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[brandonh83]

You guys keep thinking downloadable, but they're going back to carts.

Please?

 

[mrklaw]

That's an excellent idea. This way, the Console isn't gimped by the Handheld, it would be very disappointing if Nintendo were to forcefully gimp the potential of a Console game by making sure it can run on the Handheld. There's more to graphics than just textures, resolution and framerate.

The console won't be gimped by the handheld. The console is more likely to be gimped because Nintendo.

Assuming they use the same architecture because they want efficient development in house then that means selecting a power efficient architecture suitable for a handheld. Immediately you are restricting the potential of the home console by that choice. But mobile chips have come on in leaps and bounds recently, so a common architecture but running a high end chip at higher clock speeds in the home version could still provide a good home console exoerience. Not Xb1/PS4 beating, but Nintendo have not shown a particular desire to go for high power consoles over the last decade, so they would not be concerned about a console we might perceive to be low powered.

 

[Branduil]

I would expect a console in the $200-$250 range. They're not going to compete with Sony/MS.

 

[mrklaw]

You're assuming that the model is 1 SD card for every game box, which isn't what should happen.

You should just buy a Nintendo SD card and you can put as many games on it at the store (or on your NX at home) as you have space on the card. The stuff you buy at retail should just be a code for the game.



Yeah, the more I think about it the more I like the concept. You've got a captive audience while the game downloads that can be shown trailers, can play demos of upcoming games. It's perfect for the loyalty programs that Iwata hinted at last year.

Third parties would definitely be more likely to support the console when they don't have to worry about losing money on inventory. People could buy eShop games from Gamestop, download them right to their Nintendo Card, load it up with a few games and take them to a friend's house to play.

The actual kiosk could just be a custom NX with a multi-TB HD with all the game data, plus a TV/audio. That week's new games & updates could be either downloaded over the net to the kiosk or some sort of physical device could be shipped weekly with the new data for the week.

Game codes could be activated by cellular in areas where Internet access is crappy.

How do you buy a physical game from Amazon or other online retailers? Aren't online retailers a bigger slice of the physical pie than High street retail stores?

 

[Red Devil]

Heh, going back to carts, something that likely nobody ever would've thought some 10 to 15 years ago.

 

[Gamezone]

I can't imagine how much money Nintendo would lose around christmas if they go all digital. How many parents buy their kids digital games for christmas and birthdays? Even with DRM, you can still buy physical games on PC for such purposes.

 

[Haganeren]

I would expect a console in the $200-$250 range. They're not going to compete with Sony/MS.

Hum, how could they NOT compete with Sony/MS for a new console ? I mean, what would be the drift for consumers/not fans of Nintendo ?
I don't see anything like the Wiimote in this patent.

 

[LOLCats]

All digital and kill all those collectible sales... Na that dont male sense. Wiiu mini.

I could see cartridges tho. With as cheap as sd is these days.

 

[Terrell]

The controller will be detachable and portable (i.e. a 3DS) and have its own compute ability. It will have the ability to connect to the main console as a controller that may either be more powerful, or just give the ability to broadcast what's on the controller to the t.v. I can see this happening.

The console and handheld can be like two halves of a whole. But you can buy them separately and the handheld is a legit handheld and not the GamePad where that was tied to the system only, you couldn't take it out with you.

That would communicate the message the strongest if both are marketed together as if you get the full experience if both are together like two siblings.

What if the handheld functions as the controller? Sold separately and together

Oh goody, more hybrid talk and a new spin on the same illogical concept.

I can not imagine a situation where Nintendo would revise the Wii U.

Why would you even bother? It's the very definition of good money after bad.

Basically. Wii U is a stinker, any R&D sunk into it for a revision at this point is throwing money into a bottomless pit.

If they do make another system with a screen, I hope to God that the controller is smaller. The Wii U's controller is fucking huge.

The likely scenario is to use the same touchscreen as would be featured in the handheld, which would be smaller and would allow a cheaper cost on the component by ordering in a larger volume due to its use in 2 hardware SKUs.

That's an excellent idea. This way, the Console isn't gimped by the Handheld, it would be very disappointing if Nintendo were to forcefully gimp the potential of a Console game by making sure it can run on the Handheld. There's more to graphics than just textures, resolution and framerate.

Explain what would be "gimped". If it plays the same, you can make a game more or less pretty based on the hardware it's released on. Software makers do this already. Hell, PC users have damn image-quality dials in their games that can turn or scale down a whole host of effects, FFS.

So tell me how a game would be permanently "gimped" by accommodating less capable hardware, since it's seemingly escaped your notice that this has already been done for every modern game that's hit PC in decades.

Wasn't the lead time because cartridges have traditionally used ROM memory which required a custom mask for each game? I'm wondering if modern NAND has gotten to the point where it's durable enough to be used for game storage. Nintendo could then just flash generic cartridges.

It is, and there are many copy-protection techniques for NAND that are already in play. SD cards have copy protections that are still not cracked, if I remember correctly, and are becoming more sophisticated all the time.

Nintendo is not going to require a high-priced tablet controller after the Wii U.

Using the handheld as an optional controller will definitely happen, though.

A screen doesn't automatically incur a high price. There are ways around that. Not to mention the screen alone wasn't the biggest Wii U expense, it was the wireless card that enabled its image to sync to the console and TV output. That technology is now universal and decreased in price significantly.

It shouldnt make a difference except for the tens of millions in extra savings if cartridges were not used

So.... handhelds don't exist now?
Carts have to be made anyways, so you're not "saving" practically anything. In fact, having 1 less software SKU to manage and send to retail is a huge savings in time and money.

The best thing about the Gamepad is off-tv play but really if most NX games are handheld compatible anyway that sort of negates the need for it.

That said I still really like secondary touchscreens for things like maps/inventory/extra buttons. A smaller, cheaper touchscreen on the controller that's shaped more like a traditional controller and less like a controller wrapped around an oversized tablet could work well imo. Drop off-tv (due to size) but keep the screen for dedicated functionality, and also maintain the dual screen setup with the handheld line for cross comparibility and maybe even DS/3DS backwards compatibility.

That last bit is the reason the touchscreen will stay: Nintendo wants their hardware to be able to play as much of their back catalog as humanly possible, be it on console or handheld. The only hardware that throws a wrench in that is the Wii, but even some of those games would be playable on a handheld.

It's part of the reason why we have DS Virtual Console on Wii U, it's essentially a proof of concept that they could get as many of their past hardware platforms on the same digital storefront.

Your idea is better because that solves the problem of forcing people to by a game cart that contains a huge amount of data that will not be used. I think some people have suggested each game cart coming with both Console and Handheld assets as a way of being able to play on both form factors with that same game. Put it on the console, and it will load the console data, and on the handheld the handheld data. That however causes a problem with people who only care about one form factor. Let's say theres someone who only wants the handheld. This means that people who only want the Handheld variant of NX will be forced to also have the Console data in the game they purchase, which will raise the cost of the game itself that would otherwise be cheaper if it only had Handheld data. It can be a difference between Handheld data that will fit in an 8GB game cart, vs the Console data which may require over 32GB. The Handheld version of the game should cost less alone, but since you also have Console data it will force the cost up to the price of the Console data. The only way it can be done this way, is if the Console data is severely gimped enough to not use up a ton of space, which would be very disappointing. I know Nintendo has insane compression going on with some of their Wii U games, but there's only so much compression will do.

You're thinking in a way that assumes that the current paradigm of the industry can't/won't/shouldn't change. Nintendo may (and given their current performance, almost certainly does) see things much differently. And doesn't imply that the data must be "gimped". That's purely your own thoughts on the matter.

Does this support or negate the idea of the next handheld being the controller for the console, that it could also be played on via the cart or remotely? One SKU. Would that be Nintendo expanding the console market, or shrinking the handheld one?

It neither supports nor negates that idea. Stop thinking in terms of hybridism.

and in the end they will fuck it up anyway...I mean this is Nintendo for reference past three gen's.

1.Gamecube mini dvd not the standard everyone else was using
2. Wii minor spec upgrade over GC non HD (standard everyone else was using)
3. Wii U big spec upgrade over Wii but no x86 (standard everyone else was using)

seems like a trend hope they prove me wrong...

Spoiler

DO IT NINTENDO... please prove me wrong on this one

Yeah, I mean, look at Sony, constantly making hardware that they lose money on, all the way back to PS2. There's no way that they could possibly make a console that they don't lose money on. OH WAIT.

The cost of flash memory continues to plummet, while optical discs are about as cheap as they'll ever get. Plus, optical drives cost more, increase shipping costs with added weight, and break down more often than card readers. Sticking with optical for NX would be just as short-sighted as sticking with carts was for N64.

Yep, it's forward thinking in a way that you don't associate with Nintendo.

Optical has stopped making sense a while ago. Physical media sales have decreased for movies and are almost completely gone for music. Games still need a physical media, but it needs one that hasn't essentially reached the limit of what it can achieve like Blu-Ray has, and there's not much appetite from electronics manufacturers to pursue faster and larger optical disc storage beyond that because of it losing steam at retail.

It's another show of Nintendo being oddly progressive technologically.

I would expect a console in the $200-$250 range. They're not going to compete with Sony/MS.

It's adorable that people still think that. Nintendo may as well just not bother if they don't compete with Sony and MS, especially since the parts in those consoles aren't that expensive in the slightest anymore.

 

[cireza]

This patent seems very close to the Wii U. But I don't think we can conclude much from this anyway. Might be a revision, or maybe that their next console is close to the Wii U. Or maybe that nothing will come out of this patent.

 

[Pifje]

I was expecting Xbox One to be digital only already back in the days.

It's good that it's now Nintendo to be actually implementing this.

 

[Camisado]

I'd be OK with this as long as Nintendo got all their online stuff sorted out first, they really are lagging behind when it comes to stuff like unified accounts, games being tied to accounts rather than consoles etc.

 

[Rich!]

I'd be OK with this as long as Nintendo got all their online stuff sorted out first, they really are lagging behind when it comes to stuff like unified accounts, games being tied to accounts rather than consoles etc.

DeNa.

 

[MoogleWizard]

I bought every Nintendo system since the SNES. Digital only would be the only way to get me to not buy the next one. So I'm hoping for cartridges, so nostalgic, a home console with cartridges!

 

[acm2000]

digital only future in consoles? that would be me out of gaming for good.

im not being forced to pay ridiculous RRP prices on digital stores which can be upto £20 more than retail.

 

[dark10x]

If they go back to carts of some form, I'm all in. I could not possibly approve of that method more. Would be extremely cool.

If they go all digital, well, I will skip the system. Straight up.

Those are two very opposite things, I think.

 

[Yautja_Warrior]

So back to carts? Just with lots more memory so they can fit bigger games on. You never know with Nintendo.

If they are going digital only then thats a brave move, especially with Nintendo's track record of their online structure, which lets face it, has been lacklustre to say the least.

 

[Neiteio]

If they go back to carts of some form, I'm all in. I could not possibly approve of that method more. Would be extremely cool.

If they go all digital, well, I will skip the system. Straight up.

Those are two very opposite things, I think.

I'm not much of a tech person, but I know you are. How well would modern-day "carts" measure up to disks in terms of performance? That'd just be like a high-end SD card, right? So minimal loading, etc?

 

[Kouriozan]

Nintendo losing retail presence by going all digital would be nuts and crazy.
In facts, they'll need more presence, if they want to show consummers that games can be played on an handheld and an home console.

 

[Branduil]

There's zero chance Nintendo is going digital-only.

I'm not much of a tech person, but I know you are. How well would modern-day "carts" measure up to disks in terms of performance? That'd just be like a high-end SD card, right? So minimal loading, etc?

The 3DS carts work quite well. And can apparently go up to 8 GB in size. I imagine the possible size would be even higher with the NX.

 

[Zoon]

when is the succesor to club nintendo going to be revealed? I remember them saying this fall, do we have anything more specific than that? I believe this is where we'll find if they are going full digital next gen.

 

[dark10x]

I'm not much of a tech person, but I know you are. How well would modern-day "carts" measure up to disks in terms of performance? That'd just be like a high-end SD card, right? So minimal loading, etc?

It could be quite fast if they don't cheap out but it will never work like carts used in older systems. Older carts were memory mapped - data did not need to be transferred from media to system memory as a result. That's not really viable today, obviously.

There's no guarantee that using flash memory will result in decent transfer speeds, though. Just look at the Vita!

 

[SmoothBrain]

No optical drive means no support for WiiU disc based games. Interesting.

 

[cyberheater]

On February 10, 2015, Nintendo Co., Ltd, filed in the United States a patent application for a "Stationary Game Apparatus, Game Apparatus, Game System, Recording Medium and Speed Control Method". It was published yesterday, on August 20, 2015, and is based upon and claims the benefit of priority of the prior Japanese Patent Application filed on February 20, 2014. The title of the patent in itself sounds of course not very interesting, but the description and claims are quite peculiar. Additionally it describes a controller with a display screen as well as Speed Control Processing.

This particular patent is a bit lengthy, but I'll try and underline the most interesting/important parts.







Images (only two are interesting)

Source: Search "20150231511" here.

How can this be patentable. Surely it's nothing that hasn't be done before.

 

[Porcile]

Can't wait for the disc's = mature vs carts = kiddie toy arguments. It's going to happen...

 

[Roshin]

Late into the thread, so... Is this 100% confirmed to be related to NX?

It's likely related to the NX, but not confirmed.

 

[Interceptor]

What's up with the all digital talk? Especially in this thread. You will be able to get a cartridge with your game on it...
Or you could just download it. Like just now. On the Wii U.

Another point not debated enough: The form factor. Without an optical drive they could go totally nuts with the design of this thing. All for 99,- (Wii U power level, close to the next handheld, upgrade every two years) or 199,- (PS4+, no dvd licences, no optical drive, 2012 gpu tech.. easy, even with a gamepad)

 

[Tregard]

Are people expecting them to keep a standard 3DS (or SD) card size, or make a proprietary?

 

[Branduil]

Can't wait for the disc's = mature vs carts = kiddie toy arguments. It's going to happen...

No it won't. The carts will be 3DS-size, not the bulky behemoths of the old Nintendo consoles.

 

[Porcile]

No it won't. The carts will be 3DS-size, not the bulky behemoths of the old Nintendo consoles.

I meant 3DS-sized carts. If anything it adds more fuel to the "kiddie toy" argument which people have leveled (dumbly) at Nintendo home consoles for like 15 years now.

 

[ramparter]

I feel it's not a coincidence that lately I decided to go digital. Only the higher price is what holds me back but I ve noticed lately that I spend more time playing games installed in my Wii u than those requiring to insert a disc. Still we may end up seeing games in retail containing a code. This could potentially allow for some better prices. Of course we lose the benefit of second hand games.

Then again once Nintendo goes full digital they may realize not everyone is willing to buy full price and may have to adapt. After all I remember Iwata saying they need to focus on more budget games.

 

[Zeyphersan]

So the console itself loads in carts, has an internal HDD (not flash like the Wii U) and the ability to use external HDDs. The controller still has a screen on it, and can be used in wired or wireless mode it looks like

Tons of info in here, I love it

 

[Diffense]

It's likely related to the NX, but not confirmed.

I think it's more likely Wii U related.

My expectation is that the Wii U will be able to play certain new digitial games released under the NX platform even after it stops getting retail games. A cheaper Wii U with a well established and growing digital library might be appealing to some people especially since games like Splatoon, Mario Kart 8 and Smash Brothers (maybe even Super Mario Maker/Pokken) will likely retain an active community of players right up to and beyond NX's release.

 

[geordiemp]

What if

First basic program = hand held game code of say MK9
Second basic program = additional textures etc for console MK9

That way its 1 game per cart for hand held and console.

From a marketing perspective Nintendo probably wants those 50 million or more hand held customers to buy the home console...so the incentive would be they have a software collection already from the hand held.

What it would mean is Nintendo going for console + hand held monetising existing core base better rather than competing with MS / Sony or going for casual. Interesting.

If N can sell all hand held customers a home console then that would be much better than WiiU, and with more software releases would make business sense.

 

[sinxtanx]

Thread is going a bit off the rails so I'm posting this shit again for people who honestly can't be bothered with reading the entire patent and I don't blame them

GAME CONSOLE NX

I simply "translated" the patent to the best of my ability, cutting out the fluff. There's a lot of fluff.

It's a game console! The example console has no disc drive. You connect it to a television and play video games.

The example is totally of a Digital-only console but this in no way restricts any other NX hardware to be exactly that, says patent. Digital-only can be made on the cheap tho, says patent.
Passage literally confirming NX device with disc drive (bolded is my notes):

The first basic program 24(NX kernel) and the second basic program 25(NX OS) also operate in, for example, a game apparatus including an optical disk drive or a game apparatus not including the internal HDD 13.

Other hardware configs need not neccessarily include an HDD. (Like, say a portable device? Hmm?)

Has HDD, Internet, CPU, GPU, RAM, like a home console would

OS Kernel has it's own memory, and it's fast so the console can boot faster

Can check if the main OS has been tampered with by checking additional storage and restore corrupted high-security data

OS has full multitasking support

You can download games to the console

Games installed to HDD

Games have code for more than one hardware configuration and the hardware determines what code is the right one to run (NX is a platform like iOS, duh it has this)

External hard drives can be connected and you can install games to them

Can emulate different HDD read/write speeds primarily for games that have special code for external HDDs, can seemingly pretend that the HDD is an optical disc as well. SPEED CONTROL

Controller with rechargeable battery (Pro Controller?)

Interesting passages:

The controller 3 is provided exclusively for the game apparatus 1. The controller 3 includes a processor 31, a wireless communication unit 32, an operation unit 33, a display unit 34, a battery 35, a connection unit 36 and the like.

The operation unit 33 is constituted by a push button, a cross key, an analog stick, a touch panel or the like.

Controller with screen. GamePad support? Could be new controller, too. Will probably have at LEAST the functionality of the GamePad.
Can charge the GamePad equivalent by plugging it into the console.

Save files are stored on the HDD O_O OMG WOW

It is to be noted that the internal HDD 13 can store various data such as, for example, stationary data, video data, sound data, text data, additional data of a game, or data obtained through communication.

Bolded could be interpreted as being the oft-touted "high texture download" option.

Can read/write SD cards. This allows for retail distribution or OS updates using SD cards. Really any data that you can think of putting on an SD card, can be used. No confirmation of anything.

 

[sinxtanx]

What if

First basic program = hand held game code of say MK9
Second basic program = additional textures etc for console MK9

That way its 1 game per cart for hand held and console.

Nope. You've got the right idea but
basic program 24 = kernel
basic program 25 = OS
game program 26 = game code, including code for different hardware configurations, which can be anything from a digital-only handheld to something akin to a PC tower whatever you want
the SD card example in the patent only shows an OS upgrade happening

 

[ramparter]

What if

First basic program = hand held game code of say MK9
Second basic program = additional textures etc for console MK9

That way its 1 game per cart for hand held and console.

From a marketing perspective Nintendo probably wants those 50 million or more hand held customers to buy the home console...so the incentive would be they have a software collection already from the hand held.

What it would mean is Nintendo going for console + hand held monetising existing core base better rather than competing with MS / Sony or going for casual. Interesting.

If N can sell all hand held customers a home console then that would be much better than WiiU, and with more software releases would make business sense.

I honestly think they could try a basic/full approach for compatibility, like in PCs but more streamlined. Devs are free of course to decide what will they support. Like with New 3ds, you can have a game that runs the same or runs better on new or runs only on new.

 

[Sandfox]

Thread is going a bit off the rails so I'm posting this shit again for people who honestly can't be bothered with reading the entire patent and I don't blame them

GAME CONSOLE NX

I simply "translated" the patent to the best of my ability, cutting out the fluff. There's a lot of fluff.

It's a game console! The example console has no disc drive. You connect it to a television and play video games.

The example is totally of a Digital-only console but this in no way restricts any other NX hardware to be exactly that, says patent. Digital-only can be made on the cheap tho, says patent.
Passage literally confirming NX device with disc drive (bolded is my notes):


Other hardware configs need not neccessarily include an HDD. (Like, say a portable device? Hmm?)

Has HDD, Internet, CPU, GPU, RAM, like a home console would

OS Kernel has it's own memory, and it's fast so the console can boot faster

Can check if the main OS has been tampered with by checking additional storage and restore corrupted high-security data

OS has full multitasking support

You can download games to the console

Games installed to HDD

Games have code for more than one hardware configuration and the hardware determines what code is the right one to run (NX is a platform like iOS, duh it has this)

External hard drives can be connected and you can install games to them

Can emulate different HDD read/write speeds primarily for games that have special code for external HDDs, can seemingly pretend that the HDD is an optical disc as well. SPEED CONTROL

Controller with rechargeable battery (Pro Controller?)

Interesting passages:


Controller with screen. GamePad support? Could be new controller, too. Will probably have at LEAST the functionality of the GamePad.
Can charge the GamePad equivalent by plugging it into the console.

Save files are stored on the HDD O_O OMG WOW

Bolded could be interpreted as being the oft-touted "high texture download" option.

Can read/write SD cards. This allows for retail distribution or OS updates using SD cards. Really any data that you can think of putting on an SD card, can be used. No confirmation of anything.

So basically a cheaper digital only device with options for optical disks? That would be interesting to see.

 

[Diffense]

BTW, I think Wii U will be(come) an NX device. It will receive an update to be tied into the infrastructure.

 

[Tregard]

BTW, I think Wii U will be(come) an NX device. It will receive an update to be tied into the infrastructure.

How would this work exactly? I hear it a lot and I'm curious as to what it means. Would the WiiU emulate the NX architecture or something?

 

[ramparter]

Thread is going a bit off the rails so I'm posting this shit again for people who honestly can't be bothered with reading the entire patent and I don't blame them

GAME CONSOLE NX

I simply "translated" the patent to the best of my ability, cutting out the fluff. There's a lot of fluff.

It's a game console! The example console has no disc drive. You connect it to a television and play video games.

The example is totally of a Digital-only console but this in no way restricts any other NX hardware to be exactly that, says patent. Digital-only can be made on the cheap tho, says patent.
Passage literally confirming NX device with disc drive (bolded is my notes):


Other hardware configs need not neccessarily include an HDD. (Like, say a portable device? Hmm?)

Has HDD, Internet, CPU, GPU, RAM, like a home console would

OS Kernel has it's own memory, and it's fast so the console can boot faster

Can check if the main OS has been tampered with by checking additional storage and restore corrupted high-security data

OS has full multitasking support

You can download games to the console

Games installed to HDD

Games have code for more than one hardware configuration and the hardware determines what code is the right one to run (NX is a platform like iOS, duh it has this)

External hard drives can be connected and you can install games to them

Can emulate different HDD read/write speeds primarily for games that have special code for external HDDs, can seemingly pretend that the HDD is an optical disc as well. SPEED CONTROL

Controller with rechargeable battery (Pro Controller?)

Interesting passages:


Controller with screen. GamePad support? Could be new controller, too. Will probably have at LEAST the functionality of the GamePad.
Can charge the GamePad equivalent by plugging it into the console.

Save files are stored on the HDD O_O OMG WOW

Bolded could be interpreted as being the oft-touted "high texture download" option.

Can read/write SD cards. This allows for retail distribution or OS updates using SD cards. Really any data that you can think of putting on an SD card, can be used. No confirmation of anything.

Thank you! This really sound like what I was hoping for and kinda expecting (but usually Nintendo shatters our expectations)

 

[xJavonta]

I don't think the new Zelda would come close to fitting on a cart or SD card. Let's be serious.

There are consumer grade 128gb SD cards and even microSD. What makes you think Zelda will be larger than that? I'd be surprised if it even hit 32gb

 

[Interceptor]

BTW, I think Wii U will be(come) an NX device. It will receive an update to be tied into the infrastructure.

I agree. The next handheld (or even the NX lol) could be close to the Wii U, just adapt it in your development cycle and boom - instant 10 million userbase.

 

[Branduil]

Why would Wii U become an NX device? The NX is likely to have a completely different architecture, and the Wii U userbase is not worth the hassle of designing around that.

 

[Diffense]

How would this work exactly? I hear it a lot and I'm curious as to what it means. Would the WiiU emulate the NX architecture or something?

I'm thinking of NX as, in part, a software platform that will support different devices. Wii U will be able to play some digital games made for NX targets. It's just as how devs would generally target "Android" rather than any specific hardware configuration (though I suspect Nintendo will make some software exclusive to certain hardware).

So I think Wii U will receive an update to enable it to be part of the NX ecosystem. Iwata hinted at it with a little diagram he showed during the Dena announcement.

 

[Mpl90]

Thread is going a bit off the rails so I'm posting this shit again for people who honestly can't be bothered with reading the entire patent and I don't blame them

GAME CONSOLE NX

I simply "translated" the patent to the best of my ability, cutting out the fluff. There's a lot of fluff.

It's a game console! The example console has no disc drive. You connect it to a television and play video games.

The example is totally of a Digital-only console but this in no way restricts any other NX hardware to be exactly that, says patent. Digital-only can be made on the cheap tho, says patent.
Passage literally confirming NX device with disc drive (bolded is my notes):


Other hardware configs need not neccessarily include an HDD. (Like, say a portable device? Hmm?)

Has HDD, Internet, CPU, GPU, RAM, like a home console would

OS Kernel has it's own memory, and it's fast so the console can boot faster

Can check if the main OS has been tampered with by checking additional storage and restore corrupted high-security data

OS has full multitasking support

You can download games to the console

Games installed to HDD

Games have code for more than one hardware configuration and the hardware determines what code is the right one to run (NX is a platform like iOS, duh it has this)

External hard drives can be connected and you can install games to them

Can emulate different HDD read/write speeds primarily for games that have special code for external HDDs, can seemingly pretend that the HDD is an optical disc as well. SPEED CONTROL

Controller with rechargeable battery (Pro Controller?)

Interesting passages:


Controller with screen. GamePad support? Could be new controller, too. Will probably have at LEAST the functionality of the GamePad.
Can charge the GamePad equivalent by plugging it into the console.

Save files are stored on the HDD O_O OMG WOW

Bolded could be interpreted as being the oft-touted "high texture download" option.

Can read/write SD cards. This allows for retail distribution or OS updates using SD cards. Really any data that you can think of putting on an SD card, can be used. No confirmation of anything.

Thanks

 

[iceatcs]

Yeah the margins could be tight..

Not sure. 32GB bulk flash memory is pretty cheap

Not cheap as blu-Ray discs. Under a dollar.

 

[BishopLamont]

nintendo won't go dd only, look at the xbox one fiasco

the retailer market is still huge, why would they abandon it?

cartridges is more likely the reason, no load times would be a big plus

 

[Übermatik]

Mother.

Fucking.

Carts.

 

[Sandfox]

nintendo won't go dd only, look at the xbox one fiasco

the retailer market is still huge, why would they abandon it?

cartridges is more likely the reason, no load times would be a big plus

Wasn't the Xbox issue more about the online only aspect?