Aziz

        I think your misunderstanding me when I say hybrid. What I mean is hybrid console hand held.

  • getagrip

    a hybrid doesnt need to be a streaming handheld

    it can be a handheld that docks,whilst docked you have a gamepad maintaining dual screen gaming, so dual screened handheld in battary mode becomes docked console in power up mode(as your not relying on battarys) and you pick up a gamepad and maintain wii remote and pro pad support

    id like wii remotes to be remarketed as nintendo remotes and a pro pad with 9 axis built in

    better still a gamepad with de-tachable sides that become 9 axis nunchucks

    • TheChosen

      The Problem about “docks” is: It can really fast damaged. Docks are not made to last forever!
      A dock that would last 5 Mio. times is like N64-days. where the dock itself cost 50 Dollars alone! It would be clunky and not so fine-made it wouldn`t be good-looking…or it would be cheap and metal and would break after your 500th use. Wow. Have fun with that.

      • getagrip

        im not talking dock as in it has chips inside i mean a basic charging station with tv out

  • getagrip

    agreed with everyone here,but its the HOW im interested in …

    could we see multipul versions of hardware at different levels including a true hybrid..

    theres so many ways to do this, and have it all account based,i also want controller choice and controller evolution to continue.. my biggest love of wiiU its its all included controller abillity,its what seperates wii U from any other system on earth and makes it MORE next gen than anything out there i love the idea of wii remote plus and chuck whilst having gamepad cradled as a tactical touch screen…

    i love the idea of smooth dual screen gaming interaction and screen into screen viewing even interacting with both screens with a wii remote would be amazing point at gamepad grab a object thro it onto the tv screen SO MUCH POSABILLITY…

    NINTENDO will not sell out to the now EXTINCT industry standard a box and a standard pad is NO LONGER GOOD ENOUGH no matter how much sony fanboy thinks it is ITS OBSOLETE AND OUT DATED…

    I AS A LIFE LONG GAMER DEMAND EVOLUTION wii U is that evolution the industry needs to get its act together..

    seperate systems and multipul choices makes sense,but i do still like the idea of a hybrid

    a next gen gamepad or customizable controller would be great

    nintendos only concern is mass market inteligence,people are stupid they dont GET IT and nintendo needs mr and misses average joe TO GET IT thats the hard part

  • SilverNight

    I have run that same idea of having a portable and home console version of games such as RPGs and sports titles sync when your consoles come together and everyone thought it was a great idea.

  • RicardJulianti

    It won’t be a hybrid in the sense that it’ll be a handheld with the ability to stream to the TV. Like a reverse/portable Gamepad. Iwata has said as much since having two separate pieces of hardware helps keep them stable. For example; GBA keeping them alive with the Gamecube and then the DS a few years in.

    Instead I could see NX being more of a streaming box type thing. It would be part of the new portable, that can be placed by/plugged into the Wii U/new console and then you can send the game to the portable. Kind of like PS4’s Remote play, but better…no visual difference and extremely low lag.

    Or maybe instead, you can save the game to the NX (but can only do 1 at a time) and then it’ll go into a “portable mode” where the graphics are adjusted accordingly. It wouldn’t require too much more effort to do if the architectures are the same and easy enough to work with so it would be like changing settings on a PC game. They could even make it compatible with the Wii U to help drive sales of Wii U games and Wii U’s. Who wouldn’t want to have Star Fox or Zelda (if it has a dual screen) on the go with them?

    This would fulfill Iwata’s musings about the systems being “brothers” like the iPad, iPhone, and iPod, while also making it different enough to be Nintendo’s own “thing.” It would also let Nintendo sell two distinct platforms, with exclusives for the portable, and possibly exclusives for the console depending on if they would want to separate them a bit more.

    I’m curious if their “mystery tech acquisition” in (fiscal) Q4 of last year where they spent $100 will have any part in the NX.

  • *NormalGamer*

    I said this before: With technology and graphics getting similar to each other day by day, the possibility of the next Nintendo system being a hybrid of both the home console and handheld console seems to be pointing in that direction; guess we’ll know the truth when E3 2016 comes.

    • TheChosen

      That would be really bad. I wouldN`t buy the System at ALL, if it doesn`t have the things the 3DS has right now. I mean- if every game is the same-because there is no new tech included to offer real NEW games. I don`t want a game to be just another Level-pack. If ist like you said, i say Bye to Nintendo forever.

      That is btw the same case why PS Vita didn`t sell good enough- cause no one wants to Play the same games on handhelds AND consoles. People instead buy the console-versions and don`t give a…about the handheld-Version because ist the same. See? And it would be exactly the same with Nintendo. People simply would stop buying the games…