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Nintendo files patent application for stationary game console without optical disk

sörine

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.
I don't see it happening for physical, too costly/complicated with not enough benefit for Nintendo in return. With digital I can see a NNID discount program if they port over Wii U games you own, but nothing for free. Only thing I can see getting a free transition is maybe Virtual Console, but even that might not.
 
Rösti;176197311 said:
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.

Yeah, I'm thinking Reggie. I wonder when we'll get word on a new CEO. They really weren't prepared for Iwata's passing it seems.
 
Yeah, I'm thinking Reggie. I wonder when we'll get word on a new CEO. They really weren't prepared for Iwata's passing it seems.

I'm sure they'll get a new CEO before the year's end and we'll likely hear about him as he takes over, or at least right before he does. He'll probably want to be the one to introduce the new hardware too I imagine.
 

jeffers

Member
Yeah, I'm thinking Reggie. I wonder when we'll get word on a new CEO. They really weren't prepared for Iwata's passing it seems.

EA was missing a CEO from march to september in 2013. its really not been that long and in this transitional period theres not a lot of rush.
 
Rösti;176197311 said:
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.

They'll probably have a new CEO before the new FY at the latest. If a system does release next year, it will either be announced just before the end of the FY (so they can bolster their projected numbers for the next year) or right after, like say June, so they can start the year off with a bang.
 

EDarkness

Member
Gotta admit the idea of buying one game on cartridge and it works on both platforms (handheld and console) is awesome. I'd be all over that.
 

Wildean

Member
I wouldn't have expected another screen on the controller. If so, I hope it's something more smartphone rather than tablet sized. Unless it's the doughnut-shaped one...
 

EloquentM

aka Mannny
So with nx kernel and nx os being in the patent...this is nx confirmed? I wonder what other patents for the device have been filed but not released.
 
Jumping into this thread a bit late, but man am I tired of this industry making huge deals about random patents. Electronics companies file huge amounts of patents all the time just to cover their bases and it rarely ever amounts to anything actually newsworthy.
 
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
This feels like such a silly argument. The spec difference won't be enough to matter. Nintendo doesn't do games that are so highly advanced that it wouldn't work on both. The next Zelda? Will work on both. If they make Xenobalde? It will work on both. If another Bayonetta is made? Work on both.

The 3DS already has plenty of games that are graphically pushing (Smash, Kid Icarus) and pushing hardware (Smash, Xenoblade) if Nintendo is going to have both systems play the same game there is no reason at all to think that every game will not be available on both. Nintendo will have every game available on both. Its silly to suggest otherwise. It makes it so people can get one or both depending on what they prefer, makes more games available no matter what system you buy year round, and makes more more users buy games. I don't think Nintendo cares if this means they only sell 10M home consoles again as long as they keep selling lots of games. If the NX games don't work on both then they wouldn't go as far as sharing a cart slot, since they already have cross buy in place for 3DS/WiiU. If they go as far as sharing a a cart slot then it makes more sense that all games will be on both.

And I'm just scratching my head when anyone suggests that when you put a cart in the home system that it'll download "HD textures/1080P" first off, the handheld will likely be close enough for it not to matter much. And secondly...why wouldn't the graphics upgrade just not be on the cart? The game cart would be able to detect what system its on. >_<

i guess we shall see in the end, but I welcome the unification of libraries.
 

jeffers

Member
Jumping into this thread a bit late, but man am I tired of this industry making huge deals about random patents. Electronics companies file huge amounts of patents all the time just to cover their bases and it rarely ever amounts to anything actually newsworthy.

Tbh this one is quite specific and does seem to carry parts that line up with Iwatas statement, but yeah we still live in the age where you should try to patent everything you ever think of.

This guy pull it from his ass? http://m.neogaf.com/showpost.php?p=176187854

I can't search for text on my phone ={

literally the line above he says the bolded parts are his/her own notes.
 

EloquentM

aka Mannny
Tbh this one is quite specific and does seem to carry parts that line up with Iwatas statement, but yeah we still live in the age where you should try to patent everything you ever think of.



literally the line above he says the bolded parts are his/her own notes.
"bolded is my notes". that's what I get for skimming.

It's early I'm sorry ={ lemmie get my coffee now.
 
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?

How much do Blu-ray discs cost?
 

Calamari41

41 > 38
The cost of carts vs cost of Blu-ray discs is a red herring.

Nintendo certainly made more money on Smash 3DS than they did on Smash Wii U, even though the Wii U discs are less expensive than the 3DS carts.

If Nintendo is able to sell the same games to both the handheld and home console audiences, the increase in sales will more than make up for the cost of carts.

And either way, the handheld will have to use carts no matter what. So don't think of it as trading discs for carts. Think of it as eliminating discs period.
 
Jumping into this thread a bit late, but man am I tired of this industry making huge deals about random patents. Electronics companies file huge amounts of patents all the time just to cover their bases and it rarely ever amounts to anything actually newsworthy.
Yup but if you have been keeping up with technology developments they support some of the patent. New Flash technology is coming that makes a 50GB flash card economical. Purchased once and taken to a store for new games to be installed would result in the cheapest transfer of games possible. The market niche is the non-connected home without high speed internet. There is also this:

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-33675734 said:
A new kind of memory technology is going into production, which is up to 1,000 times faster than the Nand flash storage used in memory cards and computers' solid state drives (SSDs).

The innovation is called 3D XPoint, and is the invention of Intel and Micron.
The two US companies predict a wide range of benefits, from speeding up scientific research to making more elaborate video games.
The game(s) must be transferred quickly or Stores will not support this. A server in the store downloads games Non-real-time. Copies must be authorized so cartridges have a DRM or the DRM key is registered to a console.

So XB1 and PS4 are for the connected home with 4K TVs and high speed internet, Nintendo NX for 1080P TVs and DSL.
 

dcx4610

Member
I'm not a fan of digital only when it comes to consoles. When the console dies, the digital library and store typically die with it. At least on PC with Steam, Origin, Uplay, etc, you could go through 10 PCs and you still have your games.

That said, do you really blame Nintendo at this point? If you go into any retail store, their physical presence is MAYBE a one tiny shelf with very few games available. Also, it's not like they are putting out games that are 50GB and needing a Blu-ray disc. At this point, it's probably just best to cut their losses and go all digital. It saves them money and makes them money since they no longer have to worry about physical production and part of their sales going to retailers.

I hope the game cards slot is not an actual game slot as that means we are going to get a weak system. Game cards such as those for the 3DS are limited in capacity and still expensive to manufacture compared to discs. I don't want to go back to the Gamecube days of limited game sizes because of the media format. At least with all digital, we'll have no size issues.

I'm not excited based on what we know but I'll remain open reminded.
 

Clefargle

Member
Ok, questions:

- Does the "speed control" feature that offers "high" and "low" speed options refer to scalability?

- Does the "flash" memory refered to mean ram or storage?

Thanks
 
Since some of the text in the patent seems to pretty much confirm that the handheld and console will play (at least many of) the same games I really wonder how the release for the hardware will be handled. Will they release the console and handheld at the same time? Will they maybe release one in 2016 and the other a few months later in early 2017? Will they launch both in 2016, but maybe a few weeks or a month apart?
I also wonder if they'll do a bundle where you can get both pieces of hardware together for a slightly lower price, it'd also be nice since I imagine you'll be able to use the handheld as a "screen controller" as well.
 

Zalman

Member
Since some of the text in the patent seems to pretty much confirm that the handheld and console will play (at least many of) the same games I really wonder how the release for the hardware will be handled. Will they release the console and handheld at the same time? Will they maybe release one in 2016 and the other a few months later in early 2017? Will they launch both in 2016, but maybe a few weeks or a month apart?
I also wonder if they'll do a bundle where you can get both pieces of hardware together for a slightly lower price, it'd also be nice since I imagine you'll be able to use the handheld as a "screen controller" as well.
I don't think they'll come out at the same time, but it'll be close. Think GC/GBA. Those were both released in 2001.
 

Kyzer

Banned
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.


Yep. You're right. Wow we almost know what the console is then! Exciting

What could this mean for the handheld specs?

This is really interesting.. Maybe the console installs its own files (which could have a physical option in stores ala other cartridges or whatever) to have a souped up version to play
 
I don't think they'll come out at the same time, but it'll be close. Think GC/GBA. Those were both released in 2001.

Well that was one of the things I said "Will they maybe release one in 2016 and the other a few months later in early 2017?"
If they do that which will release first? Will they release the handheld first because it's going to be the weaker piece of hardware and the 3DS is older than the Wii U, or will they release they console first because the Wii U is in a much worse position than the 3DS?
I'm really excited to have these questions answered.

Yep. You're right. Wow we almost know what the console is then! Exciting

What could this mean for the handheld specs?
He's not right, nothing in the patent implies that game carts will be used at all, "Game Program" is only listed on the HDD in the diagram and the text only refers to games being on the HDD and the memory card section mentions absolutely nothing about games.
 

entremet

Member
I can't see Nintendo going full digital in Japan. Well anywhere as they are a Japanese company to the bone.

But who knows. Mobile is basically full digital anyway.
 

rekameohs

Banned
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.

Look where? The "memory card" bit doesn't seem to suggest cartridges at all, I'd say.
 

Kyzer

Banned
Well that was one of the things I said "Will they maybe release one in 2016 and the other a few months later in early 2017?"
If they do that which will release first? Will they release the handheld first because it's going to be the weaker piece of hardware and the 3DS is older than the Wii U, or will they release they console first because the Wii U is in a much worse position than the 3DS?
I'm really excited to have these questions answered.


He's not right, nothing in the patent implies that game carts will be used at all, "Game Program" is only listed on the HDD in the diagram and the text only refers to games being on the HDD and the memory card section mentions absolutely nothing about games.

Damn the idea was too exciting fff
 

Neoxon

Junior Member
Look where? The "memory card" bit doesn't seem to suggest cartridges at all, I'd say.
While that quote was from early on before we dived deeper into the patent, what else could the memory card be for (serious question)? There's already an internal hard drive in the patent, as well as an external hard drive.
 

rekameohs

Banned
While that quote was from early on before we dived deeper into the patent, what else could the memory card be for (serious question)? There's already an internal hard drive in the patent, as well as an external hard drive.

It looks to me like the expandable memory card, be it SD or proprietary or whatever houses the OS. I don't really know what that entails, but it looks to be system-level.
 
So just like a PC game, meaning even on the handheld version all the high spec effects data, textures, lighting will be there on the cart just not accessible?

Pretty much, some mobile games work similarly to what is described here. This would also allow NX to be a constantly updated platform, spec wise.
 

djkeem

Unconfirmed Member
Would you guys buy a digital only nintendo console?
If every game had mandatory demos/time trials then i probably wouldn't mind.
 

Oregano

Member
I think releasing both the handheld and console simultaneously might be the best way to go. It could be a bit of a risk but it's probably the best way to communicate how everything works and more importantly that neither version is a lesser version.
 

weepy

Member
Pretty much, some mobile games work similarly to what is described here. This would also allow NX to be a constantly updated platform, spec wise.

I'm not very tech savvy, do you mind explaining? To my knowledge, disk based games are the cream of the crop when it comes to pretty, smooth-playing games.
 

Roshin

Member
Would you guys buy a digital only nintendo console?
If every game had mandatory demos/time trials then i probably wouldn't mind.

If they can sort out their online infrastructure and create proper accounts (at long last), then maybe. The controller is a factor too. If it's still the Wii U pad, then fuck no.
 

GDGF

Soothsayer
I love it that we're more excited about services and accounts and software format compatibility than hardware specs in these threads (at least for the short term)

That kind of stuff is easier to suss out based on company philosophy and statements vs cold hardware specs.

Can't wait to hear more!
 
I think releasing both the handheld and console simultaneously might be the best way to go. It could be a bit of a risk but it's probably the best way to communicate how everything works and more importantly that neither version is a lesser version.

When they're banking on it as their entire hardware strategy for the next x years it's a very big risk.
I think they should both be announced simultaneously, maybe less important to release them on the same day.
 
Pretty sure in bulk they are less than 50 cents. Even if you assume you are paying a tenth of the price for a Blu Ray vs a card, the savings on a card reader vs a Blu Ray drive should mitigate the issue.

For Nintendo yes, but not for third parties they might be trying to woo back. The only thing that might appeal to them is that they might be able to sell to owners of both NX platforms with a single title. But if it's cart based it won't have the manufacturing appeal/profit margin of a BD format medium.
 

KingJ2002

Member
Makes sense to dump the disk drive now... people are now either streaming or downloading content these days. I can't imagine them going with charts to be honest... but imagining download times for these 40GB plus titles would be a nightmare for the bulk of the wold... so it makes sense for them to load up off of a cart.

I do wonder if Nintendo will try to do what Microsoft failed at which is to get rid of the second hand market by having titles you bought attached to your Nintendo Network account.
 
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