Professional Forum Ninja
http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/library/events/140130qa/02.html
Q:
A:
For example, currently it requires a huge amount of effort to port Wii software to Nintendo 3DS because not only their resolutions but also the methods of software development are entirely different. The same thing happens when we try to port Nintendo 3DS software to Wii U. If the transition of software from platform to platform can be made simpler, this will help solve the problem of game shortages in the launch periods of new platforms. Also, as technological advances took place at such a dramatic rate, and we were forced to choose the best technologies for video games under cost restrictions, each time we developed a new platform, we always ended up developing a system that was completely different from its predecessor. The only exception was when we went from Nintendo Game Cube to Wii. Though the controller changed completely, the actual computer and graphics chips were developed very smoothly as they were very similar to those of Nintendo Game Cube, but all the other systems required ground-up effort. However, I think that we no longer need this kind of effort under the current circumstances. In this perspective, while we are only going to be able to start this with the next system, it will become important for us to accurately take advantage of what we have done with the Wii U architecture. It of course does not mean that we are going to use exactly the same architecture as Wii U, but we are going to create a system that can absorb the Wii U architecture adequately. When this happens, home consoles and handheld devices will no longer be completely different, and they will become like brothers in a family of systems.
Still, I am not sure if the form factor (the size and configuration of the hardware) will be integrated. In contrast, the number of form factors might increase. Currently, we can only provide two form factors because if we had three or four different architectures, we would face serious shortages of software on every platform. To cite a specific case, Apple is able to release smart devices with various form factors one after another because there is one way of programming adopted by all platforms. Apple has a common platform called iOS. Another example is Android. Though there are various models, Android does not face software shortages because there is one common way of programming on the Android platform that works with various models. The point is, Nintendo platforms should be like those two examples. Whether we will ultimately need just one device will be determined by what consumers demand in the future, and that is not something we know at the moment. However, we are hoping to change and correct the situation in which we develop games for different platforms individually and sometimes disappoint consumers with game shortages as we attempt to move from one platform to another, and we believe that we will be able to deliver tangible results in the future.
The Cat Knows Where It's At
Thank you very much!
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My general take on the situation is that Nintendo wants to create something like the current Playstation ecosystem, where the handheld and console interact easily and share their architecture so that it's easy to port between the two. This encourages (at least Japanese and indie) third parties that there's a larger userbase on the Nintendo systems for fewer costs. Not every game will be shared (like Pokemon for handheld and Xenoblade for console), but low intensity games like Hyrule Warriors or blockbusters that need to be on both like Kart can come out on both at the same time, ensuring that there are fewer droughts for either system.
It wouldn't surprise me if Nintendo goes down this route. All they need to do is scale down the gamepad and give it the ability to run games without the console portion.
I've talked about droughts before, but I want to look at what a unified ecosystem could actually be like. I'm going to take notable 2015 Nintendo games published in America (and a couple of third parties) and assume that as many as possible can be played on both console and a Vita level handheld. Then let's look at a possible release schedule. H is for handheld. C is for console. I'm ignoring the New 3DS launch. I'm also assuming Nintendo is aiming for simultaneous worldwide launches as much as possible. Controls follow what Wii U and 3DS currently have.
- Janurary: Lol January.
- February: Majora's Mask(H/C, weird since making this HD could be troublesome, but let's pretend it's worth the effort), Kirby and the Rainbow Curse(H/C).
- March: Mario Party 10(C), Monster Hunter 4U(H/C), Fossil Fighters: Frontier (H, I don't know enough about this to know if it's suitable for console).
- April: Codename STEAM(H/C), Xenoblade Chronicles(H/C)
- May: Splatoon(C, could probably be put on handheld, but for now is more trouble than it's worth), Puzzle & Dragons Mario(H).
- June: Yoshi's Wooly World(H/C).
- July: Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer(H/C).
- August: LBX: Little Battlers eXperience(H, no idea if it can work on console), Devil's Third(C).
- September: Super Mario Maker(H/C), The Legend of Zelda: Triforce Heroes(H, could probably be made to work on console though).
- October: Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash(H/C), Chibi-Robo! Zip Lash(H/C), Fatal Frame 5(C).
- November: Star Fox Zero(C, don't know if it can work on a handheld), Yokai Watch(H), Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival(H/C).
- December: Xenoblade Chronicles X(C), Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon(H/C).
Doesn't that make the release schedule for both platforms look much better? Both systems get at least one game a month (January doesn't exist), customers get more choice for playing how they prefer, Nintendo can squeeze out more profit by offering a large discount to get the game again on the other console, and the overall Nintendo ecosystem looks healthier without actually making more games. There is risk that customers would just opt for a single system instead of being encouraged to get both (not helped by this year lacking strong exclusives like Pokemon for handheld and 3D Zelda for console), but looking at the Wii U alternative I think everyone would benefit from this scenario.
edited 8th Aug '15 10:28:47 PM by Sterok
The Cat Knows Where It's At
I'd be fine with this.
Let the joy of love give you an answer! Check out my book!
King of Anime
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
x6
So they didn't confirm that the console and handheld one be one system.
edited 8th Aug '15 11:18:28 PM by Chariot
Love is Love is Love
Dang it. And I only have two games for the Wii U!
My various fanfics.
Just looked at the Final Fantasy XIV stuff. It seems that they were actually asked about it (instead of suddenly announcing it like with Dragon Quest), so unlike Dragon Quest it may actually be only under consideration. It was originally a PS3 game, so it could be put on a handheld. Possibly with streaming like with DQ XI 3DS. Nintendo is open to cross-play with PC and mobile, and I haven't seen anything that says they won't allow cross-play with PS. Since DQ X is coming to PS4, Nintendo is probably okay with it. It doesn't tell us much other than Square wanting to make sure the NX is a success, assuming they really are considering it.
Professional Forum Ninja
Nintendo has made a patent claim (details above), the most interesting thing, no optical disc drive for the stationary console, but a game apparatus slot for the controller.
"We're all paper, we're all scissors, we're all fightin' with our mirrors, scared we'll never find somebody to love."
Could also be a Wii U mini.
I'm not sure what to make of it myself. A return to carts instead of discs seems kind of odd, even more so if it ends up being completely digital.
The Unknown
I remember reading somewhere that it could possibly be some sort of add-on to the Wii U that gives it more processing power. Maybe that's why there's no disk drive?
If a tree falls in the forest and nobody remembers it, who else will you have ice cream with?
Just a simple hero
Coming to your home in 2017, only on Ultra Wii U! 
edited 21st Aug '15 4:12:51 PM by TechPowah
The New Age of Awesome is here! Not even the sky is the limit!
It could also end up becoming something that goes unused.
Professional Forum Ninja
Here is a post "translating" the technobable.
Quoting for ease. Bulleted items are quotes within the post:
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 HD Ds, 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. Game Pad support? Could be new controller, too. Will probably have at LEAST the functionality of the Game Pad.
Can charge the Game Pad 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 on anything.
King of Anime
"Digital only." If that's true then this system is dead before it even releases. Customers aren't going to want to buy a system whose games are digital only and developers would be stupid to waste time on it.
Asgore Adopts Noelle
Sounds Interesting. Though I'm not sure a Disc-driveless version of the Console would sell. At least there is one with Discs.
What will probably happen is that the disc drive-less one will cost less, but eventually be phased out in favor of the disc drive one.
Some people in the Neogaf thread were guessing that it might be a return to cartridge, which would be interesting.
There's no way they'll make a digital only console. Partially because that's suicide at retail even with amiibos selling well, mostly because Japan is not willing to fully embrace digital on dedicated devices. Maybe for one SKU, but not the main one.
If the console uses cartridges, which is a theory I'm starting to like, then it may be possible for the handheld and console to use the exact same cartridge for most games. So put the Super Smash Bros. for NX cartridge in the handheld and play it on the go, or put it in the console (and download a patch to enable better resolution and stuff?) to enjoy it on TV with better specs. Essentially physical cross-buy. That's something I could get behind.
Part of me really likes the idea of crossplay carts. The other part of me is thinking that there's certain developers who will look at the console, see that they are using carts instead of discs, and not even bother with it because of the different format. Though, as long as it has the space that discs have, or even more, then it could probably work.
The Unknown
Is there some sort of substantial difference in development between the 2 that would scare off devs?
If a tree falls in the forest and nobody remembers it, who else will you have ice cream with?
Leader of the Holey Brotherhood
Don't carts have a lot less space?
Unless that's changed in the past few years since the N64.
Even if it has, it won't stop some developers from running for the hills if Nintendo tries it. Even they must realize they'll lose a lot of support if they try something like that.
One Strip! One Strip!
Asgore Adopts Noelle
Yes, Cartridges do have limited space. But so do discs. And Flash Drives. Technically, a Flash Drive is at least akin to a Cartridge.
Technology has gone a long way since the NES Days. A Cartridge could be the size of an SD card and hold 1 TB of information. Not even discs can do that yet.
Actually, no, Nintendo themselves did say this. It was a statement made by Iwata during their investor's meeting, I believe. The same one where they announced their QOL project, if memory serves.
I'd dig up the link to it but I'm currently too busy to go hunting.
Let the joy of love give you an answer! Check out my book!