The reason I bring this up now is that the NX is going to be unveiled any time in the next few months. We're going to find out what it's going to be. Right now there's a lot of debate among Nintendo fans as to what sort of a console it should be: some wanting a powerful handheld, others wanting a Nintendo version of the PS4, and others wanting something new. I think a lot of the opinions come across based around the consoles people were biggest fans of. As a long time Nintendo fan, I have formed some opinions on when they're at their best, and when they're at their worst.
S Tier
The Blue Ocean Revolutionaries
Key features:
* They're fresh new concepts
* They don't cost a huge amount
* They're sleek & intuitive
* Killer apps
Nintendo is at their best from a financial and excitement standpoint when they've got one of these on the market. One of the key aspects is that they seem to drop in at lower prices than new hardware from mainstream manufacturers at the time. They have fresh new ways to game, and do it in a very easy manner, and these naturally lead to the killer apps. While the killer apps are usually fairly simplistic compared to later softwatre, they're the ones that create the boom: Super Mario Bros/Duck Hunt, Wii Sports and Fit, Brain Age... But these usually lead on to much more advanced killer apps like Pokemon, Super Mario Bros 3, Super Mario Galaxy, etc...
These consoles approach gameplay interfaces in a non-conventional manner; and it usually sticks, we're going to have d-pads, motion controls, and touch screen games in one form or another, for a very long time.
These consoles often have a big bunch of people who go crazy angry against them for successfully going against the trend. They're definitely not for everyone, but the success that they have is very clear.
I think the NES defines this group the best. When the trend was heading toward higher prices and complexity of interface, Nintendo comes out with their new D-Pad based controller, and only two other buttons to accompany it in the main interface. Commodore and Atari dominated at the time, But Nintendo completely trivialized their success, and the videogame market ballooned up into a MUCH larger beast than it ever had before, and they were all buying the NES.
A Tier
The Iterative Successes
Key Features:
* Maintain the last generation's focus
* Update chipsets
* Update interface without increasing console cost
These are the consoles that take the previous generations concept, and update it, adding some additional and useful advancements; such as shoulder buttons and better chips.
The SNES and GBA are really the only two that fit here. Pachter's Wii HD would have too, but that never came into fruition. These consoles generally do not have the same level of backlash as the revolutionaries due to them being very comfortable directions. These's less excitement, but people are still happy to see the improvements in power and widening colour and sound spectrums. They also are not nearly as appealing to new customers, as they're just updates to what was available before. These consoles do not come without significant evolutions though: the SNES got the shoulder buttons, and the ability to do graphics in new sorts of ways (3D and pre-render); and the GBA eventually got a backlight and button enhancements of its own.
B Tier
Premium Iterations
* Maintain last generation's focus
* Update chipsets
* Update interface and increase the cost
The 3DS fits here, alone. It added a bunch of new features that proved to be more expensive than they should have. In addition, the system didn't take advantage of the new features in any way. There was no killer app to highlight anything new. As a result, the 3DS ended up being like a poorly executed GBA. The failure with 3D was it was that all customers paid extra for it, but the feature turned into a "bells and whistles" sort of gimmick that was never leveraged in any significant way. Most action games didn't work well with 3D due to significant movement of the device, this was fixed with n3DS, but that was too little too late. The logical thing would have been a 3D movie channel. There was also some significant backlash against 3D based around myths, this was somewhat out of Nintendo's hands, everything from glases free 3D damaging your eyes to it causing head problems like seizures and aneurysms. Another thing was the price passed to the consumer.
Of course, Nintendo helped to fix these devastating issues with a future price drop, a 2DS, and the New 3DS. These helped enough to boost 3DS total sales above NES. Nintendo is able to coast for a while on 3DS sales as a result, but it's past time for a new generation.
C Tier
Half Baked
* Interesting concepts, poor implementation
* Expensive component
* Not sleek or intuitive
This is where the N64 and Wii U fit. The N64 had some GREAT games on it, Nintendo may have been at their creative zennith at this point on the software front, the issue was the conduit of delivery. The N64, first, used VERY expensive cartridges, these were very low density compared to the disks used in the Saturn and PSX, and in order to get some games on them, they required much larger cartridges that cost much larger amounts of money. In Canadian dollars, it meant some games cost $120, which was about $35 more than the most expensive SNES games (Late gen RPGs like Chrono Trigger, Secret of Evermore, and Lufia 2, which topped the price list at $85). The other big expense was controllers, by the time I was done my first couple of years of University, I had worn out about 8 of them.
With Wii U, it was that big controller, manufacturing costs were in the region of $55 a pop (minus storage and s&h prices), with the Wii remote, the internals were significantly cheaper, as it relied on a $2.50 motion component and infra-red tracking. All in all, Nintendo could have probably shipped a Wii HD with more power and 4 Wii remotes, and STILL be cheaper than the Wii U. The other big issue with the Wii U is the chipset used, it wasn't powerful enough to run the operating system gracefully.
My biggest gripe with the Wii U is how it was a good concept, but poor execution of the Gamepad, I loved the idea of playing my console games on the go... It's just too bad I couldn't go all the way to the bedroom before it disconnected. It has a range of only about 30 feet, which might be fine for Japanese apartments, but not adequate for people who live in Western style houses. Or who like to go outside and rest in the hammock while playing a game or two.
With both Wii U and N64, the controllers were the ugliest Nintendo had ever made.
D Tier
Playstation's Little Brother
* Iterates on a competitors's design
* Doesn't do it as well as said competitor
There's not much to say about the Gamecube. It was a PS2 with missing features, and it missed most of the games. What this meant was that Nintendo didn't leave any room for a killer app, and Gamecube didn't have any. The best software they came up with for the Gamecube was Metroid Prime and Zelda: Wind Waker - which was sad for me because I didn't really like Metroid, and Wind Waker was no Ocarina of Time. The Mario franchises were at their absolute nadir at this point with Mario Kart Double Dash!! (you know it's a loser with two exclamations) and Super Mario Sunshine. This console was effectively my Skies of Arcadia machine for the last 3 years of its life, and I became a handheld gamer :=ace, it's somewhat irritating. It worked fine with Skies of Arcadia and Smash, but it was bad for Zelda, something was off with Mario Sunshine; and as a controller for Wii's Virtual Console, it was virtually unusable. Some of Nintendo's past games utilized the face buttons of the SNES and N64 in a way that couldn't be replicated on the Gamecube controller because you can't transition between the B, Y, and X buttons. Other issues included the very awkardly positioned and sized D-Pad and the Z-trigger no one could find. Another huge gripe I had were the L&R shoulder buttons were huge and had springs in them to measure pressure: so the further you pushed them down the more intense an action could be taken - this feature was never used; the buttons were just loud and akward. But fans of the Gamecube controller will assure you it is the best ever made because it feels comfortable in their hands. The Gamecube came more off as a controller that was doing its best to look like it wasn't just copying the Playtation controller, but every difference it had was a flaw; except I suppose, those comfortable handles...
Some people really loved the Gamecube, and considered it their favourite Nintendo system. It did sell slightly better than the Wii U, but the Wii U is sitting at $330, the Gamecube was at $99 for most of its life (cheaper than many N64 games).
So what will the NX be?
I think most are looking for an S-Tier, something new, sleek, and exciting.
An A-Tier might work if it doesn't seem like Wii U.2, even if it is just Wii U done right for 2017.
Some people have been wanting a D-tier type console, or a Polaris using Playstation 4 style console, but not quite as good. These are the same people who liked Gamecube. And in my opinion, this will sell similarly to the Wii U or worse. It would need a VERY strong software library to even have a shot at doing well, and it's already behind.
Some have been suggesting something like a C-Tier, or a console focused around VR.
S Tier
The Blue Ocean Revolutionaries
Key features:
* They're fresh new concepts
* They don't cost a huge amount
* They're sleek & intuitive
* Killer apps
Nintendo is at their best from a financial and excitement standpoint when they've got one of these on the market. One of the key aspects is that they seem to drop in at lower prices than new hardware from mainstream manufacturers at the time. They have fresh new ways to game, and do it in a very easy manner, and these naturally lead to the killer apps. While the killer apps are usually fairly simplistic compared to later softwatre, they're the ones that create the boom: Super Mario Bros/Duck Hunt, Wii Sports and Fit, Brain Age... But these usually lead on to much more advanced killer apps like Pokemon, Super Mario Bros 3, Super Mario Galaxy, etc...
These consoles approach gameplay interfaces in a non-conventional manner; and it usually sticks, we're going to have d-pads, motion controls, and touch screen games in one form or another, for a very long time.
These consoles often have a big bunch of people who go crazy angry against them for successfully going against the trend. They're definitely not for everyone, but the success that they have is very clear.
I think the NES defines this group the best. When the trend was heading toward higher prices and complexity of interface, Nintendo comes out with their new D-Pad based controller, and only two other buttons to accompany it in the main interface. Commodore and Atari dominated at the time, But Nintendo completely trivialized their success, and the videogame market ballooned up into a MUCH larger beast than it ever had before, and they were all buying the NES.
A Tier
The Iterative Successes
Key Features:
* Maintain the last generation's focus
* Update chipsets
* Update interface without increasing console cost
These are the consoles that take the previous generations concept, and update it, adding some additional and useful advancements; such as shoulder buttons and better chips.
The SNES and GBA are really the only two that fit here. Pachter's Wii HD would have too, but that never came into fruition. These consoles generally do not have the same level of backlash as the revolutionaries due to them being very comfortable directions. These's less excitement, but people are still happy to see the improvements in power and widening colour and sound spectrums. They also are not nearly as appealing to new customers, as they're just updates to what was available before. These consoles do not come without significant evolutions though: the SNES got the shoulder buttons, and the ability to do graphics in new sorts of ways (3D and pre-render); and the GBA eventually got a backlight and button enhancements of its own.
B Tier
Premium Iterations
* Maintain last generation's focus
* Update chipsets
* Update interface and increase the cost
The 3DS fits here, alone. It added a bunch of new features that proved to be more expensive than they should have. In addition, the system didn't take advantage of the new features in any way. There was no killer app to highlight anything new. As a result, the 3DS ended up being like a poorly executed GBA. The failure with 3D was it was that all customers paid extra for it, but the feature turned into a "bells and whistles" sort of gimmick that was never leveraged in any significant way. Most action games didn't work well with 3D due to significant movement of the device, this was fixed with n3DS, but that was too little too late. The logical thing would have been a 3D movie channel. There was also some significant backlash against 3D based around myths, this was somewhat out of Nintendo's hands, everything from glases free 3D damaging your eyes to it causing head problems like seizures and aneurysms. Another thing was the price passed to the consumer.
Of course, Nintendo helped to fix these devastating issues with a future price drop, a 2DS, and the New 3DS. These helped enough to boost 3DS total sales above NES. Nintendo is able to coast for a while on 3DS sales as a result, but it's past time for a new generation.
C Tier
Half Baked
* Interesting concepts, poor implementation
* Expensive component
* Not sleek or intuitive
This is where the N64 and Wii U fit. The N64 had some GREAT games on it, Nintendo may have been at their creative zennith at this point on the software front, the issue was the conduit of delivery. The N64, first, used VERY expensive cartridges, these were very low density compared to the disks used in the Saturn and PSX, and in order to get some games on them, they required much larger cartridges that cost much larger amounts of money. In Canadian dollars, it meant some games cost $120, which was about $35 more than the most expensive SNES games (Late gen RPGs like Chrono Trigger, Secret of Evermore, and Lufia 2, which topped the price list at $85). The other big expense was controllers, by the time I was done my first couple of years of University, I had worn out about 8 of them.
With Wii U, it was that big controller, manufacturing costs were in the region of $55 a pop (minus storage and s&h prices), with the Wii remote, the internals were significantly cheaper, as it relied on a $2.50 motion component and infra-red tracking. All in all, Nintendo could have probably shipped a Wii HD with more power and 4 Wii remotes, and STILL be cheaper than the Wii U. The other big issue with the Wii U is the chipset used, it wasn't powerful enough to run the operating system gracefully.
My biggest gripe with the Wii U is how it was a good concept, but poor execution of the Gamepad, I loved the idea of playing my console games on the go... It's just too bad I couldn't go all the way to the bedroom before it disconnected. It has a range of only about 30 feet, which might be fine for Japanese apartments, but not adequate for people who live in Western style houses. Or who like to go outside and rest in the hammock while playing a game or two.
With both Wii U and N64, the controllers were the ugliest Nintendo had ever made.
D Tier
Playstation's Little Brother
* Iterates on a competitors's design
* Doesn't do it as well as said competitor
There's not much to say about the Gamecube. It was a PS2 with missing features, and it missed most of the games. What this meant was that Nintendo didn't leave any room for a killer app, and Gamecube didn't have any. The best software they came up with for the Gamecube was Metroid Prime and Zelda: Wind Waker - which was sad for me because I didn't really like Metroid, and Wind Waker was no Ocarina of Time. The Mario franchises were at their absolute nadir at this point with Mario Kart Double Dash!! (you know it's a loser with two exclamations) and Super Mario Sunshine. This console was effectively my Skies of Arcadia machine for the last 3 years of its life, and I became a handheld gamer :=ace, it's somewhat irritating. It worked fine with Skies of Arcadia and Smash, but it was bad for Zelda, something was off with Mario Sunshine; and as a controller for Wii's Virtual Console, it was virtually unusable. Some of Nintendo's past games utilized the face buttons of the SNES and N64 in a way that couldn't be replicated on the Gamecube controller because you can't transition between the B, Y, and X buttons. Other issues included the very awkardly positioned and sized D-Pad and the Z-trigger no one could find. Another huge gripe I had were the L&R shoulder buttons were huge and had springs in them to measure pressure: so the further you pushed them down the more intense an action could be taken - this feature was never used; the buttons were just loud and akward. But fans of the Gamecube controller will assure you it is the best ever made because it feels comfortable in their hands. The Gamecube came more off as a controller that was doing its best to look like it wasn't just copying the Playtation controller, but every difference it had was a flaw; except I suppose, those comfortable handles...
Some people really loved the Gamecube, and considered it their favourite Nintendo system. It did sell slightly better than the Wii U, but the Wii U is sitting at $330, the Gamecube was at $99 for most of its life (cheaper than many N64 games).
So what will the NX be?
I think most are looking for an S-Tier, something new, sleek, and exciting.
An A-Tier might work if it doesn't seem like Wii U.2, even if it is just Wii U done right for 2017.
Some people have been wanting a D-tier type console, or a Polaris using Playstation 4 style console, but not quite as good. These are the same people who liked Gamecube. And in my opinion, this will sell similarly to the Wii U or worse. It would need a VERY strong software library to even have a shot at doing well, and it's already behind.
Some have been suggesting something like a C-Tier, or a console focused around VR.
-Insert Inspiring Quote-
