NX Discussion and Rumor Thread

[Lozjam]

The NX is now pretty much confirmed to be a cartridge based console.
http://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4802:2knqy6.2.1
This is the US Trademark for Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. So part of the trademarking process is to state in which media the trademark will be distributed.
Of which, here is what it says

IC 009. US 021 023 026 036 038. G & S: Downloadable electronic game programs; downloadable electronic video game software; electronic game programs; electronic game software; video game cartridges; video game discs; video game memory cards; video game programs; video game software

We of course know that BotW is coming to NX, and that is the only way that this is possible. No other Wii U game lists Cartridges, and this is a listing for all 3DS games. So. NX is going to use cartridges. I find it highly unlikely that this is a mistake, because making such one and lying within a trademark is a very costly mistake.

Credit goes to GAF user Atherioos, I just wanted to give a direct source for folks to see for themselves. I myself went and looked up the trademark for Breath of the Wild. It was easy to find, and easily viewable for the public.


This is fantastic.
This will create a console that potentially is:
Less likely to break
Cheaper
Better stylized
Smaller
More powerful
Has faster load times
More iconic

The cartridge technology of today runs circles around Blueray disks, and the price of these SD cards are pretty similar.

This can only mean good things for NX, and for Nintendo in general.

 

[Ventus]

^^^
while the cartridge thing is certainly a good idea, it all requires that the machine itself is strong. I don't want PS4 strong. I want PS2 strong. Not talking about OMG TERAFLOPS, I'm talking about rallying third party support and having a machine that gives me all kinds of gaming experiences. Please Nintendo, put le NX in a spot that will bolster its library. The Wii U is deadweight bar the first party, which can only crank out so many games in a given timeframe. The 3DS is a hell of a lot better in that regard, but even it isn't on the same tier as the PS2.

 

[the8thark]

The 3DS is a hell of a lot better in that regard, but even it isn't on the same tier as the PS2.

This is proof that fun trumps overall power of the console. This has always been Nintendo's philosophy. The NX will be no different. How powerful the NX is, is not important in isolation. it's also the wrong question to ask. The better question to ask is - "Will the NX be powerful enough to get 3rd party games and handle the new hardware innovations the console will have?" I would guess the answer to that question is yes.

 

[the8thark]

From Nintendo's 76th Annual Shareholder Meeting

https://twitter.com/Cheesemeister3k

• Kimishima has taken his seat. The meeting begins.
• Kimishima: "Good morning. I'm President Tatsumi Kimishima."
• Auditor Minoru Ueda makes a report.
• The 76th annual report is not being read by President Kimishima, but rather a recorded narration is being played with slides.
• There were no big #3DS hit titles, so sales were low. #WiiU #Splatoon, Mario Maker, Twilight Princess did well. #Amiibo hit 24.7m.
• Download sales totaled 43.9 billion yen.
• #Miitomo got off to a good start.
• Operating income recovered, but losses due to the strong yen reduced ordinary and net income.
• Assets: 1 trillion, 296.9 billion yen. Net assets minus liabilities equal 1 trillion, 160.9 billion yen, down 6.6b yen from last. (Rather than look at my tweets, you should look at the website for those figures.)
• Issues to address. Up to now, the goal has been to expand the gaming population irregardless of age, gender, or experience.
• Now, the focus is to increase the population exposed to Nintendo IPs.
• Pokemon Sun/Moon #3DS due out worldwide in November. Many other Nintendo, strong 3rd-party titles to be released.
• The aim is to make the platform active again.
• For the #WiiU, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild will be released next year.
• The #NX is due out worldwide in March 2017. The dedicated game machine business will continue to be core.
• #Amiibo and download businesses will continue to receive focus. Fire Emblem and Animal Crossing come to smart devices this fall.
• Focusing on My Nintendo, we want to create synergy between the dedicated game machine and smart device businesses.
• Nintendo IP will be utilized in theme parks, character goods, and film contents.
• The report concludes. The audience applauds.
• The resolutions that were voted upon are explained. (These are on the web, so my tweets will skip them.)
• Q&A begins.
• Q1. I've held shares for 20 years. I want to protest the board of directors being all-male. Remember half of the market is female. Also, I don't use a PC, and I'd like the opinions of those kinds of shareholders to be taken into account.
• A1. Kimishima: We don't have any females [on the board]. For foreigners, Reggie is an operating officer. There are many female employees, and their opinions are applied in product development. It's important that we continue taking their opinions in dev.
• Q2. Looking at the balance sheet, I think this is a very good company, but the stock price is low and needs to be increased. For example, focusing on VR, developing software for elders to exercise and prevent dementia, and other various types of efforts. I would also like a young director to be appointed.
• A2. Kimishima: Other companies' VR presentations at #E3 became a topic of discussion. It has captured customers' interest, and while we're researching it, we don't have anything concrete to discuss now. To increase the stock price, we're utilizing our IP researching QOL, preparing the #NX, and taking on many such challenges.
• Q3. It's been reported that Great Britain is leaving the EU. Does this affect Nintendo, and if so, what are you doing about it?
• A3. Kimishima: Financial markets are in turmoil. For now, the yen is strengthening, causing our foreign assets to fall. We have NintendoUK, and safety standards and personal information regulations from the EU may change under the UK. We're watching the situation and making preparations.
• Q4. About last year's leadership change. Last July, Iwata-san passed away and in September, President Kimishima succeeded him. There was a problem with not having a president for 2 months. I want to know why that was. What will happen to [Iwata] Asks? Many people are demanding action games as smartphone applications, so will you release a physical controller?
• A4. Kimishima: In regards to [Iwata] Asks, I don't come from a game dev. background, so if I ask, it wouldn't be interesting. Former President Iwata entered the hospital before passing away and directed Takeda, Miyamoto, and I at that point. However, he didn't expect to pass away so soon, so we needed time to decide upon the following organization and direction.
• Miyamoto: Thank you for the last question. About Iwata Asks, even he said, "It's gotten in a rut." For now, we want to continue NintendoDirect with Morimoto. We will do lots of new things.
• Miyamoto: There being no female directors was criticized, but I think their contributions as development staff are world-class.
• Shinya Takahashi: There are certainly physical controllers for smart devices, but Nintendo wants to make action games w/out them.
• Kimishima: Please limit yourselves to 1 question.
• Q5. #Miitomo is doing well, but I'd like to hear your response to providing contents to other companies' platforms.
• A5. Kimishima: I think we're still working to resolve the initial challenges with smart devices. We'll have 5 titles by March. Any IP may be utilized to the maximum extent.
• Shinya Takahashi: As for releasing on platforms other than Nintendo's, it's a bigger deal to deliver worldwide to places where our platforms haven't reached and to different age groups in each country.
• Q6. Until now, the President has delivered the annual report directly, but this year was an audiovisual presentation. I want to know how much effort the President is putting into Nintendo.
• A6. Kimishima: This may be difficult to hear, but I'm going through trial-and-error. It may be better for me to report myself so I'll take it into consideration.
• Q7. The marketing budget is being revisited and the balance of payments corrected, but I get the feeling that new product news is declining.
• A7. Kimishima: We revisited the marketing budget in accordance with sales figures. As a result, we've saved versus 2-3 years ago. It's not good to just make budget cuts, so we're trying various media and methods other than TV commercials. We have to use the right timing to reach those who don't always follow us. For each customer segment, we want to improve by creating a detailed market plan to reach them.
• Q8. There was a change to the articles of corporation to add "manufacturing and sales of medical devices." Please explain.
• A8. Kimishima: This is related to QOL devices, but it was added in anticipation of future business expansion.
• Q9. When the #WiiU added HD support, there were development issues and software shortages. Will the organization avoid the same problems when investing in new technologies like VR? How is #NX development structured? (I'm not sure what the speaker is saying, so the contents of the question may be off...)
• A9. Kimishima: I understand your question as being about my speaking negatively about the #WiiU. Some said that the Wii U would sell because the Wii was selling. However, I said that if the Wii was selling, getting users enjoying the Wii to switch would be a hard sell. (The question was unclear, so I didn't really understand this exchange.)
• Miyamoto: At the time, we sold a game machine with the GamePad for 30,000 yen. However, we faced difficulty from other companies releasing many tablets at low prices.
• Miyamoto: We talked about the new Zelda for #WiiU and #NX at #E3. I'd like you to watch this video from the floor.
• (The screen shows a video from #E3.)
• Reggie: What we can show you now is only a part, but when it's released next year, you'll be able to fully enjoy it. (That's from the video. Reggie isn't actually at the meeting.)
• Shinya Takahashi: This is video from Day 3 of #E3. Many people came to play Zelda. Normally, Day 3 isn't this crowded.
• Tickets ran out right away. Many people have high expectations for the game. We're also working hard on the #NX version.
• Miyamoto: The Legend of Zelda turns 30 this year and has many fans in the west. We're considering how to get Zelda out of its rut.
• We're calling it "open air." Creating realism with physics, you can go to the far-off mountains without cutting away.
• You'll be able to have the same experience on the #NX.
• Miyamoto: Normally we would've shown the #NX at #E3, but we didn't. We're worried about imitators if we release info too early.
• This year, we only had Zelda on display. As it's not a game for short play sessions, it was playable for 30 minutes.
• It was rated as #E3 Game of the Show by game magazines.
• Miyamoto: I heard VR was a hot topic at #E3, so I went to check it out. It was on display, but it wasn't what I expected.
• We're also researching VR, so we have the core technology. Long play sessions are an issue. We want to release something that can be played for long periods, carries value, and is affordable. We want parents to feel at ease.
• Miyamoto: Peoples' reactions at #E3 were good, but... (Redacted as Miyamoto said that this is for here only, not the web.)
• There are many questions for game fans, so I'd like you to answer this 2-part question, first about the balance of payments and then if you could answer the 2nd part in a game-related question session. (The audience laughs.)
• A10. Two meetings ago, I said that the investors' meetings are an important place for communication. Investor-related questions are a given, but an opportunity for those [game-related] questions is also needed. We'll consider making such an opportunity.
• Q11: About #NX manufacturing, I hear that labor costs in China are rising and that robotic assembly is increasing. While going to fabless contract manufacturing, I want to know how you will keep costs down going forward.
• Hirokazu Shinshi: I'm in charge of manufacturing. Labor costs have shot up in the last 10 years in China and across ASEAN nations. Manufacturing automation has long been practiced in Japan, and is now done in China. While making the same product for a long time, the amount manufactured changes based on things like the Christmas season. It's easy to automate unchanging production amounts, but it's difficult when they do change. We're thoroughly communicating with our partners to make adjustments. As for the #NX, manufacturing is being prepped. We're considering how much to automate.
• Q12. About utilizing your IPs, I saw a report that you'll be making movies. What will you do about not just money, but people? Miyamoto-san may be motivated to make movies, but how will human resources be divided among games, theme parks, etc.?
• A12. Kimishima: We're in discussions with a partner to work on films together. People are a valuable resource; each needs to be trained, and the relationships with our external partners are also important.
• Miyamoto: I'm Miyamoto, and I'm motivated to make movies. (The audience laughs.) Film is an interesting field, and are needed to help make Nintendo's IPs unforgettable. The characters used only by Nintendo are precious across the world. For films we aren't ready to talk about it yet, but we haven't said that we're making movies.
• Miyamoto: We made short movies for Pikmin and Star Fox, but those were made mostly externally, and it was just me from Nintendo. For theme parks, we're cooperating with Universal Studios. It'll take some time before there are results, but please look forward.
• Kimishima: We're cooperating with DeNA on smart devices. While launching new projects, we'll continue working with partners.
• Q13. I'm a fan of President Yamauchi, that is to say, a believer. Nintendo is different from others in valuing uniqueness, but won't there be any side-effects in working with DeNA and others?
• A13. Kimishima: The spirit of uniqueness is built into our business direction. In tying up with DeNA, they support delivering our uniqueness to customers with their analysis of customer reactions and know-how.
• Kimishima: We're running out of time, so just 2 more questions, please.
• Q14. The #WiiU is essentially being retired and the #3DS is past its peak, but aren't your business forecasts unrealistic? Will they not be revised downward? Please break it down as basically as possible.
• A14. Kimishima: #3DS sales have passed 58m. We can profit by delivering software to this base. We believe Pokemon will do so. Kimishima: We believe smart device titles will be profitable. We're cautious about British EU exit effects, which may affect sales and profits if the yen continues to be strong.
• Q15. I believe that the game industry's biggest problems are increasing development costs and the length of development. I'd like to hear from each director what their approach to this is.
• A15. Kimishima: Certainly, development costs have increased in the last 10 years. Let's have each director answer.
• Takeda: We're using increases in productivity to make an appeal with the greatness of games instead of [hardware] performance.
• Miyamoto: Breath of the Wild has over 100 staff, and over 300 people in the credits, spending over 5 years. Our current efforts will be helpful in the next production. The costs will be recovered by selling in large volumes, passing 2m sales. A game is a hit in the domestic market if it reaches 300k sales, but we're targeting worldwide sales.
• Miyamoto: Reviews on the Internet get around. Details get pointed out, so our staff is working more than is required. That needs to be sustainable. A change of pace is required.
• Shinya Takahashi: By using resources made for Zelda on other software, we can make many compact titles. The last Brain Training sold a lot with small resources. We're doing lots of things to reduce development times like reusing game engines.
• That's where the Q&A ended.
• Resolutions 1 through 6 passed.
• The 76th Annual Meeting of Shareholders has ended.

The 6 resolutions
https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2016/resolution_notice1606e.pdf

 

[Kylo Ken]

Good job on the summary, Ark.

So, Zelda has to sell at least 2m worldwide to be a sucess. Should be possoble since it's also being released on NX.

They also said they're researching VR? I gotta say, I'm not sold on the idea.

 

[the8thark]

Good job on the summary, Ark.

So, Zelda has to sell at least 2m worldwide to be a sucess. Should be possoble since it's also being released on NX.

They also said they're researching VR? I gotta say, I'm not sold on the idea.

Researching does not mean it'll reach the store shelves though. Many Nintendo ideas are made into prototypes and that's as far as they ever get. I'm not sold on the current crop of VR but maybe in the future someone will go a great job at it for a decent price.
2m for Zelda looks high. That will be tough to achieve. But I hope they can do it.

 

[Kylo Ken]

2m for Zelda looks high. That will be tough to achieve. But I hope they can do it.

Well, let's compare and contrast that number with Splatoon. Splatoon was a game that reached a little over 1m units sold worldwide when it's a brand new IP. At the time people didn't know how good it is, so they weren't flocking to the store to buy a wii u(of course, it's a hit now). With Zelda, it's the sole readon that some people got a wii u at all. They won't need to hear good things about it to buy it. It'll sell about a million just on the name alone. Now we can speculate about the NX and if it'll be popular on launch day. If it doesn't hit, then sales of Zelda will suffer a lot, obviously. I figured they'd make it dual release cause they know how difficult it'll be to make that 2m number just on wii u alone. Still possible, of course, just harder. They want to cover the expenses they built up over the years as fast as possible.

 

[Lozjam]

Researching does not mean it'll reach the store shelves though. Many Nintendo ideas are made into prototypes and that's as far as they ever get. I'm not sold on the current crop of VR but maybe in the future someone will go a great job at it for a decent price.
2m for Zelda looks high. That will be tough to achieve. But I hope they can do it.

No new Zelda game besides FSA, Triforce Heroes, and Minish Cap has sold below 2 million.

Even Skyward Sword sold 3.6 million copies....
So, I mean. 2 million is definitely a shoe in for this game, especially considering it has massive hype surrounding it, and the fact that it is a launch title.

 

[the8thark]

New NX patent
http://appft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-...067.PGNR.&OS=DN/20160192067&RS=DN/20160192067

The abstract:

A non-limiting example information processing apparatus comprises a housing, and a left speaker and a right speaker are provided in a left end portion and a right portion of the housing and in an inside of this housing. Each speaker is arranged such that a vibration direction of a diaphragm becomes in a direction perpendicular to a plane surface of a display panel that is provided in the front of the housing. Sound emission portions for emitting sounds from the speakers are formed in both end portions of the housing and on a side surface at near side or this side that the speakers are arranged. Therefore, sounds are emitted toward a side of a player who holds the information processing apparatus. A vibrator that is provided between the two speakers is driven simultaneously with the speakers or in a predetermined order.

Here is the link to the 19 pages of the parent itself
http://pdfaiw.uspto.gov/.aiw?Docid=...ageNum=&Rtype=&SectionNum=&idkey=9072D81955AB

Here is some select images from the patent document.

Spoiler: images from the NX patent

 

[the8thark]

Take two show optimism towards the NX.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...ns-of-a-mature-entertainment-business-zelnick

One new technology that Zelnick is already excited about is Nintendo's NX, but just as with VR it's unlikely that Take-Two will be there first. That said, Zelnick hasn't lost faith in Nintendo despite its Wii U struggles.

Zelnick even counters my assessment of Nintendo's position in the console race. "It's not a slump, it's intentional. They come to market, they do really well, and then they sort of exit the market for a period of time. They've been doing it for like 150 years, and that company has been doing the same thing... They're really thoughtful, they come to market with something they really think is going to work, more often than not it really works, it blows up and then eventually they let it decline and they move on to the next thing. They don't mind having time in between," he explains.

 

[the8thark]

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2016-07-26-nx-is-a-portable-console-with-detachable-controllers
The TLDR of this rumour article is:
The NX will:

• Be a portable, handheld console
• Have detachable controllers
• Be a high-powered handheld console with its own display on the move
• Have a screen is bookended by two controller sections on either side, which can be attached or detached as required
• The system can connect to your TV for gaming on the big screen
• A base unit, or dock station, is used to connect the brain of the NX - within the controller - to display on your TV
• Use game cartridges as its choice of physical media
• Have a suggestion Nintendo recommends a 32GB cartridge
• Have the system would run on a new operating system from Nintendo, (Not Android)
• Have an unveiling currently slated for September.

Most of this is Captain Obvious or old rumours repeated. But there is a little new information here.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/d...-mobile-games-machine-powered-by-nvidia-tegra
The TLDR of this rumour article is:
NX uses NVIDIA, not AMD. (much salt taken here as this is contrary to the previous AMD rumours)

 

[Lozjam]

We have seen so many rumors at this point.... It's hard to believe or trust anything.

I really just want this thing to be unveiled. September 15th cannot come fast enough.

 

[Adventurer of Hyrule]

Whats a bummer for me is the lack of BC, this means come the time to choose ill have to buy a WiiU instead of the NX to play Wiiu and Wii games.

 

[Lozjam]

Whats a bummer for me is the lack of BC, this means come the time to choose ill have to buy a WiiU instead of the NX to play Wiiu and Wii games.

I assume that most of the more popular games will be ported to NX, and play better as well.

Sure, you will miss out on gems such as DK Tropical Freeze, Bayonetta, and Xenoblade X. But if Kimishima is to be believed, the NX will be a far superior console and it will actually have a great multitude of fantastic and ambitious games.

 

[Adventurer of Hyrule]

If the NX price is good enough (something the wiiu failed at imo) ill get both, but i cant leave my wii collection behind.

The concept itself is appealing though, i knew it would be underpowered but if that keeps the game prices low, and the cost of the console accessible out of the gate then i think it will be a success.