I'm already thinking of ideas of how Nintendo can can save this abomination.
The huge size is a compromise to portable gamers and it being portable is and compromise for console gamers. It's weird middle ground with a awful gimmick of detachable controllers.
So here is my idea
NX Tablet Hybrid with 6.2 inch screen
$250
Then a year down the line we can have revisions
NX Portable with 4.5 Inc screen with controls not detachable
$200
NX Console (No Screen) with Pro Controller
$200
All systems will play the same games and have the same hardware inside.
I'm in the same boat. All of the rumors pouring out lately indicate the NX is essentially the WiiU reversed. In other words, where WiiU is a dedicated console that streams to a handheld, the latest rumors indicate NX is a hybrid handheld that outputs to a TV. Granted this is all speculation based on rumor but given all the patents and official comments, the rumors are believable. My concern is that this will do little to address some major problems Nintendo have had since the N64 days. Let's look at some of them:
Marketing - I'm confident Nintendo will drop the Wii naming convention with NX but based on these rumors, will that be enough? If this is what NX is, I predict consumers will continue to be confused and might perceive it as a re-branded WiiU. I can see them asking if it is a handheld or a console. If its a handheld, are they going to want to deal with all of these attachments? Likewise, if its a console will people understand it as that? Even if they understand what it is, I think it will still be seen as inconvenient and overly complicated. What if this is why Nintendo has been so silent on revealing it? Do they even know how to market the NX?
Hardware - Based on the rumors, Nintendo are trying something that hasn't been done before. There have been other devices that could display on your TV (original PSP) or that had two dedicated units (Nvidia shield portable and console/PSP Vita and Vita TV) but detachable controls is something new. That's one issue and it has its own hurdles to overcome.
The other obstacle is power. This has already been discussed quite a bit, but we all know there are different things to consider when designing a handheld vs a console. What makes things different today is that you could design two separate devices (a handheld and console) with the same architecture. As a result, you can have them be at parity with each other or have the console be more powerful.
Software - Focusing on a single piece of hardware will help Nintendo's first party output, but what about third parties? If the rumors are correct, they are putting all of their eggs in one basket and they're doing at the complete expense of having ports from other current consoles. Yes, they might be able to get some exclusives but this all dependent on the success of the handheld.
Final Thoughts - It appears Nintendo is betting the farm on the NX handheld and hoping they can carry that over to the console. I think its a good idea for them to leverage the strengths they have with their handhelds, but there are a lot of ways that can be done and I'm not sure their planned strategy is the best one. I think their best option would be to continue to make dedicated handhelds and consoles, but have them share the same architecture. They could make software compatible between the two, but at the same time, they could also have exclusives to each one. If the console was on par with current gen consoles this would allow them to get that support while also being compatible with the handheld. They could even design each one to have unique features. The handheld will almost certainly have a touchscreen, but that might not translate well on a console. Perhaps they could incorporate motion controls to the console as a replacement. Also, they've already added head tracking into the New 3DS, but this is something I think they could really expand on with the console. It opens up a lot of gameplay possibilities that I'd like to see explored. Also, they could design the handheld and console to work in tandem with each other. This would come in handy for local multiplayer as well ports from DS, 3DS and WiiU.
TLDR; At the core, I think it's a mistake for Nintendo to make the NX a single piece of hardware. I don't think it will resolve the problems of confusion or convenience that hampered the WiiU. I think a shared architecture is the right way to go, but I think they should be designing a dedicated handheld and a dedicated console instead of trying to shoehorn the two into one.
