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Nintendo files patent application for stationary game console without optical disk
Kaneda Shotaro
Member
I'm thinking the memory card slot is for the games. They won't be small, large enough for current gen games. And the best part? Maybe the game card works with the console and portable.
DaSorcerer7
Member
Sounds like a good break down.
HeavyMetalLover91
Member
Nice idea but doubt that would happen unless you bought them off the eShop, any disc bought games could be resold/traded in and Nintendo aren't going to let you do that.
Has anyone actually done a cursory search to see what bulk orders of SD cards cost? I looked up 32GB ones. Orders of just 100 brought the price to $2.50. Bear in mind that this is a cursory look, not accounting for access speeds, but with a ridiculously low number for "bulk", it is clearly not as expensive as some people think.
For an over the top example
http://m.made-in-china.com/product/760142195
That's 256GB for $10.55 for orders of just 1000. What do you think the price would be for 5 million?
For an over the top example
http://m.made-in-china.com/product/760142195
That's 256GB for $10.55 for orders of just 1000. What do you think the price would be for 5 million?
I know, it was a joke only
We can't download Wii U games? Also, there is a version of NX that will have an optical drive...
ArchedThunder
Banned
If it can play all the same games as the handheld then a touch screen would be required for some games.
Yes we can, but that leave people whith retail copies without bc, that's not very Nintendo. Do we know that will be different NX home console models?
okaygeraldo
Neo Member
I agree with "that's not very Nintendo" but they did say before that this new platform is meant to co-exist with the Wii U and 3DS.
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.
The number of games which would actually require 32 GB is a very small minority.
Fourth Storm
Member
Yeah, it's a real conundrum for them. Part of me says they should just take the hit and do it anyway. Wii U is such a loss, what's it to them if a few people who sold their discs back to Gamestop still get to play the game?
ArchedThunder
Banned
They said the same thing about the DS co-existing with the GBA, but it ended up just completely replacing it. They say these things so if the new thing flops they can just ditch it because they didn't verbally commit to it being the new main thing right away.
Well...those games take up a large chunk, if not the majority of sales. The Battlefronts, Uncharteds, GTA's, AC's, COD's of the world.
okaygeraldo
Neo Member
But that's exactly my point. If they decide to not do any backwards compatibility and people bitch about it, they can say that this is just a 3rd pillar in their ecosystem.
I guess those people can play the games on their Wii U.
It's likely those games aren't trying too hard to compress things, since why bother with all that BD space. Those high-selling games are also the ones which could afford to pay for larger cart sizes with minimal increased cost.
vagabondarts
Member
I love retro gaming, and virtual console is something I really enjoy... but if Nintendo thinks we will re-buy the same virtual console games again, they are deluded.
okaygeraldo
Neo Member
I 100% agree and hope that DeNA can help them create a unified account system so you don't have to re-buy titles you've already purchased on the VC.
ArchedThunder
Banned
There's a reason I've only bought 1 Wii U VC game and zero on 3DS, lol.
If they announced that all of your 3DS and Wii U VC games will transfer over to NX completely free then I will probably actually buy quite a few VC titles before NX comes out.
I thought the first phase of their plan was to roll out the new account system..? That should hopefully get everyone's digital library set up for the new hardware.
okaygeraldo
Neo Member
I'm not sure on that, but it seems like the logical thing to do. Hopefully there's a direct sometime in September (I mean Super Mario Maker and Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer come out then so I don't see why not. Plus it'd be the place to announce their mobile game).
vagabondarts
Member
I would probably buy just about every VC game if they did that. One great advantage of having virtual console purchases for all their platforms is meaningless without being able to transfer save states from platform to platform.
Hopefully they have figured that out too.
Let's say Nintendo decide to use discs and that they want to sell NX games for 50$. If they use cartridges, they can just set the price to 55$ and they'll make more money on each game sold (i doubt there's a 5$ difference between a disc and a game card anyway). I may be wrong, but i doubt those 5$ will make any difference to the same masses that are willing to spend 70$+ on FIFA every year. This without considering how much more an optical drive would cost compared to a card reader, so they can save money on the console engineering and manufacturing BOM and have a smaller, quieter and less hot console at the same time.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.
You make a good point here, but...
...i have to agree with this. People are already pissed because they feel like Wii U lasted only 3 years (with a lot of uncertainty about the line up for the fourth year, that will also probably see the debut of a new home console), customer retention is too important for them at this point. Way more important than some people selling games at Gamestop (and then there's a lot of people like me who would never do that because we like keeping games, i never sell them aside from those i really didn't enjoy).
I doubt we'll see these games on NX from D1. If Nintendo manage to make the platform a success third parties may reconsider, but it will probably take a while. Until then who knows how much flash memory will cost, or if dd only will already be a thing.
HeavyMetalLover91
Member
I agree. I mean they've already made their money from the game when you bought it and would also encourage people to not use emulators/piracy, so a free download of CN registered games would be better for them in the long run.
Well, that explains why Square Enix is the first company that announced several games for NX already.
Nintendo making a console for SE games only confirmed.
vagabondarts
Member
Well they filed it in February, right? It's only now being listed, right?
Yeah, but I like playing all my games in the latest system available, on Wii U I can play, Wii, GameCube, and all the other VC.
Fourth Storm
Member
I hear yah both. Of course, someone will probably write up a really good reason for them not doing it, but either way, it's a problem that requires a solution. If they include BC that is (there are still technical hurdles).
The other question is if they still have all our Club Nintendo data. I'm sure it's in a database somewhere, but maybe this new service is going to start from scratch...
Herb Alpert
Banned
We just linked club Nintendo and nnid, I imagine this is part of the plan to keep the data through the new program.
R
Rösti
Unconfirmed Member
And the original Japanese application was filed last year in February. It likely has little bearing on release date of Nintendo's next home console.
How many of those managed with just a 360 DVD?
……forgetit
Member
My idea, cartridge and download based. Cartridges can be placed in either console or handheld depending on the game. Console exclusive games will be labeled on the box via a graphic (Controller picture, handheld picture or a controller and handheld picture) in the same vein as controller support on the back of wii u boxes.
many were on multiple CDs, also FHD assets = more space needed. If the go with carts we'll need 50GB carts.
On the upside flash storage keeps getting cheaper. You can buy a 32gb microSD card for $13.
sörine;176195000 said:
many were on multiple CDs, also FHD assets = more space needed. If the go with carts we'll need 50GB carts.
On the upside flash storage keeps getting cheaper. You can buy a 32gb microSD card for $13.
Thanks for this, it was highly needed.
Now about what I quoted, it's basically what I said earlier in the thread.
We already knew NX would be have different forms factor and I made the speculation that we might see more than 1 NX handheld (well, we already got that before with DSi, New 3DS) and 1 NX home console.
brandonh83
Banned
I really can't wait for E3, says patent.
ArchedThunder
Banned
And as has been said before, that's retail. Nintendo would be buying them at bulk from the manufacturer and would get them for pennies.
But again, nothing in this patent actually implies that they would be using game cards, though personally with the details we have learned about the NX platform from this it seems game cards would be the best option for physical releases(If they plan on doing them at all) to keep compatibility between the handheld and console.
If it launches in Fall of 2016 the system will likely be revealed sometime from February to April. E3 would obviously be the huge blow out, but we will very likely get some solid details on the system from Nintendo before E3.
R
Rösti
Unconfirmed Member
There's a lot before E3 though, so I'm expecting substantial info prior:
CES 2016 - January 6-9
D.I.C.E. Summit 2016 - February 16-18
GDC 2016 - March 14-18
There are also two earnings releases (in 2016) before E3, plus a few Nintendo Direct broadcasts maybe. Also, Nintendo has yet to have a Corporate Management Policy Briefing this year. Last year this happened on October 30, maybe history will repeat itself (one shouldn't expect anything great from that however, only lesser tidbits).
ArchedThunder
Banned
Rösti;176195736 said:
I think honestly the safest bet is that Nintendo will reveal it in the first half of the year on their own terms, similarly to how MS and Sony did with the Xbone and PS4, though it will likely instead be announced via a hugely advertised Direct with game's media being invited to a private event around the same time, similarly to how game's media are invited to try out games shown in Directs around the same time as the Direct. Who knows though, maybe they will do a live stage event like MS and Sony because it's such a huge deal.
HeavyMetalLover91
Member
Likewise, I wouldn't sell my games, and I wouldn't even get rid of the system itself. I'd like to think that a lot of Wii U owners are the real Nintendo dedicated anyway who like collecting and the chunk of people who would trade in would be minimal.
The only reason I can think of is that it would be a rather charitable act from Nintendo, especially when they could re-sell some of those games in remastered form or collections (Smash 4 for NX and a Pikmin Trilogy set spring to mind) but after this gen Nintendo need to win back customers and gain some good will so it could go either way.
wild wild rice
Member
Cool, glad they aren't abandoning the screen in controller. It's a great idea whether it's used for simple maps/inventory (Wind Waker) or more complex ideas like Pikmin 3 or Wonderful 101.
As far as digital only (if that ends up being the case), Nintendo is the only company I can get on board with that for. Mainly because their first party games are typically highly polished and highly replayable. I don't think I've ever resold a first party Nintendo game.
As far as digital only (if that ends up being the case), Nintendo is the only company I can get on board with that for. Mainly because their first party games are typically highly polished and highly replayable. I don't think I've ever resold a first party Nintendo game.
Right, the games you'll never see anyway on a Nintendo console.
ArchedThunder
Banned
What if they offered a service where you could go to a select retailer (like Gamestop) and trade in your Wii U games for digital download codes for those games on NX? Obvioulsy it wouldn't be optimal, but gamers would be able to migrate their library of physical games to NX, Nintendo wouldn't look scummy for forcing people to rebuy their Wii U games digitally on NX and retailers would get some free used games to sell. Everybody wins.
catpurrcat
Member
Like some have said, I see this as a digital only console (see appple tv) with the option to buy a "master" rewritable card that you can take to a store to download a game onto if you don't have high speed internet. Like the Famicom disc system. Dump the game from card to console.
Less retailer shelf space (so cheaper for Nintendo, no longer having to buy swathes of prime shelf space) but very high tech looking display
High profit margins through smaller games, lower dev time, no longer competing AT ALL with Sony and Xbox for the "blockbuster" type of big dev games
Occupy the middle range price, so $5-$25 per game (most would be $15) but obviously higher quality than the typical $2 cell phone game.
Massive emphasis on dlc through amiibo type devices (which are big profit)
In short, this is centered around a more reliable revenue stream, less risk, smaller games, more accessories and toys (see amiibos)
ArchedThunder
Banned
If they do that they better have some really good security on it, because that would just be opening themselves up to easier piracy.
Squall5042
Member
Oh man, getting so pumped for the reveal. Exciting times.
R
Rösti
Unconfirmed Member
I assume either of Shigeru Miyamoto, Genyo Takeda or Reggie Fils-Aime, unless they have elected a new CEO and President by the time for the reveal.Who will reveal the console now, I wonder?