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[Shadax the wizard]

The screen does not look like a Sharp LCD. It looks like an OLED screen instead. Look at the color of the Wii U LCD screen in comparison.

This glass looks more like OLED. Compare the LCD vs. OLED in the picture below:


All of the info we have about the supposed deal with sharp is about LCD technology, not OLED.

Free form technology can be applied to LCD as well as OLED.

 

[Durante]

I guess we have VR but I thought the future of gaming would have funky ass controllers and fresh inputs.

I'm not an expert, but I'd categorize this as "funky ass"

 

[Dark Cloud]

Interesting!
Crazy mode on: What if it's a flat screen surface underneath and you can move stuff around as you will and maybe add a Dpad and face buttons?

I love the look of this.

 

[Alpha_eX]

I like the idea of buttons only appearing as and when needed. It's too frustrating handing someone not used to games a controller with 12 buttons and explaining it to them.

I assume this is what Nintendo are trying, it's a smart approach.

 

[Nickle]

I'm not an expert, but I'd categorize this as "funky ass"

God those are deliciously smooth, I'd love to get more time with the Vive controllers.

 

[cordy]

Anybody think 3rd parties will pick up on this gen of Nintendo or will they stay elsewhere? I really wonder this time. Things haven't been the same since the Gamecube.

 

[Mihael Mello Keehl]

I'm not an expert, but I'd categorize this as "funky ass"

 

[Zunnyhh]

I love the look of this.

With only 1 stick? Well I guess Nintendo isnt interessted in 3rd party support this time around either.

 

[ASIS]

With a round screen? I'm a developer and this looks like it would be absolutely horrific to develop for. You'd have to redesign your UI, make sure nothing on the screen would go under the player's hands, culling would get a whole lot more complicated, figure out how to use the shoulder wheels, and a whole lot of standard calculations that rely on a rectangular screen would have to just be thrown away... it's a terrible, terrible idea if they want to get third party support.

Definitely on team Fake, they must know something like this would kill a lot of interest in 'easy ports' from third parties.

Now that you brought it up, you not only need to redesign many aspects of your game to fit such an oval screen, but you also need to make sure it's compatible with the standard 16:9 rectangular screen for the TV. If that is really the case then I imagine off-TV play will be much less prominent to NX compared to Wii U - arguably the best and most convenient use of the touch screen on a home console controller - and I am not sure how to feel about that.

If this controller really is indicative to the final product then I can only assume that a part of their strategy is to encourage (or force, really) developers to display different information between the controller & TV and, consequently, discourage replicating the same scene on both screens.

I hope I am reading too much into this or that I am jumping the shark, but you raised an excellent point and I don't see other possible conclusions to draw.

 

[OrbitalBeard]

I like the idea of buttons only appearing as and when needed. It's too frustrating handing someone not used to games a controller with 12 buttons and explaining it to them.

I assume this is what Nintendo are trying, it's a smart approach.

If they're aiming mainly for children and mobile users, it definitely is a smart approach and I'm assuming those are precisely the users they're going for.

I'm personally out if that's the case, because I need buttons. I gave mobile a fair shake years ago and touch screen gaming just isn't for me, if no buttons are involved. I'm totally fine with something like the DS or the Wii U gamepad, which offer both.

Anybody think 3rd parties will pick up on this gen of Nintendo or will they stay elsewhere? I really wonder this time. Things haven't been the same since the Gamecube.

If this controller is real, there's no way the vast majority of third parties will ever develop anything for the console beyond launch titles, to make a quick buck on early adopters.

 

[Nanashrew]

I'm not an expert, but I'd categorize this as "funky ass"

To be honest, I don't like the ABXY buttons. I feel they'd be better as a jelly bean type that your thumb could quickly move over and recognize without seeing, since your view is obscured by a headset.

 

[Chindogg]

Anybody think 3rd parties will pick up on this gen of Nintendo or will they stay elsewhere? I really wonder this time. Things haven't been the same since the Gamecube.

Ubisoft will support it, since they support everything. EA might but it really depends on if Nintendo will eat some of the marketing costs (which they probably should considering not having Madden and FIFA on Wii U was a big reason why it failed.)

 

[Griss]

I'm just finding it hard to reconcile how much I love the design of the thing with how much I think removing buttons on a console controller is insanity.

I'm glad they're moving on and making something to appeal to younger / more modern gamers, but you have to actually be able to, you know, play the classic style Nintendo games.

That said, seeing as this is the console controller, we'll probably be able to use the Wii U Pro or an equivalent. But will games be affected by being developed for a haptic button system? And even if we can use another controller, we're probably getting a super-weak console with an expensive controller again. I don't think that's exactly a terrible idea, seeing as the PS4 and XB1 aren't really competition and Nintendo games already look great in HD on the Wii U as they're not photorealistic.

I'm just happy that the endless, endless, endless wait for NX news has finally broken. I feel like I could happily sit tight until E3 now. Before? I was desperate.

I like the idea of buttons only appearing as and when needed. It's too frustrating handing someone not used to games a controller with 12 buttons and explaining it to them.

I assume this is what Nintendo are trying, it's a smart approach.

It's brilliant, and it's classic Nintendo design. Just like the Wiimote was a simplification, so is this.

Smartphone games can be played just by tapping a finger on the screen. Nintendo wanted to get near that level of simplicity, but still be flexible enough to provide complex gameplay. This could end up being a brilliant solution.

 

[RealityCheque]

VR Mode confirmed!!

 

[Orniletter]

"Staying silent will alienate a lot of the fans" sounds to me like "GIVE ME IT I WANT TO SEE IT I CAN'T TAKE WAITING ANYMORE".

I want to see it too but a guise is a guise.

Yeah, it's such a flimsy cover.

How about we let Nintendo explain, what they thought of when they want to and are ready!

 

[DownGrader]

Anybody think 3rd parties will pick up on this gen of Nintendo or will they stay elsewhere? I really wonder this time. Things haven't been the same since the Gamecube.

They will definitely be on board at launch - there was no platform in history which was ignored by Western third parties right out of bat. However, is impossible to predict if they'll stay.

 

[N.Grim]

Interesting!
Crazy mode on: What if it's a flat screen surface underneath and you can move stuff around as you will and maybe add a Dpad and face buttons?

Looks amazing, it's like a gamepad but 10 times better

I want this

Same. There are already 2 platforms emulating each other. We don't need another one.

We need to quote this every three (and every tree) post

 

[toa95]

Interesting!
Crazy mode on: What if it's a flat screen surface underneath and you can move stuff around as you will and maybe add a Dpad and face buttons?

If the system comes with 2 sticks, a d-pad, and face buttons and you can pop them on wherever you'd like on the controller.... that would be amazing. I'm not getting my hopes up but god would that be such an awesome idea.

 

[Cuburt]

But you already lose alot of screen by the freeform design. Add 8 buttons on the screen and you'll have nothing left.

I really don't like this at all. Games will look warped on the freeform screen.

It's all dependent on the game and the usage. Obviously if you want to play off-TV, as it were, you'll want as much screen real estate as possible so a more conservative layout is preferred. if you are playing on the TV, you could put anything on there, even no buttons if the game mainly uses motion, for instance.

And the way I assume they will use the freeform screen is by having a traditional aspect ration be preserved in the middle while the extended portion of the screen is extra, rather than cutting off the corners of the video/image and slapping analog sticks and buttons in the middle of it all, simply because the aspect ratio is much wider than a traditional TV screen even without the rounded edges. The mock ups where people have simply copypasted an image from an existing game seems to confirm for me that it would be really poor implementation, despite it being similar to how smartphones work around the lack of physical buttons, but then I suppose that is a whole other issue of using computing power to render that extra space, even if it's not used to display a wider FOV of the game area.

 

[KingSnake]

Thinking about it, this kind of design would help with the children used to play on tablets and phones. It adds just the sticks as novelty and that's pretty straight forward to grasp. They are already used with touch buttons so it would be like a smooth transition.

 

[Dascu]

With a round screen? I'm a developer and this looks like it would be absolutely horrific to develop for. You'd have to redesign your UI, make sure nothing on the screen would go under the player's hands, culling would get a whole lot more complicated, figure out how to use the shoulder wheels, and a whole lot of standard calculations that rely on a rectangular screen would have to just be thrown away... it's a terrible, terrible idea if they want to get third party support.

Definitely on team Fake, they must know something like this would kill a lot of interest in 'easy ports' from third parties.

I'm also a developer.

First of all, just like with the WiiU gamepad, there is no need for the controller to be used as a screen. You could keep it completely black and only show a HUD around the buttons.

Second, there would be no difficulty in simply assigning a standard rectangular area in the middle of the controller where you can show what you want to show. Rest of the screen can be black, or have some artwork to frame it. If you want to use the rest of the screenspace, you can, but you are not obliged.

I don't see any issue unless they would mandate everyone to use the entire screen for some absurd reason.

In other words, it's basically your standard handheld (by rendering only to the main center rectangle), or standard controller (by putting everything in black), or whatever else in between or beyond that you want it to be.

I think it's quite flexible and more elegant than the GamePad.


It's not that Nintendo with this controller/handheld is turning a rectangular screen into an oval one, it's that they're expanding the rectangular one with an oval border to do extra stuff. And if you don't want to use that extra screenspace, then don't. No biggie.

 

[Burny]

Interesting!
Crazy mode on: What if it's a flat screen surface underneath and you can move stuff around as you will and maybe add a Dpad and face buttons?

The scale is off and would imply the thing to grow in size considerably. If you look a tthe original image and the Wii U pad for scale, your buttons and D-pad would be miniuscule on the thing, even compared to the 3DS buttons:

 

[Dark Cloud]

With only 1 stick? Well I guess Nintendo isnt interessted in 3rd party support this time around either.

It's interchangeable buttons.

But I'm starting to think if this is real maybe this isn't the entire controller.

What if it comes with a "controller shell" that you fit this screen into. You put this screen into the shell and the shell has grips like a regular controller. The shell would also have a cover that comes down on the screen and the cover would have a d-pad and A,B,X,Y buttons on it.

 

[Alpha_eX]

I have no issue with this if the haptics are done right. Ideally, they'd use the dynamic bump surface to raise buttons out, that would sell it to a lot more people.

Also, too many people seem to be assuming the screen will be used for the main part of the game. It's a controller, it will display dynamic buttons if this is legit and the game will be on your TV where you watch, as normal, and as with the Wii U.

 

[Nanashrew]

It would be ultra widescreen with those sides as peripheral vision and not really wasted. The viewing area would be similar to that what you see on your TV. They could easily reduce HUD elements to just what you need like the hearts and magic bar in Zelda.

 

[TheGreatMightyPoo]

It's interchangeable buttons.

But I'm starting to think if this is real maybe this isn't the entire controller.

What if it comes with a "controller shell" that you fit this screen into. You put this screen into the shell and the shell has grips like a regular controller. The shell would also have a cover that comes down on the screen and the cover would have a d-pad and A,B,X,Y buttons on it.

What if the shell is shaped like the Gamecube controller???

 

[KingSnake]

The scale is off and would imply the thing to grow in size considerably. If you look a tthe original image and the Wii U pad for scale, your buttons and D-pad would be miniuscule on the thing, even compared to the 3DS buttons:

If you take the Wii U gamepad's D-pad from that image and replace the right stick on the NX it's not that big,

 

[Nightbird]

Ubisoft will support it, since they support everything. EA might but it really depends on if Nintendo will eat some of the marketing costs (which they probably should considering not having Madden and FIFA on Wii U was a big reason why it failed.)

You know what would make a splash?

Fifa 17's first trailer to premiere during a Nintendo conference. I could easily see this making the headlines

 

[Candescence]

To go back to a previous patent, Nintendo has one for interchangeable buttons. Many immediately thought about the Xbox Elite controller.

Actually, there was a discussion in the patent thread about the free-form screen about attachable physical 'overlays' that would essentially be physical buttons emulating a touch input, which could be identified via NFC upon attachment.

I'm just finding it hard to reconcile how much I love the design of the thing with how much I think removing buttons on a console controller is insanity.

I'm glad they're moving on and making something to appeal to younger / more modern gamers, but you have to actually be able to, you know, play the classic style Nintendo games.

That said, seeing as this is the console controller, we'll probably be able to use the Wii U Pro or an equivalent. But will games be affected by being developed for a haptic button system? And even if we can use another controller, we're probably getting a super-weak console with an expensive controller again. I don't think that's exactly a terrible idea, seeing as the PS4 and XB1 aren't really competition and Nintendo games already look great in HD on the Wii U as they're not photorealistic.

I'm just happy that the endless, endless, endless wait for NX news has finally broken. I feel like I could happily sit tight until E3 now. Before? I was desperate.



It's brilliant, and it's classic Nintendo design. Just like the Wiimote was a simplification, so is this.

Smartphone games can be played just by tapping a finger on the screen. Nintendo wanted to get near that level of simplicity, but still be flexible enough to provide complex gameplay. This could end up being a brilliant solution.

The simplicity and customizability makes me think that Nintendo really wouldn't do virtual controls unless they absolutely knew it worked well enough to compensate for not being physical controls. They have a good track record of making their controllers work well, even when they have unusual gimmicks.

 

[Griss]

I have to say that the most stunning part of this news for me is that we appear to be getting the successor for the Wii U before the 3DS. That is an absolutely insane move, imo, unless the 3DS successor is something similar to that controller, and follows about 6 months later. If they're planning on launching a whole different handheld more than a year later than the console version then they're certifiable.

The 3DS is the device they desperately need to replace. Surely they see that?

Thinking about it, this kind of design would help with the children used to play on tablets and phones. It adds just the sticks as novelty and that's pretty straight forward to grasp. They are already used with touch buttons so it would be like a smooth transition.

It's clear as day that this is the point of the exercise. That, and the fact that it looks like a device that kids are used to using, and would want to use.

They can't keep pandering to us 30 year olds who grew up on SMB3 and OoT forever. That's killing them.

If Nintendo has to leave my life to find a way to entertain the next generation, I won't be too sad about it. (So long as they succeed, that is.) I reckon they'll find a way to keep me on board whatever happens.

 

[Cuburt]

As someone who hates the removal of physical buttons on smartphones and tried to avoid getting rid of a physical keyboard for as long as I could, the lack of physical buttons here is the least of my potential worries.

Besides, everyone on GAF gets hysterical about a lack of face buttons but was getting so hyped about scroll wheel shoulder buttons when (as cool as those are) those would be more of a potentially problematic addition with it's own learning curve and own set of new hurdles to overcome.

 

[Squire]

Not every "Nintendo-fan" is as hysterically close minded as most people here.

Just fucking relax, if Nintendo goes this route, digital buttons will work well (or well enough).

We know literally nothing about the rest, peripherals, if this really is the primary console controller (or optional handheld that doubles as a controller).

This thing looks like garbage. You can be open to change and also sant that change to be good. Seems like the latter is seriously lost on some people.

 

[DownGrader]

With this controller apparently having a camera, do you think Nintendo will finally make it useful? It's heavily underused on Wii U GamePad and hasn't really been useful on Nintendo 3DS (until New models came out and introduced eye tracking).

Was there an urban legend about fuckton of 0.3 Mpix cameras which were bought for Nintendo DSi and which Nintendo still can't get rid of?

 

[Toadthemushroom]

The screen does not look like a Sharp LCD. It looks like an OLED screen instead. Look at the color of the Wii U LCD screen in comparison.

This glass looks more like OLED. Compare the LCD vs. OLED in the picture below.

Nope .Wii U's LCD panel =/= all LCD panels.

Most modern panels appear a deep black when switched off, and Sharp's tech (the closest to it is their ultra thin bezel bezels which are employed in the Dell XPS 13 and Dell Ultrasharp laptops) are like that.

A free-form display has really thin bezels (so there's no screen surround) too, so a black LCD (when switched off) would be indistinguishable from the surrounding, very thin, screen bezel.

See this image:

All three low-end phones have an LCD panel, but the low end phone on the right has a higher quality LCD panel. (From left to right, Lumia 530, 535, 630/635).

When my three year old iPhone 5s screen is off, the screen is indistinguishable from the surrounding black bezel - it has a high quality IPS LCD display.

But yeah, because the screen on a free-form display *is the bezels as well*, it's hard to tell if it's LCD or OLED, but it's highly likely to be an LCD due to the nature of Sharp's free form displays.

 

[Richie]

The 3DS is the device they desperately need to replace. Surely they see that?

I agree the 3DS' time is due, but no way does it need a successor more desperately than the Wii U does. If the former's numbers are low, the latter's are under sea level.

 

[Prisoner KSC2-303]

I'm also a developer.

First of all, just like with the WiiU gamepad, there is no need for the controller to be used as a screen. You could keep it completely black and only show a HUD around the buttons.

Second, there would be no difficulty in simply assigning a standard rectangular area in the middle of the controller where you can show what you want to show. Rest of the screen can be black, or have some artwork to frame it. If you want to use the rest of the screenspace, you can, but you are not obliged.

I don't see any issue unless they would mandate everyone to use the entire screen for some absurd reason.

In other words, it's basically your standard handheld (by rendering only to the main center rectangle), or standard controller (by putting everything in black), or whatever else in between or beyond that you want it to be.

I think it's quite flexible and more elegant than the GamePad.


It's not that Nintendo with this controller/handheld is turning a rectangular screen into an oval one, it's that they're expanding the rectangular one with an oval border to do extra stuff. And if you don't want to use that extra screenspace, then don't. No biggie.

Whilst I agree it's a neat concept, that flexibility is more likely to lead to its under-use, rather than it being utilised fully. The same arguments of adaptability were made for the GamePad, that it can show as little or as much information as the developer wishes, and most went with the former.

I'm thinking this is fake, as I really can't see how it wouldn't end up making the console more expensive, all for the addition of a controller that is more of a hurdle to third party ports or will be under-utilised even if they do appear.

 

[Griss]

With this controller apparently having a camera, do you think Nintendo will finally make it useful? It's heavily underused on Wii U GamePad and hasn't really been useful on Nintendo 3DS (until New models came out and introduced eye tracking).

Was there an urban legend about fuckton of 0.3 Mpix cameras which were bought for Nintendo DSi and which Nintendo still can't get rid of?

I was desperately hoping they'd get rid of the camera to keep the bezel down and free up some budget. But they've done the first anyway, so, fine, add a camera.

But no, they won't make it useful. If smartphones haven't found a way to entertain kids with cameras, then I'm not sure you can. It's just a redundant feature, imo.

I agree the 3DS' time is due, but no way does it need a successor more desperately than the Wii U does. If the former's numbers are low, the latter's are under sea level.

...but... your post is the reason why the 3DS is the one that needs to be replaced. We're kind of agreeing...

If you have a failed product and a successful both coming to the end of their lives, then it's the successful one you need to make sure you replace, as that's what's supporting your business.

 

[Andyliini]

I've been thinking...
If this really is the controller for NX, and we know from the leaks that Zelda U should also launch alongside this. Thing is, Zelda U was developed with Wii U in mind, and Wii U has plenty of physical buttons etc. available. This controller clearly doesn't.

Sure, they changed control scheme a bit with Twilight Princess, but in this situation, I don't think the same game could work with control interfaces so drastically different. I'm not saying what we see are fake or anything, I just think there's more than meets the eye here.

 

[Joelstinton14]

See this image:

All three low-end phones have an LCD panel, but the low end phone on the right has a higher quality LCD panel. (From left to right, Lumia 530, 535, 630/635)

Man this thing could come in different colour bezels! Didn't think of that. If the device clicks in handle grips they could be customised too ( think n3DS back plates). Certainly a potential money making side to it.

 

[Napalm_Frank]

Not surprising after the GameCube controller with no buttons.

 

[AniHawk]

The only creative ideas I can see with that thing are things you could've done with a Wii U gamepad.

well presumably it's multitouch, which opens up more possibilities from the get go. haptic feedback means new opportunities when it comes to interaction. i will assume that like with practically every gaming device there will be some motion stuff involved, meaning you could play a game on the machine vertically. you could also, theoretically, make it a central hub of some other peripheral requiring the screen, which would be easier if the oval just slots right on in.

the gamepad is a normal controller with a touch screen in the middle. this thing has potential to be more.

 

[TheGreatMightyPoo]

I've been thinking...
If this really is the controller for NX, and we know from the leaks that Zelda U should also launch alongside this. Thing is, Zelda U was developed with Wii U in mind, and Wii U has plenty of physical buttons etc. available. This controller clearly doesn't.

Sure, they changed control scheme a bit with Twilight Princess, but in this situation, I don't think the same game could work with control interfaces so drastically different. I'm not saying what we see are fake or anything, I just think there's more than meets the eye here.

Remember the Wii Remote and the panic???

Then the nunchuk was revealed and it simmered down a bit.

I expect the same here, just have no idea in what form.

This is of course assuming this is real and I still see no definitive proof.

 

[Nanashrew]

I'm also a developer.

First of all, just like with the WiiU gamepad, there is no need for the controller to be used as a screen. You could keep it completely black and only show a HUD around the buttons.

Second, there would be no difficulty in simply assigning a standard rectangular area in the middle of the controller where you can show what you want to show. Rest of the screen can be black, or have some artwork to frame it. If you want to use the rest of the screenspace, you can, but you are not obliged.

I don't see any issue unless they would mandate everyone to use the entire screen for some absurd reason.

In other words, it's basically your standard handheld (by rendering only to the main center rectangle), or standard controller (by putting everything in black), or whatever else in between or beyond that you want it to be.

I think it's quite flexible and more elegant than the GamePad.


It's not that Nintendo with this controller/handheld is turning a rectangular screen into an oval one, it's that they're expanding the rectangular one with an oval border to do extra stuff. And if you don't want to use that extra screenspace, then don't. No biggie.

I'm no dev, but I was thinking of these things as well. It's more elegant with the screen space and much easier to reach what you need to reach.

To give one example with Splatoon, I have to move my thumb a fair bit to touch another player's icon to super jump to them. With this you wouldn't have too. They could easily be formed around the play area to quickly tap. Splatoon doesn't use a lot of buttons, mostly shoulder buttons for shoot and squid form, x for jump, y to reset camera. Camera is handled by either gyro or the second stick.

Something like with Splatoon, it would be incredibly simple to do and far more refined.

 

[Cygnus X-1]

The problem is this is that the two analog sticks block part of the vision and overall looks really ugly.

 

[OrbitalBeard]

I've been thinking...
If this really is the controller for NX, and we know from the leaks that Zelda U should also launch alongside this. Thing is, Zelda U was developed with Wii U in mind, and Wii U has plenty of physical buttons etc. available. This controller clearly doesn't.

Sure, they changed control scheme a bit with Twilight Princess, but in this situation, I don't think the same game could work with control interfaces so drastically different. I'm not saying what we see are fake or anything, I just think there's more than meets the eye here.

Or it means Zelda on Wii U isn't going to utilize many buttons.

 

[AniHawk]

I was desperately hoping they'd get rid of the camera to keep the bezel down and free up some budget. But they've done the first anyway, so, fine, add a camera.

But no, they won't make it useful. If smartphones haven't found a way to entertain kids with cameras, then I'm not sure you can. It's just a redundant feature, imo.

one of my assumptions is that the my nintendo account stuff will work with nx and nx will in part have fun with the concept of augmented reality. so if you're watching zelda on netflix and you hold the nx up to the screen, you might uncover easter eggs and secrets. same idea with theme park stuff.

 

[DownGrader]

Whilst I agree it's a neat concept, that flexibility is more likely to lead to its under-use, rather than it being utilised fully. The same arguments of adaptability were made for the GamePad, that it can show as little or as much information as the developer wishes, and most went with the former.

The problem with Wii U GamePad is that the screen was too big and too separated from the controller itself, so it wasn't easy (and/or aestheticaly and ergonomically pleasant) to just slap a few digits and a touch button to it.

 

[munchie64]

There is this which could suggest switching inputs right? (Should find original thread)

 

[N.Grim]

I have to say that the most stunning part of this news for me is that we appear to be getting the successor for the Wii U before the 3DS. That is an absolutely insane move, imo, unless the 3DS successor is something similar to that controller, and follows about 6 months later. If they're planning on launching a whole different handheld more than a year later than the console version then they're certifiable.

The 3DS is the device they desperately need to replace. Surely they see that?

The Wii U is been almost dead for four years, it lasted just because they could not make it last three or less years, also making games for it is much more expensive than for the 3DS.

 

[OrbitalBeard]

The problem is this is that the two analog sticks block part of the vision and overall looks really ugly.

Not to mention 2D Mario on a fucking analog stick.