Board 8 > Nintendo Direct in 24 hours

(+) Yeah! (+)

Grand_Kirby posted...

For record, Nintendo's track record when they go "Hey, let's focus more on making the hardware powerful" has not been great. It nearly killed the company.

The GBA's sales were amazing, especially considering how little time it was on the market.

paperwarior posted...

I think I'm missing something here. What Nintendo systems are you saying failed due to having relatively better specs?

Gamecube and N64. Arguably the SNES, too.

UshiromiyaEva posted...

Wouldn't it be great if Nintendo actually made a real console with horsepower that just played video games like normal??

I don't want a single God damn gimmick.

sony and microsoft aren't toy companies

Nintendo is capable of making a powerful console that isnt a flop. Nobody is really saying it needs to match the PS5. I just want Nintendo to be able to release their big titles without frame rate issues. Pokmon S/V was a goddamn embarrassment performance wise. I know thats more on GameFreak, but still its not like Zelda, Kirby and other titles didnt also have performance drops too

swordz9 posted...

Nintendo is capable of making a powerful console that isnt a flop. Nobody is really saying it needs to match the PS5. I just want Nintendo to be able to release their big titles without frame rate issues. Pokmon S/V was a goddamn embarrassment performance wise. I know thats more on GameFreak, but still its not like Zelda, Kirby and other titles didnt also have performance drops too

FFXVI is coming out on PS5 and still has tons of frame drops, as have several other AAA releases this year (Dead Space, Hogwarts Legacy, Jedi Survivor, etc.). More power doesn't necessarily solve that.

Alright, maybe Gamecube and N64, but they were up against PS1 and 2, and if you're calling the SNES a failure I have to assume that your standards for success are kind of high. Ever since then Nintendo's rep has suffered from underpowered hardware. The Switch was a brilliant move but at this point it seems like a worse Steam Deck. We're still begrudgingly using Nintendo's hardware because their software is exclusive to it.

MacArrowny posted...

The GBA's sales were amazing, especially considering how little time it was on the market.

Nintendo's handhelds were always "weak" for the time. A competitor could have put out something a lot stronger than the gba at the time. The psp came out like 4 years later.

I'm sure something on even the PS4's level would be able to handle a game that was built from the guts of a Wii U game.

paperwarior posted...

Alright, maybe Gamecube and N64, but they were up against PS1 and 2, and if you're calling the SNES a failure I have to assume that your standards for success are kind of high.

The SNES sold worse than the Xbox One.

pjbasis posted...

Nintendo's handhelds were always "weak" for the time. A competitor could have put out something a lot stronger than the gba at the time. The psp came out like 4 years later.

Okay? What's the GBA's gimmick, then? It's basically just a more powerful Game Boy.

I get people were let down by the wii, but i really get the feeling nintendo doesnt care about the latest graphics or just making video games like normal.

I read somewhere that nintendo generally wont make a sequel to a game unless theres some new crazy idea they can implement to push that series in a new direction. Its the reason there hasnt been a sequel to f-zero gx - they just dont have a new way of pushing that series forward.

VR could be a possible outlet for them

UshiromiyaEva posted...

Wouldn't it be great if Nintendo actually made a real console with horsepower that just played video games like normal??

I don't want a single God damn gimmick.

No, it should stay a handheld.

Haven't industry sales numbers risen sharply since then?

mnk posted...

No, it should stay a handheld.

It should. Even if the Switch 2 is weaker than the Steam Deck, it can be better than the Switch, and it doesn't seem like the Steam Deck has the same mass appeal at all.

the gamecube was more powerful than the PS2 and it had the casual reputation of being weaker. so it really doesn't matter sense for nintendo to fight against their own reputation

mnk posted...

No, it should stay a handheld.

Then make it a strong handheld.

I'd rather the thing cost $800 then be in a situation where the POS struggles to run 6 year old multiplatform games.

paperwarior posted...

Haven't industry sales numbers risen sharply since then?

The SNES was still a substantial dropoff from the NES. Saying it failed is an exaggeration, but it wasn't a huge success.

TomNook7 posted...

I read somewhere that nintendo generally wont make a sequel to a game unless theres some new crazy idea they can implement to push that series in a new direction. Its the reason there hasnt been a sequel to f-zero gx - they just dont have a new way of pushing that series forward.

Dude, that's obviously just an excuse. They put out plenty of non-innovative sequels, from the NSMB games to the Splatoon and Animal Crossing games. F-Zero GX just hasn't gotten a sequel because it sold like crap.

paperwarior posted... I think I'm missing something here. What Nintendo systems are you saying failed due to having relatively better specs?

I'm speaking specifically the Gamecube and the Wii U.

The Gamecube was a solid console, but it was literally "let's do everything the other systems are doing to keep up". It had the specs (It was MORE powerful than the PS2!) and it jumped onboard being a disc-based system like the others. The end result was that it just got lost in the jumble of other systems that did the same thing it did. Why buy a Gamecube when a PS2 and Xbox do exactly the same thing? Meanwhile you have the Wii which didn't aim to be a powerhouse, and it sold PRECISELY because it did something that its competitors didn't.

The Wii U was Nintendo trying to have their cake and eat it too. People complained that the Wii was underpowered, so the Wii U has pushed to have better specs and be on par with the other consoles at the time. But all of those resources undercut the development of the tablet functionality creating this monstrosity that didn't know what it needed to be; a hardcore gaming console or an innovative Nintendo system. It nearly destroyed the company. The Switch was a fully realized version of what the Wii U wanted to be. By not focusing on hardware specs they could finally put out something that was sleek and usable that enticed customers. People will say "if they didn't include the tablet with the Wii U and only focused on the hardware it would have been a success!", my ass it would have! It would have just been another Gamecube! It wouldn't have any reason to justify it's purchase to consumers over the other consoles.

pjbasis posted...

Nintendo's handhelds were always "weak" for the time. A competitor could have put out something a lot stronger than the gba at the time. The psp came out like 4 years later.

This is a really good point. Throughout Nintendo's entire handheld history people have complained how underpowered their mobile systems were. And there'd always be companies that would see it as a prime opportunity to steal the market away from them by releasing a top-of-the-line portable gaming device because "more power = good product", right? And they'd only realize too late that a bulky, battery-chugging chunk of plastic isn't fun to play on the go. This ties in with the Switch's specs as well; The Switch COULD have been designed to be more powerful, it could also weigh twice as much and have an even shorter battery life. I'm sure that would have sold just as well, right? It wouldn't have been as portable or easy to use, but people would overlook those issues in favor of having games that run slightly better...

MacArrowny posted...

The SNES was still a substantial dropoff from the NES. Saying it failed is an exaggeration, but it wasn't a huge success.

Dude, that's obviously just an excuse. They put out plenty of non-innovative sequels, from the NSMB games to the Splatoon and Animal Crossing games. F-Zero GX just hasn't gotten a sequel because it sold like crap.

Uhhh splatoon and ac absolutely had a ton of new features with every release. NSMB though yeah ill give. Its why i said generally

The next one should be the Super Switch and the one after that should be the Ultra Switch

Im sure the next one will be handheld too, but I wouldnt care if it wasnt. I almost never use my Switch handheld because a controller is way more comfortable to hold and a tv screen is way better.

And when they inevitably change their name to something else but regret the name change, they can name their next system the Switch Back.

People complaining about Pokmon S/V's performance need to realize that that game could be native to the fuckin PS8 and would still perform like garbage. Embrace the fact that Gamefreak either doesn't care or isn't capable, probably both.

And for the record, I think a lot of people don't think about how these things can affect the functionality of a system in a bad way. People keep saying they wanted the Switch to be more powerful, not realizing how that would have negative effects on its overall performance; its battery life, its load times, its ability to not overheat and cause physical issues, etc. It's not like there's a slider they can adjust when designing the console where they can just go "Hey, let's turn up the graphics by 20%. This won't change anything else." EVERY part of the system's design has to be considered, and every part affects other parts.

Do you know why the Switch doesn't have menu themes like the 3DS did? This is intentional by Nintendo. Adding graphics and music to the Home menu would cause it to take longer to load when accessing it. Nintendo specifically wanted a console that started up quickly, and could swap from the Docked and Handheld modes rapidly, to make it fast and appealing to consumers. (I mean general consumers. Sure, hardcore gamers wouldn't mind, but they're not the only consideration they think about when they're thinking about who they want to sell the system too.) Making it "more powerful" would affect stuff like this too. These things are so subtle that critics on the internet don't even consider it, but one of the reasons the Switch sold so well was BECAUSE it's such an easy "pick up and play" console that isn't bloated or clunky because it tries to demand as much resources as it could have been designed to. It's so easy for someone who doesn't think about all these aspects of console design to just say "They just should make it more powerful! I don't know why they don't do something so simple! It's so obvious and easy!"

SHINE_GET_64 posted...

I dunno, Furukawa seems a more traditional president than Iwata was and their next console may target more horsepower for the first time since the Gamecube

This is a good point actually. I still think people shouldnt get their hopes up for nintendo trying to conform to playstations standards. Clearly theres still some wacky innovative people behind the scenes with the release of ringfit, labo, mario kart live, etc.

Either way, i'm down for whatever they do. Its nintendo. Like im not gonna play the latest mario and zelda.

paperwarior posted...

We're still begrudgingly using Nintendo's hardware

speak for yourself

Even improving the eshop would be nice too. That thing is so slow Im sure Ill be long buried in my grave before I could even scroll the sales section once

I refuse to believe Nintendo wasn't capable of making the Eshop run like complete garbage. The thing has been embarrassing since day 1. At least the PS3 store took years to become total shit.

Nintendo isn't allowed to make a new system until all Xenoblade games are on the Switch.

Anyways dunking on Nintendo aside I hope we see more of those rumored games theyve been sitting on. Wasnt there a Donkey Kong game coming or did I dream that?

DK has been rumored for. I dunno, feels like over a year?

Kenri posted...

People complaining about Pokmon S/V's performance need to realize that that game could be native to the fuckin PS8 and would still perform like garbage. Embrace the fact that Gamefreak either doesn't care or isn't capable, probably both.

This is true. It's one of the worst Switch games for performance. TotK runs extremely well and is the game to beat now for other developers. I understand that many people demand stable 60FPS performance but PS5 isn't fully there yet either.

None of those more powerful systems that didnt sell super well nearly destroyed the company. Nintendo was profitable for almost all of those because Nintendo sells consoles at a profit unlike their competitors (the Wii U was technically sold at a loss at launch but the margin was made up for by one game sale). The reality is Nintendo is stable enough that they dont need to be constantly breaking records. The N64 is not considered a failure.

As for power, the main issue is that Nintendo need something to differentiate it from the Steam Deck if that ever goes mainstream. I really hate the term gimmick as this basically implies that any development of technology other than horsepower is useless when that is not the case at all. Haptic feedback, gyro controls, TV/handheld cross play all began as gimmicks and now theyre here to stay. Online play was a gimmick, it is very silly to only ask for a more powerful machine.

Either way there is no point discussing it now as a new console will not be here. That Yves Guillemot quote does not mean a new console is imminent, just that Nintendo prefers to release one game per franchise per console which we all already knew.

Bring back glassesless 3D imo. The 3DSwitch.

I never liked the Wii controls. They were a detriment to playing games on the system. The Switch is a system with a big, flashy gimmick that actually benefits the end user.

IMO the Switch concept is too good for them to move to a new system just yet
Something like how the DS was too good so the 3DS was just DS but with a gimmick
I would be totally fine with "Switch Pro" for the next few years

Literally just integrate DLSS into the Switch Pro and modestly boost the specs and we're probably golden for 60 fps through the rest of the generation. Nintendo doesn't even do 4K and they're already the only console maker to partner with Nvidia so I'd be baffled if they dont utilize that tech.

It'd be neat if the Switch 2 only supported 1080p. I assume it'll do 4K though, to the ruin of many games on it.

LightningStrikes posted...

The N64 is not considered a failure.

You really think Nintendo was happy with the N64 selling so much worse than the PS1 and SNES and having way fewer games? There's a difference between "doesn't lose money" and "not a failure."

Grand_Kirby posted...

The Wii U was Nintendo trying to have their cake and eat it too. People complained that the Wii was underpowered, so the Wii U has pushed to have better specs and be on par with the other consoles at the time.

Wrong. The Wii U's specs were never anything special. Just like the Wii was a bit more powerful than the Xbox and PS2 in 2006, the Wii U was a bit more powerful than the 360 and PS3 in 2012. They're both equally underpowered.

The PS1 sold nearly as much as the NES and SNES combined it is not a fair comparison or one that Nintendo would even make. Like, both the PS5 and Switch are far outselling Xbox right now but Microsoft is happy because they are making money via GamePass. On the other hand, the PS3 sold about as much as the 360 lifetime but was regarded as a huge failure because it lost so much money. Of course it must also be noted that sure the N64 did not sell nearly as well as the PS1, but it was a titan compared to its other competitor the Saturn. Nintendo was second that generation, and that does matter because well, look at where Nintendo is now and look at where Sega is.

Also you have to look at the Wii Us power as being for a system that was announced in mid-2011 and was released before the PS4 and Xbox One were even teased let alone announced. Of course they were going for power - by 2011 standards!

LightningStrikes posted...

The PS1 sold nearly as much as the NES and SNES combined it is not a fair comparison or one that Nintendo would even make. Like, both the PS5 and Switch are far outselling Xbox right now but Microsoft is happy because they are making money via GamePass

Gamepass isn't meeting internal targets either. They're making money, but their goal was to make way more money. Just like Nintendo in the 90s. During the N64 era, they made way more money from the Game Boy.

LightningStrikes posted...

Also you have to look at the Wii Us power as being for a system that was announced in mid-2011 and was released before the PS4 and Xbox One were even teased let alone announced. Of course they were going for power - by 2011 standards!

This makes zero sense. If they were going for power, it wouldn't be slightly more powerful than 2005's Xbox 360. Let's not forget that the PS4 and XB1 were underpowered for 2013, too.

The negativity in here is amusing, Grand Kirby and Lightning Strikes among others made some great points though. But yeah, Nintendo have been basically spot on with their priorities in the Switch generation.

The idea that it's a big problem that Nintendo consoles struggle to run year old multiplatform games is weird because almost none of these are console sellers and they would not compete with the others with these games anyway. Things like TotK didn't need to run better. SV is bad performance wise but it's not on the Switch and it still sold extremely well. Nintendo have been very much in touch with what people wanted from the Switch.

And SNES and N64 were no failures. Not being on par with PS1 does not make them failures. Nor does "they could have made more money". They did just fine.

On one hand, Im surprised because they didnt have a Summer direct last year so I thought it would be the same for this year. Plus it feels like theyre slowly winding down the Switch in preparation of a potential new console.

On the other hand, the only game in their upcoming schedule is Pikmin 4 which releases in just one month, so I guess it was time.

KamikazePotato posted...

If Nintendo is smart they'll just call make a stronger Switch and call it Switch 2. There's no need to re-invent the wheel again. Release Animal Crossing and the casuals will come.

And if they then also made Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Deluxe I wouldn't even be surprised if it did another 50 million.

theyll do the smart thing and make a new Switch, but do a dumb thing and call it Switch U

Switch Series X

with SSX at launch

I've been wondering what Nintendo's plans are for Mario Kart, if the team's working on MK8 DLC up til the end of this year.

ctesjbuvf posted...
The negativity in here is amusing

No kidding. It seems a lot of discussions on board 8 these days get bombarded by argumentative haters and contrarians

It seems doubtful theyll announce a new console tomorrow anyway. They usually give more of a heads up for the BIG NEWS

SeabassDebeste posted...

the gamecube was more powerful than the PS2 and it had the casual reputation of being weaker. so it really doesn't matter sense for nintendo to fight against their own reputation

I dont think GameCube had a reputation for being weaker. The main issue was it being less useful. The PS2 doubling as a DVD player went a long way in the slaughter of Xbox and GameCube that generation. PS2 was seen as a major part of a home entertainment center, while the Cube only existed for 1st party Nintendo titles for most people.

TomNook7 posted...

No kidding. It seems a lot of discussions on board 8 these days get bombarded by argumentative haters and contrarians

Willing to bet it's fallout from CE. When I first came back here this place was a breath of fresh air from the constant toxicity there(not that I'm at all innocent).

At least we can safely assume Prime 4 aint coming til the next console

Well frankly the obsession with endless and increasing growth is a bad habit all companies need to grow out of, especially when youre seeing both profit and growth. It should be perfectly fine to just be very profitable.

Also to be clear when I say powerful for 2011 I mean compared to other consoles on the market. I dont think the idea for the Wii U had ever been to launch a year before more powerful (though still underpowered) systems, I think it was supposed to compete with the PS3 and Xbox 360 rather than the PS4 and Xbox One.

Also I think Prime 4 will come to Switch but likely as a cross-gen game.