WSJ: NX to use carts. Analysts have said an announcement could be prior to TGS

When will Nintendo unveil the NX?

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LewieP said:
A real shame. There is a warmth you get when playing a game off a disc that you can't really replicate with flash based storage.
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That warmth is probably coming from the spinning Blu-ray drive heating your system up way more than is necessary with a cartridge-based system.
 
Herb Alpert said:
Before TGS?!? That's just 2 weeks... LOL are the press invites under NDA too?!?
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Things have changed on the way pr is done. They have time to do a slow reveal up to march

1) A few youtubers and few journalist are invited to try nx on nintendo hq , with a nda

2) announce direct a few days earlier

3) release the nintendo direct , the 1) will help communicate the gimmick

4) at ths develepers can announce their games

5) journalist are invited to events to try the nx

6) announce a few games in january

7) announce new controllers in february
 
No news to see here. Oh well.

I think by now Nintendo must hold the world record for the highest buzz : ads ratio of any product in history. Millions of articles divided by like two sentences of acknowledgement that their product exists.

I know what it means in this context, but I still can't help but read WSJ as Weekly Shonen Jump. Every single thread.
 
Is it true that cartridge based games do not need to load at all like disk based ones? I've heard that but I am not sure about the veracity of that.
 
JollyJoe said:
How would it accept disks if it is cart based?
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sega_cd_model1.jpg
 
How do people want these carts? Thin and light like SD cards or thick and meaty like compact flash? I'd personally like something with some meat to it like compact flash.



If the dock base accepted discs for WiiU/Wii/GC backwards compatibility that'd be great though.
 
I remember reading Thraktor's post about cartridges. I really want to see now whether Nintendo goes this route or not, since it seems like there's quite a bit to be gained...
And, of course, I want a reveal.

LewieP said:
A real shame. There is a warmth you get when playing a game off a disc that you can't really replicate with flash based storage.
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This is a good joke, but people are still taking it seriously.
 
I hope the reveal will show a lot of the games that are coming with it, and not all focus on the hardware.

To be honest, I kinda don't care about the hardware at this point. I just want new Nintendo games in my life.
 
SG-17 said:
How do people want these carts? Thin and light like SD cards or thick and meaty like compact flash? I'd personally like something with some meat to it like compact flash.
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I'm good with GBA cart size, just the right blend of portability, weight and durability.
 
In my mind, there is a difference between a cartridge and a memory card. The former allows for additional coprocessors, while the latter merely stores data.
 
Optical media is piss poor and needs to die. Discs are brittle and degrade in a terrible way. Disc drives are bulky, noisy, and contain mechanical/optical parts that fail over time.
 
LewieP said:
I was satirising attitudes towards listening to music on vinyl, a format that people have nostalgia for but is not the most practical method for listening to music on these days.

Because that's pretty much the mindset of anyone arguing that flash media is worse for games that discs.
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It was pitch perfect satire.

Then you ruined it by explaining!
 
I expect these carts to be about the same physical size as DS and 3DS carts.

ClearData said:
Is it true that cartridge based games do not need to load at all like disk based ones? I've heard that but I am not sure about the veracity of that.
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Traditional cartridges? Correct, no loading times.

These new flash based carts since the DS? They have loading times but it's usually very minimal compared to discs.
 
Genio88 said:
Are you guys serious or what? Why everybody thinks of SNES and Game Boy cartridges type when the ones that NX will use will be at least like the 3DS ones if not even smaller?
Yes 3DS uses cartridges too! Megaton!
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exactly. Call them "carts" if you want but they're basically SD cards.
 
Jinkies said:
In my mind, there is a difference between a cartridge and a memory card. The former allows for additional coprocessors, while the latter merely stores data.
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This is a good point. The last traditional cartridge-based systems were the N64 and the GBA. Everything since is more like a memory card. I saw it described as an old cart being like an expansion card attached to the console, a piece of hardware in its own way. While the more recent stuff is just storage. The traditional carts are never coming back.
 
Burdmayn said:
I'm going to be very surprised if we hear "official" word of the NX announcement any further than a week out at this point.

I'm thinking we'll get an expertly crafted Direct that focuses solely on NX, how it works and the games that we can play at launch. Follow that up with some press events where people can get a hands-on impression. I previously wanted a press conference, but I think Nintendo wants a more controlled message than they can deliver on stage.
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After the mess that was the Wii U reveal, (and the Xbone one), this would make sense. Get a clear advertisement out that looks exciting but is also direct in its messaging and answers most of the important questions. Not an event that tries to create some kind of enigma, but reporters start writing conflicting things and then you have to explain but things get heated and you have to retract or waffle around certain topics. Just the controlled message, this is it, and only then do we invite people to try it out.
They just need to start a countdown timer two or three days before and eh presto.
 
I still don't get it: They have sources that confirmed this is essentially a handheld/tablet device, yet they're surprised and announce "cartridges/cards" as a big novelty for the system, as if all previous Nintendo handhelds didn't use that media...

Also, why are so many people doubting this WSJ article when everyone told me a few weeks ago they're the most reliable and that they never publish rumors if they don't have some extra-official confirmation?
 
spekkeh said:
After the mess that was the Wii U reveal, (and the Xbone one), this would make sense. Get a clear advertisement out that looks exciting but is also direct in its messaging and answers most of the important questions. Not an event that tries to create some kind of enigma, but reporters start writing conflicting things and then you have to explain but things get heated and you have to retract or waffle around certain topics. Just the controlled message, this is it, and only then do we invite people to try it out.
They just need to start a countdown timer two or three days before and eh presto.
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That's my thinking exactly. It's far too easy to have a press conference where you say one thing on stage and accidently contradict it with an interview 15 minutes later. I'm not saying that I don't want people to ask hard-hitting questions about NX, but I also don't want Nintendo to botch the messaging.

Here's hoping that the reveal comes at some point within the next two weeks! Otherwise we're waiting until the end of the month.
 
ika said:
I still don't get it: They have sources that confirmed this is essentially a handheld/tablet device, yet they're surprised and announce "cartridges/cards" as a big novelty for the system, as if all previous Nintendo handhelds didn't use that media...
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Well, this isn't simply a handheld, which is why some are surprised. A year ago, no one would have thought the next 3D Zelda game would ship on a cartridge.
 
Regardless of the NX launches on March or not. They need to show the NX. IMO, the longer this goes Nintendo systems start to border on the point of irrelevance.

The longer the hardware drought, the louder the shouting from investors to go mobile and get their games on PC, PS4, and Xbox one will become.
 
ClearData said:
Is it true that cartridge based games do not need to load at all like disk based ones? I've heard that but I am not sure about the veracity of that.
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I mean, it's kind of irrelevant (loading time difference) given that disc-based games are stored on the hard drive anyway.
 
OrbitalBeard said:
Well, this isn't simply a handheld, which is why some are surprised. A year ago, no one would have thought the next 3D Zelda game would ship on a cartridge.
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Yes I agree, but even if it's not "simply a handheld", it's still a handheld so it's really obvious it couldn't include a disc drive (well, Nintendo is capable of doing some UMD-GC disc mix with blu ray technology, yeah, but it's not likely).

What I mean is that even now that they're sure it's a portable system, they act as if this is a home console and "cartridges" is a big wow moment, changing the disc drive tradition.

Other theory is that they really mean "cartridges" in the old eprom meaning and they're just not mistakenly naming "game cards" as "cartridges". But this doesn't make any sense to me.
 
ika said:
What I mean is that even now that they're sure it's a portable system, they act as if this is a home console and "cartridges" is a big wow moment, changing the disc drive tradition.
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It's a wow moment because it likely means Nintendo won't have any system that plays discs at all.
 
Skux said:
When they say "cartridges" I hope they mean "SD cards". There is really no reason to return to Gameboy-size plastic blocks.
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There is no reason to use an actual SD card either, that's not what any 3DS game card is...
 
JollyJoe said:
How would it accept disks if it is cart based?
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Yeah Nintendo isn't going to publish home and portable formats. If NX is the same game on various platforms, they're just gonna do 1 solution. Maybe 2 if digital.

Whatever it is, hopefully the cart (vs cards) format supports multiple sizes.

Unless games suddenly become terabyte size, Nintendo should be fine
 
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