With all of the talk about the upgraded consoles from Sony and Microsoft
many have to wonder if the Nintendo NX is being overlooked as we prepare
for it to launch in March 2017.
Nintendo is coming off very disappointing sales of the WII U and with a
freshinflux of cash from the sale of almost all of their ownership of the
Seattle Mariners, the company is poised to make a big splash in 2017 and
beyond with the NX.
How gamers will respond to this is a matter of speculation as consumers
may take a wait and see approach to it as they do not want a repeat of the
WII U where several of the best exclusives for the system did not launch
until almost a year after the console arrived and by then it had been
overshadowed by Sony and Microsoft.
Rumors abound that the NX will be a hybrid of a console and mobile system
which could be a very interesting thing. Nintendo has done well with the
3DS but rumors of the power being between a PS 3 and PS 4 are a bit
concerning to me.
Nintendo has never been known for cutting edge graphics in the modern
system era as the WII and WII U were not as powerful as their peers.
Nintendo has focused on their style of gameplay and graphics which up
until recently has worked very well for them.
However when major publishers no longer considered the WII U as part of
the release platform for games, this put added pressure on Nintendos
exclusives as more and more gamers moved to other consoles or PCs to play
the newer releases that they were unable to on a Nintendo system.
I do not expect Nintendo to change this part of the system as they have
been very stubborn about not giving us high powered systems with modern
online gaming opportunities so hopefully this will change.
I know it is likely too much to ask but some kind of backwards
compatibility would be great as it would be nice to be able to play WII U
games on the new system and perhaps some of the older classics as well.
For me the biggest thing is that the system must launch with a solid
catalog of titles and there must be a steady supply of AAA titles. I
remember Nintendo promising us during a meeting at San Diego Comic Con
prior to the launch of the WII U that Mario Kart 8, Donkey Kong Country
Tropical Freeze, a new Zelda and other games would be out within six
months of launch and this simply was not the case. Our Deluxe Wii U was
basically used for the new Mario Bros and not much else for that first
year and became an afterthought very fast instead of a vital and regular
part of our gaming rotation.
Nintendo also needs some new franchises. We all know and love the classic
franchises but a new system should be more than simply a new chapter in a
series, it should be a golden opportunity to launch the type of games and
franchises that made Nintendo the name that it is.
I am curious if many consumers will take a wait and see approach with the
system as we are on a fence about pre-ordering it. I like many will need
to see what is being offered when more information is revealed and act
accordingly but the time is now for Nintendo to learn from their past
mistakes and make a bold return to the console gaming market.
