W’sup?
An intriguing topic has been making its way around the Internet lately. That topic is: the Nintendo NX. The Nintendo NX is Nintendo’s latest video game system. I’ve known about it for a while, but I just hadn’t gathered my thoughts yet.
Our First Glimpse
On March 17th, 2015, Nintendo announced that they were developing a “dedicated games platform with a brand new concept“. They said that it was codenamed “NX“, and that it would be further revealed in 2016.
Recent Developments
Recent news tells us that the NX is nothing to sneeze at. The Wall Street Journal stated, on October 16th, 2015, that the NX was more powerful than the Playstation 4 and the XBox One. They said that although the NX’s hardware specs are unknown, the system is pushing for industry leading hardware specifications as well as complementary portable and stationary components. Here is an exact quote from them. Quotes, bolds, and italics mine.
“The exact shape of the NX hardware isn’t yet clear. People familiar with the development plans said Nintendo would likely include both a console and at least one mobile unit that could either be used in conjunction with the console or taken on the road for separate use. They also said Nintendo would aim to put industry-leading chips in the NX devices, after criticism that the Wii U’s capabilities didn’t match those of competitors.”
TL;DR; The NX’s specs are unbelievably awesome, and it can be played as a handheld or as a console.
What’s more, they said that Nintendo has started distributing software developer kits to third-party developers, and that Nintendo was on the way to releasing the console in early 2016.
It was announced that two concurrent games would definitely be released for the NX: Dragon Quest X, and Dragon Quest XI. While the first one was already released, the latter game has a nebulous (why does everyone use that word so much lately?) release date of 2016. The game is supposed to be released by the 30th anniversary of the Dragon Quest series, so that means before May 27, 2016.
On February 10th, 2015, Nintendo filed a patent for a games console with no disk drive. The patent was accepted on August 20th, 2015. Here is some information directly from the patent website. This is a bit of a read, but don’t worry; there’s always a TL;DR option. Once again, bolding and italics mine.
1. A stationary game apparatus, comprising: an internal hard disk drive storing a program and/or data; a communication unit transmitting/receiving a program and/or data via a network; and a processor executing a program stored in the hard disk drive to perform game processing, wherein the game apparatus is not provided with an optical disk drive.
2. The stationary game apparatus according to claim 1, comprising a first storage configured of a non-volatile memory, wherein the first storage stores a first program starting to be executed when the game apparatus is started, and the hard disk drive stores a second program starting to be executed after the first program starts to be executed.
6. The stationary game apparatus according to claim 1, comprising a connection unit to which an external hard disk drive is detachably connected, wherein the program and/or data concerning a game received through the communication unit is stored in the internal hard disk drive or the external hard disk drive connected to the connection unit.
9. The stationary game apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the speed control unit controls a speed of reading and/or writing of data in response to a command from a program being executed by the processor.
10. The stationary game apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the processor is able to execute a program which operates by using a different hard disk drive different from the internal hard disk drive, and the speed control unit emulates a speed of reading and/or writing of data with respect to the different hard disk drive when the processor executes the program.
11. The stationary game apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the speed control unit switches a mode for reading and/or writing of data with respect to the hard disk drive to either one of two modes with different speeds.
12. The stationary game apparatus according to claim 11, wherein at least one of the two modes is a mode for emulating a speed of reading and/or writing of data with respect to a storage device other than the hard disk drive.
13. The stationary game apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the game apparatus is compatible with another game apparatus comprising an optical disk drive for reading out a program and/or data from an optical disk, and a processor for executing the program read out from the optical disk to perform game processing, and an interface for the hard disk drive is same as an interface for the optical disk drive in said another game apparatus.
14. The stationary game apparatus according to claim 1, comprising: a wireless communication unit performing wireless communication with a wireless communication device having an operation unit and a battery, and wirelessly transmitting/receiving information concerning an operation accepted by the operation unit; and a power supply unit to which the wireless operation device is detachably connected via a power supply line, and supplying power to the battery of the wireless operation device via the power supply line.
15. The stationary game apparatus according to claim 1, comprising a wireless communication unit performing wireless communication with a wireless operation device wirelessly transmitting/receiving information concerning an operation accepted by an operation unit, wherein the wireless communication unit performs wireless communication with a dedicated communication protocol.
16. The stationary game apparatus according to claim 1, comprising a wireless communication unit performing wireless communication with a wireless operation device having an operation unit and a display unit, and wirelessly transmitting/receiving information concerning an operation accepted by the operation unit and information concerning an image to be displayed on the display unit.
17. A non-transitory recording medium recording a computer program executed by the processor of the stationary game apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the computer program includes a processing routine for the stationary game apparatus, and one or more processing routines for a game apparatus having a hardware configuration different from the stationary game apparatus, and the computer program causes the processor to operate as an identification information obtaining unit obtaining identification information of a game apparatus, and a selection unit selecting a processing routine in accordance with the identification information obtained by the identification information obtaining unit.
18. A game system, comprising: an internal hard disk drive storing a program and/or data; a communication unit transmitting/receiving a program and/or data via a network; and a processor executing a program stored in the hard disk drive to perform game processing, wherein the game system is not provided with an optical disk drive.
21. The game apparatus according to claim 20, comprising a connection unit to which an external hard disk drive is detachably connected, wherein the speed control unit emulates a speed of reading and/or writing of data with respect to the external hard disk drive in the mode for emulating.
22. The game apparatus according to claim 20, wherein the processor is able to execute in parallel a plurality of programs including a program concerning a game and/or a program other than the program concerning a game, and the speed control unit switches the mode for reading and/or writing of data, for each program being executed by the processor.
25. A game apparatus, comprising: a wireless communication unit performing wireless communication with a wireless operation device having an operation unit, a display unit and a battery, and wirelessly transmitting/receiving information concerning an operation accepted by the operation unit and information concerning an image to be displayed on the display unit; and a power supply unit to which the wireless operation device is detachably connected via a power supply line and supplying power to the battery of the wireless operation device via the power supply line.
According to an aspect of the embodiment, a stationary game apparatus includes an internal hard disk drive storing a program and/or data, a communication unit transmitting/receiving a program and/or data via a network, and a processor executing the program stored in the hard disk drive to perform game processing, while not including an optical disk drive reading out a program and/or data from an optical disk.
The card slot 19 of the game apparatus 1 may receive or discharge the memory card 7 such as an SD memory card. The card slot 19 can read or write data from/to the attached memory card 7. In the present example embodiment, the game apparatus 1 is able to read out the first basic program 24 or the second basic program stored in the memory card 7 through the card slot 19, and to store the read-out program in the first memory 11 or the internal HDD 13. This can realize, for example, version upgrade of the first basic program 24 and the second basic program 25. It is to be noted that the version upgrade of a program may be realized by downloading a program from the server apparatus 9 through the communication unit 15.
As described above, the game apparatus 1 according to the present example embodiment can communicate with the server apparatus 9 via the network 8 such as the Internet through the communication unit 15. The game apparatus 1 is able to download the game program 26 distributed by the server apparatus 9 and to store it in the internal HDD 13. The game apparatus 1 reads out and executes, by the processor 10, the game program 26 stored in the internal HDD 13, to perform game processing. It is to be noted that the game apparatus 1 according to the present example embodiment is not provided with an optical disk drive to be loaded with an optical disk such as a CD (Compact Disc) or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) in which the game program 26 is stored. Without the optical disk drive, the game apparatus 1 can realize reduction in cost, size and the like compared to a game apparatus provided with an optical disk drive. It is to be noted that the game apparatus 1 may externally connect the external HDD 6 to the HDD connection unit 18 to utilize the external HDD 6 similarly to the internal HDD 13 in preparation for capacity shortage or the like of the internal HDD 13.
TL;DR; there is no optical disk drive, and therefore no optical disks, but the system is compatible with another system that does use a disk drive (most likely the Wii U, of course), the system can take external hard drives, and the system can run a game and other functions at the same time, and the system has some sort of card slot. Oh, and you probably download the games off the Internet.
A few days later, pictures of the patent and controllers released. Here they are.
Umm…that controller…looks a little, shall we say, plain. Perhaps it’s just the blueprint giving off that effect, though.
Okay, so we got Game Boy-style A and B buttons on the bottom right, the D-Pad on the left, L and R buttons in their traditional places, and two weird thumbsticks parallel from each other. And the touchscreen, of course. Oh, and apparently, those L and R buttons function as scroll wheels. Whatever that means. I’m a bit disappointed with this controller. To me, it just looks like a very plain, downgraded Wii U Gamepad.
Theory + Logic
We’ve reached the end of the recent events. To quote Professor Albus Dumbledore from The Half-Blood Prince, “From this point forth, we shall be leaving the firm foundation of fact and journeying together through the murky marshes of memory into thickets of wildest guesswork“. Ahh, I love that quote…anyway, first of all, I can assure you one thing. That thing is the releases we will see.
Early this year, some of the first gaming news I read was, besides that doughnut thing Nintendo was supposed to be making, was that there would be no major Mario game in 2016. The first thing I thought was…
Come on, now. Mario is their main man. It’s ridiculous for him not to have a game.
As an avid Nintendo fan, I’ve picked out the pattern that Nintendo releases their games on with every new cycle. You ready? Okay.
- 1 home console + 1 handheld console. They always are interconnected somehow.
- 1 Smash Bros. game
- 2 main series Pokémon games on the handheld
- 2 Mario Party games (1 on home console, 1 handheld)
- 2 Mario Kart games (1 on home console, 1 handheld)
- 1 Paper Mario game
- 1 main series Super Mario game (what’d I say?!)
- 2 Legend of Zelda games (1 on home console, 1 handheld)
- 1 Mario and Luigi game on handheld (since 2005)
- 1 Donkey Kong game (Donkey Kong Country at this point)
- 1 Mario & Sonic game (since 2009)
- 2 Fire Emblem games (1 on console, 1 handheld)
- 1 Star Fox game (well, we know we have Star Fox Zero…FOR THE WII U!)
- Some kind of add-on Pokémon Storage system (since 2003) (this gen’s was Bank)
- 2 or 3 “Wii” series games, i.e. Wii Party, Wii Sports, Wii Fit (except it will be the “NX” series)
- 2 Kirby games (1 on console, 1 on handheld, although there seem to be more handhelds than anything else)
- 2 Animal Crossing games (1 console, 1 handheld)
There. This is not some kind of crazy theorizing (Yet!), but rather solidified information that can be simply recalled. The only thing I can see is that perhaps this time around, the NX will be the handheld. But perhaps not, because we never saw what became of that weird doughnut thing Nintendo was making.
I’ve heard a lot of talk to the effect that Nintendo is going to kill the Wii U. This can’t be true. First of all, the system’s only been ’round for three years. They’ve never killed any system that quickly. Besides, if Nintendo is running out of ideas like many people say they are, then why oh why would they start on an entirely new games console with no ideas?
As for the handheld and console hybrid aspect…I don’t get why everyone is so worked up about this. To my understanding, if you port a Wii U game into the Gamepad, you can take it ’round when you’re not in front of the telly. That nifty feature is a part of why I want a Wii U. Anyway, it doesn’t sound all that special to me. As for those blueprints, I think what we’re seeing there is the handheld part, not the main controller. Who the heck makes a controller with two thumbsticks on the top of it?! Well, except for the Wii U. But remember, what we’re looking at here is a prototype; notice the conspicuous lack of Start, Select, and Power buttons.
I can almost guarantee this: you will be able to transfer data between the Wii U and the NX. Since the advent of the Gamecube, such has been the norm. Nintendo is purportedly making big changes, but if they’re clever, they’ll stick to their winning formulas.
I think, based on recent events, that some Nintendo franchises that have been stuffed away for ages will make a resurgence with the Nintendo NX. Think about it. Kid Icarus got a 3DS release in 2012, after a twenty-year absence. Pikmin 3 was released for the Wii U in 2013, and a fourth one is “very close to completion“. If Kid Icarus can get a game after two decades, then it’s not a stretch to imagine beloved games/franchises like F-Zero, Punch-Out!!, PilotWings, and Wave Race making returns.
In conclusion, the NX (which stands for Nintendo Xtreme, I believe) will definitely be a good thing. They’re gonna make a lot of profit. All I know is, I’ll be getting the blue-coloured one when it comes out! 🙂
What are your ideas on what Nintendo will do with the NX? What do you think its final name will be? Let me know down below!
thelinguistgamer 