The NX could remove the optical drive

[the8thark]

The NX could remove the optical drive. I think you all know what this means, all the games will be digitally downloaded for it. No access to DVDs. I see this as more of one vesion of the NX and another version will have the optical drive still.

Here is the patent information Nintendo filed for a discless console system:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1099932

This could be nothing. It could also be everything. We just do not know at this point in time.

 

[SpiteChaotic]

I hope they don't go an all digital route. I mean for them it is cost effective for me on the other hand it hurts. It hurts my collection of games. It also fills me with dread of games being deleted from the shop so it can never exist on anything but the consoles they were downloaded on.

Besides the psp go already helped provide info on just digital gaming brings a downfall. I don't want to be limited to the digital space my console's have to have games.

 

[the8thark]

I hope they don't go an all digital route. I mean for them it is cost effective for me on the other hand it hurts. It hurts my collection of games. It also fills me with dread of games being deleted from the shop so it can never exist on anything but the consoles they were downloaded on.

Besides the psp go already helped provide info on just digital gaming brings a downfall. I don't want to be limited to the digital space my console's have to have games.

There is an other option here:

Two versions of the NX. One with optical drive and one without but you can download the game for free if you've bought the disc. You just use the code in the game box. Nintendo would have to think how to make this abuse proof. But I'd go down that route actually. I like the discs but I also like digital because it reads the game way faster then from an optical disc. Having both for the one price would totally win me over.

 

[Lozjam]

This could be a "Wii U Mini", where it provides a cheap way to give out Wii U's. Which would in turn allow them to continue both the NX and Wii U systems reasonably.

 

[Emmanuel]

I don't think I would be a fan of going to all-digital. I can't imagine the amount of space required to comfortable build a strong library of games without resorting to external storage. I also like having a physical copy of my games - it's part of the experience!

 

[selicyc]

I'm taking this information with a grain of salt, considering the source is Neogaf and rumors are abundant. This is probably the most legit looking thing I've seen, though.

If Nintendo going all digital is the case, I just can't see the benefit of going that route. The PSP Go showed the public wasn't ready for digitally exclusive gaming systems. Maybe those who are familiar with Steam, GOG or Desura, but not everyone else. Not to mention data caps and limited broadband access are still problems for many people. (I myself fall into the former category).

However, several people have raised the point of them returning back to cartridge based gaming. This would explain the memory card slot and the lack of the optical drive, which is something that I would wholeheartedly welcome back with open arms. Carts and SD cards can now hold more than ever before, while having faster loading times and they can remain a physical game that can be interchanged with a handheld system. Well, provided Nintendo comes out with a system that can handle it. But that last bit is more or speculation on my end.

 

[the8thark]

This could be a "Wii U Mini", where it provides a cheap way to give out Wii U's. Which would in turn allow them to continue both the NX and Wii U systems reasonably.

That is quite plausible. As there was a Wii Mini. The Wii Mini was quite the opposite of this though. It was disc only and totally no internet connectivity at all.

 

[SpiteChaotic]

That is quite plausible. As there was a Wii Mini. The Wii Mini was quite the opposite of this though. It was disc only and totally no internet connectivity at all.

Yeah the wii mini may have had no internet but the Wii didn't really seem to focus on it to much. The wii U with the friends list, miiverse posts, upgraded eshop. nintendo account and a decent amount of games that use it. I could see why they would focus more on internet connection for a Wii U mini if they made one.Especailly since I don't think they had digital version of Wii games before the Wii U.

 

[Lozjam]

That is quite plausible. As there was a Wii Mini. The Wii Mini was quite the opposite of this though. It was disc only and totally no internet connectivity at all.

Online really wasn't needed to enjoy the "Wii Experience", and only a few games really used online well. The Wii U however, has many games that near require online, and is considered one of their biggest features. Games such as Smash 4, Splatoon, Mario Kart 8, Xenoblade X(Which its development was changed solely for online), and Mario Maker. Not to mention, a ton of games rely heavily on game updates and DLC like Hyrule Warriors, Pikmin 3. This doesn't even put into consideration their reliance on "Nindie" games, and their overall push for the Nintendo eShop. All retail titles are available online as well, making a disk drive heavily unneeded for those with good internet(As an option of course, they can still buy regular Wii U's). Without that Blueray disk drive... They could probably drop the prices of these "Wii U Mini's" to $150. Making it a very cheap console, so that many people can buy them as secondary consoles. That way, they can proceed to push Wii U titles, make MORE money on the games themselves(Since 100% of the money from digital retail games goes straight to Nintendo) to cover more development costs, and push the NX at the same time. This is a move that may make me actually believe their 3rd pillar nonsense they spouted during NX's first whispers. That way, they do not need backwards compatibility, to sell more Wii U's when the NX comes out if they are still supporting both consoles at the same time. Hell, with the money they save on getting rid of the Blueray disk drives, they could probably bundle in 2 systems together for $300-$400 even when the NX is as powerful as the PS4/XBOne. This could create more opportunities to players as well. Possibly, for the NX, they may have a disk drive system, and an all digital system as well. One for being cheap, the other for physical copies. I think this is the best of both worlds, especially when reaching to a casual audience. Almost all casuals have their smart phones, and they like the fact that they can buy games on a whim without having to drive(I am sure game studios love this as well).

 

[the8thark]

Online really wasn't needed to enjoy the "Wii Experience"

Too long to quote it all but I am replying to it all.


My point was a mini WiiU is possible because it would not be that different in idea from the Wii mini. If cause the WiiU mini would be online based and probably not even have an optical drive. But the concept is there, a mini version of your old console. ANd the Wii was pretty old by the time the Wii Mini came out. And if this is a WiiU mini then it'll be a similar thing. I don't see the need for a WiiU mini though. It's just more hardware no one will buy. Both mini versions if a WiiU mini will be released are essentially the same thing. A budget mini version of the original consoles with all disc backwards compatability removed. The Wii mini could not do gamecube discs and the WiiU mini will not do discs at all if this is a thing.
I do think you over estimate the price of the optical drive in the WiiU. It's not that mch of a cost to Nintendo as they would get a bulk discount from the manufacturer and would haggle out a good deal. The real issue is how much HDD or SSD space will the WiiU mini have? If it's tiny and we have to buy an external HDD just to make use of it then what's the point? An online based no optical drive system needs enough internal space for all the games or be cheap enough so adding on the cost of an external HDD does not make it an unreasonable concept pricewise.

For the NX though I think an optical drive and driveless versions of the hardware is not a bad idea. Internet bandwidths are not up to the standard worldwide to make optical discs a thing of the past. I would however like the option to install the game onto the console so I can play it without the disc. So I can have faster read speeds than the slow optical reads. At the moment Nintendo is saying disc or digital, you choose. Why not both Nintendo? And if Nintendo wants to save it's bandwidth costs how about the option to install the game onto the console? I think a lot of people would like that.

 

[Dio]

One of the things which is crappy about the Wii and Wii U is that it doesn't play dvd's or blu ray. I would have imagined a sane company would add those features to its next console. Though this is Nintendo we are talking about here.

 

[Kylo Ken]

I don't think people would appreciate only getting their games from online stores, I know I wouldn't. After all, Sony and Microsoft got keep getting hacked, so I don't trust this whole "We keep your credit information safe, so feel free to store it!" thing. Plus, video game collections look so very good. How can you admire a video game collection that's only digital? Not to mention, to do this, their console has to have a LOT of memory, which means it's more expensive for us.

 

[ihateghirahim]

Well, I'll keep this brief since so much has been said. Collecting has been important to me. I can show my games, appreciate them, and lend them to those who are interesting.

Digital works, and may be more enviromentally friendly, but it limits gamers options and ruins the appreciation of caring for your games. Gameplay isnt affected, I know. Will this matter to everyone, no, but I think its important to have games available to collect and show.

 

[Emma]

I seriously doubt they're going all digital. Despite how that would only benefit the end consumer, they realize some are being stubborn about having physical copies and that certain ISPs are uncooperative (data caps). The patent clearly lists a memory card slot. I think the console, whatever system it ends up being, is going to bring back cartridges. At this point they're superior to optical disks in every way anyway, so why not? It's more feasible for Nintendo do this than Microsoft or Sony because Nintendo's games are always smaller (as in smaller in total file size not actual size of the in-game world or amount of content) so they don't need as large of memory cards for them as would be required for current gen Xbox or Playstation games.

 

[Kylo Ken]

I seriously doubt they're going all digital. Despite how that would only benefit the end consumer, they realize some are being stubborn about having physical copies and that certain ISPs are uncooperative (data caps). The patent clearly lists a memory card slot. I think the console, whatever system it ends up being, is going to bring back cartridges. At this point they're superior to optical disks in every way anyway, so why not? It's more feasible for Nintendo do this than Microsoft or Sony because Nintendo's games are always smaller (as in smaller in total file size not actual size of the in-game world or amount of content) so they don't need as large of memory cards for them as would be required for current gen Xbox or Playstation games.

Interesting, so you think they're going back to cartridges and memory cards? One thing I don't get is cost. Isn't cartridges more expensive to make than CD's? If they are doing this, then that(cost) would certainly drive away 3rd party devs, just like it did with N64.

Edit: What changed about cartridges, CD's, or both to have carts be cheaper?