I'm in the camp that thinks that Nintendo's only ace in the hole is their creativity and innovation in the console space.
The Wii-mote caught on fire in terms of mainstream attention. The Wii-U gamepad sadly did not. They always tried to do something new though.
I'd say Nintendo should go with a cheap, modest and efficient system with a brand new hook that gets people excited. Basically, try and have lightning strike twice. Whether that's AR, QoL or more motion gaming, I don't know. Meanwhile they double down on mobile and stuff like Amiibo because that seems to be bringing in the money.
And I think they have to go this route because I feel that Nintendo coming out with the thing we all want (a expensive, conventional, powerful console with a regular controller) is going to hit today's market with little more than a whimper. Nintendo's first parties would struggle hard to pump out AAA games that make actual use of that kind of hardware and third parties will likely still leave them to their own devices.
The PS4 and XB1 are simply too well-established in that particular area and the userbase has shifted accordingly. With the iterative releases of the PS4K and the XB1.5 Nintendo will be at a disadvantage from day one.
So they should cater to their strengths and that's their innovative side coupled with their new ventures into mobile.
Okay okay.
This I agree with in the most part, Nintendo needs to somehow recapture that Blue Ocean they had with the Wii. Where granny could pick up a controller and instantly know how to use it.
How I knew the Wii U was going to be a crazy flop the second I saw it was because it's controller. The controller was just a more complicated dual shock controller. "Casual audiences won't be able to use this" I said over and over and look how it turned out, not only was the Wii U controller uncomfortable, it was confusing and even hardcore gamers have trouble with control schemes that utilize all the abilities of the controller (Like Star Fox Zero).
So yes, one of the major things Nintendo needs to be able to do is grab everyone with ease of use. This is why I think vastly improved motion controls should be a part along with a new Wii Sports bundled.
The only thing where this hits a brick wall is this motion control stuff has turned into virtual reality, the controller of the NX will probably never be on the level of say the Vive controllers. So I don't know where Nintendo can go with this and differentiate themselves from say Sony, who are bringing back motion controls with PSVR.
I also feel that Nintendo massively mishandled the Wii in the long run and hurt the image of motion controls. The Wii controller should have been M+ from day one. There should have also been more games that uniquely utilize the controller, instead of just forcing games to use it where buttons are more useful.
The Wii also should have been the console for indie developers. Low power means low cost. Yet Nintendo never embraced the indie (and in fact often chased them away).
I agree another Nintendo console with just a controller and power will hit the ground face first. Why would I pick up a Nintendo console when I can pick up the other consoles with more games and more support and they do the exact same thing?
Nintendo's gimmick though this time, has to sail that blue ocean.
