It’s always pretty tricky bringing a brand new console to market, and that means Nintendo will have some difficult work ahead. After a shaky run for the Wii U, the company is ready to go back to the beginning with something brand new. It will be the dawn of a new console generation.
The thing is, Nintendo is in a tough predicament right now. But, if they could make this a 3-way competition once again, Nintendo could come back in a big way. Could they pull it off? At a moment when the PS4, Xbox One, and PC gaming is still evolving, it’s a tough question to answer. But we’re going to try anyway.
The Struggle So Far
Before we can figure out whether the NX will be a success, it’s important to see why people might not care in the first place. Nintendo hasn’t had the greatest track record ever since the release of the Wii U. While the console has certainly had some really good games (Super Mario Maker, Splatoon, Wind Waker, Nintendo Land, to name a few), it has suffered greatly due to its lack of strong third party support, omission of now very common elements of home consoles, peripheral issues, and strong competition from the other members of the ‘Big 3.’
The Wii U started strong with companies like Ubisoft and EA in its corner, but within less than a year they pulled their support due to a small install base and more powerful hardware from Sony and Microsoft. Then, just when Nintendo had some great games lined up, they seemed to have been delayed into the future right around the time NX details started to emerge. To some this may seem like the company is giving up on the Wii U already, barely 3 years after its launch, a fairly disheartening thought.
It would’ve been a completely different story if Nintendo had put up as strong a fight as Microsoft with the Xbox One. A few exclusives aren’t enough to keep most invested in a console, and many wonder what Nintendo can now bring to the table.
But, based on rumors of what is to come with the NX, players may be able to earn some faith back.
Industry Leading Technology
One of the reasons that the Nintendo struggled so much these past couple of years was its power. Now, there is nothing that says power leads to great games, but many of the biggest games in the past three years have been third-party titles. These developers and publishers like to work with the strongest hardware they can get there hands on so that they don’t have to make any sacrifices.
While the Wii U could stand toe-to-to with the Xbox 360 and PS3, it paled in comparison when placed next to their much more powerful successors. The original Wii didn’t need power to be successful; a unique concept at the time and the Nintendo name pushed it to the forefront and it set records. But lightning just couldn’t strike twice for the company.
It’s a good thing that Nintendo has become aware of this issue and seem to be pursuing a more powerful console, rumored to be capable of directly competing with the PS4 and Xbox One. Not only will this mean potentially bigger games with better graphics, but it will also be able to draw the attention of companies such as Bethesda, Rockstar, and all of those other devs and publishers that want to make innovative and boundary-pushing video games.
If the leading technology also brought along a solid network, different communication capabilities built right in, as well as other social mechanics such as direct streaming or sharing of images to a number of platforms, Nintendo will have caught up to something Microsoft and Sony have been leveraging for some time now.
Nintendo Exclusives Have Magical Powers
Nintendo is one of the few companies that shows up with amazing exclusives right out of the gate. Now, stop for a second and think about Xenoblade Chronicles X. It’s one of the biggest action RPGs available on consoles right now, and it’s on the weakest (hardware-wise) of the Big 3. Just imagine what some ingenuity along with a beefed up Nintendo console could do.
There’s a reason Nintendo can make so many praised games out of the same worlds for the past three decades. It’s because if the company knows how to do one thing: make some damn fine video games.
Take a console that is powerful enough to run all of the newest video games, allows for all of the streaming and sharing you could hope for, and is the only place where you can play Super Mario, Legend of Zelda, and Metroid, and what do you have? A box that gamers old and young would line up for.
Nintendo has proven that they can step into nearly any genre and impress. Splatoon alone is proof that a silly idea can become something absolutely amazing. That Nintendo magic is the first step in capturing attention, and then the tech will do the rest of the talking.
Just imagine the NX launching, that huge open world Legend of Zelda with stunning visuals. People would care. They would care a whole lot.
Nintendo Steps Back Into the Ring
While there is still a lot of information yet to be revealed, all roads seem to be pointing towards an important piece of hardware coming from Nintendo. They may be keeping fun at the forefront, but they have come to realize that it isn’t a bad idea to run circles around the competition specs-wise. Great things happen when a company realizes that it was on the wrong path and corrects itself. You need only look at the Xbox One to see what such a realization can do.
Nintendo looks to be listening, even if the lumbering dinosaur can be a bit stubborn at times. The industry has taken a strong shift towards reacting and using feedback from the community, and even if you’re not particularly a fan of Nintendo’s offerings, all gamers should care about that.
So what do you think about the NX and its potential influence? Looking forward to what the Big N can do? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.
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