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[Ganondolf]

looking at this patent it looks like a wii u mini. no disk drive, DD only.

I cant see why the nx would be this similar to the wii u setup.

 

[Ganondolf]

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

I cant see the nx being online only. either they use game carts or discs (as well online downloads) as a lot of the world are still on capped BB and slow speeds.

if they link the home console and handheld together game cards seem to be the best option but they are more expensive than discs as they would need at least 50gb to have third party ports.

 

[big_z]

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

they could sell a re-writable card or simply use sd/microsd and then set up game stations in stores for people with limited internet. they did something similar in japan before.

this type of retail presence would:
-eliminate manufacturing/material cost
-reduce retail footprint while allowing for the entire catalog of games to be made available
-update games at will
-avoid shipping delays
-run ads on the display when not in use

 

[BishopLamont]

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

so you're suggesting dd-only but with offline play? this is kinda pointless

whats the point in restricting people who still want to buy physical? nintendo needs to expand their userbase as much as they can, this wouldn't be a good idea.

 

[NeoRausch]

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

How about:

You buy the cartridge in the store. It contains the "handheld"-version and a licence key. When you put it into the "home console" it registers the key and you can download the HD data for free.

They kinda did something similar with the optional downloads for Xenoblade X to make it run better.

People without internet would be fucked though.

Spoiler

They are anyways

 

[BishopLamont]

they could sell a re-writable card or simply use sd/microsd and then set up game stations in stores for people with limited internet. they did something similar in japan before.

this type of retail presence would:
-eliminate manufacturing/material cost
-reduce retail footprint while allowing for the entire catalog of games to be made available
-update games at will
-avoid shipping delays
-run ads on the display when not in use

what if they got two skus, one dd-only thats cheaper than the one with carts/drive?

 

[Exterminieren]

Exciting stuff. I'm down for a cartridge revolution, and it's definitely the best way to ensure compatibility between the NX Home, the NX Portable, and whatever other SKUs they've got cooking up.

It's not going to be a Wii U revision, because there's absolutely zero chance that Nintendo is spending another penny on Wii U R&D.

 

[Dead_Pixel]

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.

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.

Iwata stated that it was important for the new platform to 'absorb' the current Wii U architecture. Read into that what you will, but Interceptor could be on the right tracks here.

 

[Kathian]

Xbox One was not digital only though; if they'd got rid of discs then it would have been fine. What they were planning was physical media with digital constraints.

Can see Nintendo selling NFC games that unlock digital versions. It makes sense for their digital account step to be a jump - Nintendo tends to go all in when it goes in.

 

[QaaQer]

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

It's not the whole thing, it is just apparently the variable speed data unit which can make the hard drive appear as an optical drive or a cart or an hdd, depending on game. (thx sinx) I also think that the 2-versions on 1 media is also a patent-able idea.

In all likelihood, there will be a digital only console version, a hh version, and a console with discdrive version. And that hh games will be playable on the home console, but there will be differences. The patent doesn't say anything about console games on handheld tho. The big question is whether or not there will be any exclusive console games, or if every Nintendo game is going to be cross plat.

 

[BishopLamont]

How about:

You buy the cartridge in the store. It contains the "handheld"-version and a licence key. When you put it into the "home console" it registers the key and you can download the HD data for free.

They kinda did something similar with the optional downloads for Xenoblade X to make it run better.

People without internet would be fucked though.

Spoiler

They are anyways

yep, if the cross-platform same game for both does come intro fruition then this is possible

i just don't think it's currently good idea to make anyone with internet access have less as it's still a big part of the market, maybe next-gen but not this one coming up

 

[DrROBschiz]

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.

This should be in the OP

Nicely done!

 

[big_z]

what if they got two skus, one dd-only thats cheaper than the one with carts/drive?

they don't need any physical media. the store kiosk would controlled by them, theyre basically an in store access point to the digital Nintendo store that flashes your rewritable card to transfer your games at home.

pricing would be controlled by Nintendo as well.

 

[Sandfox]

so you're suggesting dd-only but with offline play? this is kinda pointless

whats the point in restricting people who still want to buy physical? nintendo needs to expand their userbase as much as they can, this wouldn't be a good idea.

I wasn't suggesting anything, just questioning the Xbox comparison.

 

[BishopLamont]

nice post! haven't read through the whole thread yet just wanted to commented quickly.

Save files are stored on the HDD O_O OMG WOW

cartridges it is

I wasn't suggesting anything, just questioning the Xbox comparison.

hmm yeah i get wat u mean, i suppose this isn't as restrictive and annoying if done right

 

[test_account]

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

There would still be some loading. Look at 3DS and Vita for example. Both use carts and has loading.

 

[HUELEN10]

All I'm gonna say is disc and disk are 2 different things.

 

[BishopLamont]

There would still be some loading. Look at 3DS and Vita for example. Both use carts and has loading.

reducing it would be a big bonus i suppose

 

[Mpl90]

Ah, right, I've read the summary, and I wanted a clarification about the following: the patent doesn't outright say that the card slot could be for carts containing the games, but it doesn't outright deny that, correct?

 

[BishopLamont]

Ah, right, I've read the summary, and I wanted a clarification about the following: the patent doesn't outright say that the card slot could be for carts containing the games, but it doesn't outright deny that, correct?

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):

 

[Labombadog]

What if the console NX plays handheld NX games while also having its own exclusive console games that is also played on the haldheld as Remote Play. Crazy idea and just waking up but would be neat.

 

[Dr. Buni]

What if the console NX plays handheld NX games while also having its own exclusive console games that is also played on the haldheld as Remote Play. Crazy idea and just waking up but would be neat.

What if the handheld NX can play console NX games instead? Why does the handheld version have to be the inferior one?

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

Not interesting at all. No backwards compatibility would be a shame, but if the NX is both a console and a handheld (with the same games), I can live with it.

 

[BishopLamont]

What if the console NX plays handheld NX games while also having its own exclusive console games that is also played on the haldheld as Remote Play. Crazy idea and just waking up but would be neat.

yeah something like low profile = both systems, high profile = remote play

don't see how else they can tackle the spec difference between the systems

 

[Koobion]

I am partly with those that think this machine surely needs to be able to play WiiU games, with its fantastic library of exclusives - bolstered by hints from Iwata that the next console would absorb WiiU.

However, this document shows a device with no physical disc drive, ultimately limiting that to digital only, or an external drive to run the physical WiiU games. The thing is, I feel that all of this goes against the rest of the idea behind the NX, which appears to possibly be one SKU for everything; it looks like one device that can play a console or handheld version of one game, where the handheld version is obviously run on an external machine. It seems unclear to me where the handheld comes from, but maybe it *can* be the controller - though not the only controller.

Also, the architecture wouldn't likely match WiiU's. x86 is actually viable now for mobile, what with the Intel Atom chips making their way into some mobile devices with great results. If this console could manage to be x86, 3rd party support is suddenly a much easier proposition since it's the same architecture the PS4 and Xbone use.

 

[DannyDanger]

I would love if they went back to carts! Fuck disc drives.

Why??? Blu-rays discs are practically invincible

Way cheaper for manufacturing

And... work

 

[BishopLamont]

getting excited for next-gen nintendo games already

lets see how good iwata did with nintendo before his passing.

I am partly with those that think this machine surely needs to be able to play WiiU games, with its fantastic library of exclusives - bolstered by hints from Iwata that the next console would absorb WiiU.

However, this document shows a device with no physical disc drive, ultimately limiting that to digital only, or an external drive to run the physical WiiU games. The thing is, I feel that all of this goes against the rest of the idea behind the NX, which appears to possibly be one SKU for everything; it looks like one device that can play a console or handheld version of one game, where the handheld version is obviously run on an external machine. It seems unclear to me where the handheld comes from, but maybe it *can* be the controller - though not the only controller.

Also, the architecture wouldn't likely match WiiU's. x86 is actually viable now for mobile, what with the Intel Atom chips making their way into some mobile devices with great results. If this console could manage to be x86, 3rd party support is suddenly a much easier proposition since it's the same architecture the PS4 and Xbone use.

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

surely this is for backwards compatibility

also...

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):

 

[madstarr12]

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.

You don't need the EXACT same CPU/GPU architecture to have efficient development in-house; I don't believe Nintendo EVER stated that they needed to use the same architecture for that, and it's not needed. Android phones have various processors from different vendors, yet they're able to manage running most apps together without much of a problem. The handheld can have AMD chips and the console can have nVidia chips, and they'll still be able to manage doing what they want.

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.
....
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.
.

The bolded is what I'm a little concerned of, there are some things that require stronger hardware to run adequately. Yes, I know what PC games do; however you also have to realize that Nintendo is very much a stickler on performance. While PC supports a wide range of processors, the lower end of them are ones that struggle to run certain things that just aren't very scalable. Physics is the biggest proponent. Many graphical effects can be scalable or turned off completely; however physics isn't something that's easily scalable. If the console is strong enough to handle more than twice or 3 times certain things like enemies, NPCs, etc compared to the handheld, these things will need to either be removed or dialed down enough for the handheld to handle in order to maintain cross-play compatibility. Certain quests may ask for let's say, "defeat the 12 dragons in one battle", but the handheld will not be able to handle it well due to limitations in processing power. The "defeat 12 dragons" quest may be playable on the handheld, but if performance plummets down to unacceptable levels despite dialing down everything to the lowest setting, it's bottlenecking a certain component of the hardware. You can bet that Nintendo will make that quest instead a "defeat 6 dragons in one battle" quest for the sake of having cross-play. Unless you expect things like "Form-factor exclusive content".

This idea also applies for mult-player, especially if people are aiming for cross-play between the handheld and the console. A certain game may be able to have 32 players on the console, but the handheld can't handle that much at an acceptable framerate, and scaling will only do so much to help. So in order to keep cross play, they'll need to reduce the player count for the sake of having the handheld being able to play with the console people. Mario Kart 9 on the console may be able to handle a bunch of obstacles in courses with 16 characters, and there are a large amount of enemy obstacles too, but the handheld isn't strong enough to run that at an acceptable performance level, so the console version is forced to be dialed down for the sake of cross-play with the handheld. Look at how identical PS All Stars is on Vita vs the PS3, is that all the PS3 can do? I'm sure the PS3 would be able to handle not only more fighters, but also more effects, more obstacles etc, but for the sake of cross-play, it looks like it does. That's what I'm talking about when I mean "gimp", there are certain things that will need to take into account the handheld that aren't as scalable as much as you think if you people want cross-play. Physics, AI in the game, very dynamic objects, etc. Yes, in PC as long as you have the minimum requirements the game will run....at an acceptable level for Nintendo though?

Now, this is assuming Nintendo has a usual gap in power compared to their handhelds and console in their respective generations. If NX Handheld and NX Console were much closer in power, then I'm speaking nonsense since the gap will be small enough to be able to scale things better. But a power gap between 3DS and Wii U? Cross-play will mean that the Console will need to be reduced down to a level acceptable for the Handheld.

I'm not claiming that the industry won't change; however you don't see a problem having the same game cart playable on both form factors at all? A person with ONLY the handheld will ONLY care for data involving the handheld version of the game. Why on Earth would they want to buy a game that also includes data for the console that they have no interest in, which ends up increasing the costs of the game? High-resolution textures, higher-quality models, more complex objects, these things take space. The handheld data can fit in an 8GB game cart, but in order to also have console data, you'll need to have a much larger game cart, let's say 32 GB is required, that's gonna increase costs of manufacturing the game carts, which will increase the costs of the sales price. There's a reason games like Resident Evil Revelations on 3DS costs more than smaller-sized 3DS games, it's due to using a larger capacity 3DS game cart. All handheld games will be forced to cost what one would pay for a console game. The industry is moving towards this direction, really? It's great for those who'll buy both hardware, but not everyone will do that.

 

[ArchedThunder]

I feel like the OP needs to be edited so people stop posting about this being a system that uses game cards, because it's not.

 

[Sumio Mondo]

Bye bye backwards compatibility if it is really cart based. That was always something that Nintendo had over the competition, but eh, the Wii U doesn't have that many games to begin with, I guess.

 

[Roshin]

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.

It's possible, sure, but I'd be surprised if we saw a new Wii U variation at this point.

 

[Padinn]

Might be moving towards something like sdhc cards for the games....more capacity, quieter, more durable with kids

 

[Koobion]

getting excited for next-gen nintendo games already

lets see how good iwata did with nintendo before his passing.


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

surely this is for backwards compatibility

also...

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):

Where is the text from the patent that states the existence of a version of this device with a disc drive? I can't seem to locate it (just woke up, gimme a break! lol).

If the device indeed does have a disc drive version, it's possible it's only for backwards compatibility. I have a hard time believing Nintendo would make a digital only version of a console. It's much more believable that they'd make a disc version marketed towards owners of Wii and WiiU software. Thus, I still think the cart argument is viable.

 

[Roshin]

what if they got two skus, one dd-only thats cheaper than the one with carts/drive?

It was mentioned earlier in the thread that the patent suggests there may be two different SKU's. Possibly one that takes discs (maybe for Japan) and one DD-only that doesn't take discs.

 

[Zoon]

The controller could be that: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=811351

 

[BishopLamont]

Where is the text from the patent that states the existence of a version of this device with a disc drive? I can't seem to locate it (just woke up, gimme a break! lol).

If the device indeed does have a disc drive version, it's possible it's only for backwards compatibility. I have a hard time believing Nintendo would make a digital only version of a console. It's much more believable that they'd make a disc version marketed towards owners of Wii and WiiU software. Thus, I still think the cart argument is viable.

tbh im leaning towards it being dd-only and cart/disk based being two separate skus as there's good reason for both

dd-only cheaper but cart/disk is less hassle

scroll up a bit, sinxtanx posted a bunch of info not sure how legit but everyone seems to be ok with it

 

[sinxtanx]

Ah, right, I've read the summary, and I wanted a clarification about the following: the patent doesn't outright say that the card slot could be for carts containing the games, but it doesn't outright deny that, correct?

Yes, patent only talks about updating the OS via SD card but does not deny any other use.

scroll up a bit, sinxtanx posted a bunch of info not sure how legit but everyone seems to be ok with it

I just copied the patent text into NotePad++ and parsed the legalese as I went along, removing all the boring technical stuff

 

[HeavyMetalLover91]

I can't see this as being a reality for one reason: Pokemon. GameFreak have stated time and time again that it is a handheld only franchise for the main games. I think what will happen is some games will be developed with the portable version of NX in mind and when you plug it into the home console version, it will be just a blown up enlarged version of the handheld game (imagine X&Y/ORAS on a tv for this gen), with stuff like streetpass features being disabled.

This way, games don't have to have two different versions made like Smash 4. Likewise, can you imagine the next Zelda that ends up on NX being developed with the portable's limitations in mind? Like someone posted above, graphics can be scaled but other things are gonna start gimping the overall game. Stuff like Animal Crossing, Smash and Mario Kart could appear on both sure, but stuff like Pokemon and Zelda will stay on their respective systems.

I hope they keep the name as NX and just add something on the end to differentiate between the portable and home systems.

 

[Kiro]

Side question: do you say "en ex" or "en ten" when pronouncing NX ?

 

[sinxtanx]

Where is the text from the patent that states the existence of a version of this device with a disc drive? I can't seem to locate it (just woke up, gimme a break! lol).

If the device indeed does have a disc drive version, it's possible it's only for backwards compatibility. I have a hard time believing Nintendo would make a digital only version of a console. It's much more believable that they'd make a disc version marketed towards owners of Wii and WiiU software. Thus, I still think the cart argument is viable.

right here babee (basic program 24 & 25 refer to the kernel and OS, respectively)

<Selection of Processing Routine>

[0056] The first basic program 24 and the second basic program 25 executed by the processor 10 of the game apparatus 1 according to the present example embodiment is configured to operate in the game apparatus 1 of the hardware configuration illustrated in FIG. 1, while operating also in a game apparatus with a hardware configuration different from the above. The first basic program 24 and the second basic program 25 also operate in, for example, a game apparatus including an optical disk drive or a game apparatus not including the internal HDD 13.

 

[jeff_rigby]

Again, look closer. They're switching to cartridges according to they patent. A digital-only console as the only option wouldn't sit well with the general public.

It looks like multiple programs per cartridge. That's casual game or games designed for phones. I've read about blu-ray disks with multiple games on them and on-line activation game by game, this may be something similar. A new Flash card using a different technology is coming soon that has a much larger storage.

Post 2015 there can optionally be only one blu-ray player on the home network that everything shares. So unless the game console is designed to be a 4K blu-ray player with digital bridge which I think the PS4 and XB1 are designed to be then a digital only game console is a possibility.

Post before this one seems to indicate every possible configuration.

 

[cyberheater]

It's not the whole thing, it is just apparently the variable speed data unit which can make the hard drive appear as an optical drive or a cart or an hdd, depending on game. (thx sinx) I also think that the 2-versions on 1 media is also a patent-able idea.

Thanks for the clarification.

 

[TunaLover]

Well it would fit Iwata's vision about a small form factor console, I remember reading that the disc drive alone uses about 1/3 of the Wii U case.

 

[Rodin]

This was already asked but i'd like to see more opinions about it: what if the console is dd only like in the patent (assuming the memory slot is for SD only), but they still have a retail presence by putting games into Amiibos? Let's say Splatoon 2 comes out. You can buy the special edition of the Squid/Inkling Amiibo for 60$ that also contains a code to unlock the game when you tap the figurine to your controller. Is this feasible? Do you think it would be a nice marketing move or a silly thing?

The bolded is what I'm a little concerned of, there are some things that require stronger hardware to run adequately. Yes, I know what PC games do; however you also have to realize that Nintendo is very much a stickler on performance. While PC supports a wide range of processors, the lower end of them are ones that struggle to run certain things that just aren't very scalable. Physics is the biggest proponent. Many graphical effects can be scalable or turned off completely; however physics isn't something that's easily scalable. If the console is strong enough to handle more than twice or 3 times certain things like enemies, NPCs, etc compared to the handheld, these things will need to either be removed or dialed down enough for the handheld to handle in order to maintain cross-play compatibility. Certain quests may ask for let's say, "defeat the 12 dragons in one battle", but the handheld will not be able to handle it well due to limitations in processing power. The "defeat 12 dragons" quest may be playable on the handheld, but if performance plummets down to unacceptable levels despite dialing down everything to the lowest setting, it's bottlenecking a certain component of the hardware. You can bet that Nintendo will make that quest instead a "defeat 6 dragons in one battle" quest for the sake of having cross-play. Unless you expect things like "Form-factor exclusive content".

This idea also applies for mult-player, especially if people are aiming for cross-play between the handheld and the console. A certain game may be able to have 32 players on the console, but the handheld can't handle that much at an acceptable framerate, and scaling will only do so much to help. So in order to keep cross play, they'll need to reduce the player count for the sake of having the handheld being able to play with the console people. Mario Kart 9 on the console may be able to handle a bunch of obstacles in courses with 16 characters, and there are a large amount of enemy obstacles too, but the handheld isn't strong enough to run that at an acceptable performance level, so the console version is forced to be dialed down for the sake of cross-play with the handheld. Look at how identical PS All Stars is on Vita vs the PS3, is that all the PS3 can do? I'm sure the PS3 would be able to handle not only more fighters, but also more effects, more obstacles etc, but for the sake of cross-play, it looks like it does. That's what I'm talking about when I mean "gimp", there are certain things that will need to take into account the handheld that aren't as scalable as much as you think if you people want cross-play. Physics, AI in the game, very dynamic objects, etc. Yes, in PC as long as you have the minimum requirements the game will run....at an acceptable level for Nintendo though?

Great post. That's one of the biggest reasons why i strongly believe that, while the two consoles should (and most definitely will) share most of the library, there are some games that simply need to stay exclusive to one platform and others that should maintain some differences in key aspects. You can then still push people to buy both versions by offering a discounted price if you double dip, some sort of communication between the two versions, etc. For example

Super Mario Universe= console only
Super Mario 3D Land 2= portable only
New 3D Zelda= console only
New 2D Zelda= portable only
Xenoblade 3= console only
Pokémon gen7= portable only

Monster Hunter 5= cross buy, home version has better assets
Super Smash Bros. for NX= cross buy, home version has better assets
New Kirby game= cross buy, home version has better assets
Donkey Kong Country Returns 3= cross buy, home version has better assets
Zelda TP remake= cross buy, home version has better assets

Mario Kart 9= comes out on both, some differences between the two versions, get a discounted price if you buy both
Spla2n= comes out on both, some differences between the two versions, get a discounted price if you buy both
Dragon Quest XI= comes out on both, some differences between the two versions (in this case, portable version= 3DS port; home version= PS4 port), get a discounted price if you buy both

etc

Now, this is assuming Nintendo has a usual gap in power compared to their handhelds and console in their respective generations. If NX Handheld and NX Console were much closer in power, then I'm speaking nonsense since the gap will be small enough to be able to scale things better. But a power gap between 3DS and Wii U? Cross-play will mean that the Console will need to be reduced down to a level acceptable for the Handheld.

Having a home that plays the exact same games with slightly better graphics at a higher resolution would be pointless though. Nobody would buy it.

Bye bye backwards compatibility if it is really cart based. That was always something that Nintendo had over the competition, but eh, the Wii U doesn't have that many games to begin with, I guess.

I was wondering if it's possible to offer a "digital bc". Let's say the console is capable of running Wii and Wii U games with perfect bc and that the entire Wii U eShop will be part of the new NX online shop. We tied our Club Nintendo accounts to our NNID, so when we log into the console with it, we already have all our games (the games we registered on CN) unlocked and available for download from the eShop.

Side question: do you say "en ex" or "en ten" when pronouncing NX ?

En ex.

 

[Zoon]

Could you technicaly install other OSs?Is there anything to back that up?

 

[Koren]

It's not the whole thing, it is just apparently the variable speed data unit which can make the hard drive appear as an optical drive or a cart or an hdd, depending on game.

Still not totally new, they used this kind of thing to make HDD appear as optical drives on the GC dev kits so that developpers could test disc loading times on devkits... That's actually one of the reasons the GC often had the lowest load times out of the three consoles at this time.

 

[KingSnake]

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.

This is a damn good summary and needs to be in the op and on every new page to stop the absurd theories thrown around.

 

[matrix-cat]

I can't see any way a home console could use cartridges. A 32 or 64GB SD card is waaaay more expensive than a similarly-sized Blu Ray disc, even taking into account the straight-from-the-manufacturer bulk purchase price Nintendo would be getting. Not to mention they'd have to design a proprietary card to combat piracy (and region-lock it ).

They'd save the cost of a disc-drive in every console, yes, but they'd be much worse off having to eat the cost of a memory card on every game sold. A disc drive makes up about $26 in the PS4/XB1 bills of materials. For argument's sake, imagine Nintendo manages to make a 32/64GB cart that costs $5 more to manufacture than a disc does; they'd have to hope customers would buy fewer than five physical games each in the console's lifetime, otherwise they're losing out. It's always preferable to eat a loss on the price of a console and make it back on the games.

 

[Koobion]

right here babee (basic program 24 & 25 refer to the kernel and OS, respectively)

Thanks

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

I don't think this necessarily means that the games for this console come on discs rather than carts. It could be referring to a version of it with the drive for Wii/WiiU backwards compatibility like I mentioned before. This seems to be further supported by the wording "...or a game apparatus not including the internal HDD 13"; a version of the console with no HDD but apparently the same software? That would further suggest carts, especially when considering save data not writing to discs, unlike cartridges. It could be referring to a handheld, I suppose, but wouldn't the wording need to refer to a separate device instead of implying it's a separate model or accessory to the specific patent device in question (NX)?

 

[TunaLover]

What if the new media is not cart or disc but amiibos?

 

[ffdgh]

What if the new media if not carts or discs but amiibos?

Limited editions and store exclusives...the horror...