NX rumors began shortly after Wii U launched. People were quickly eager for the next big thing.
Closing in on Switch’s first year, and Nintendo fans aren’t fidgeting for news on its successor. We’re content. Eager for certain game announcements, yes, but satisfied with the hardware.
“What do you want in the next Nintendo console?” Even enthusiasts are having a hard time answering that. A more powerful Switch, I guess?
And I would agree with that. Friends texted me right after the Switch reveal video, asking me what I thought. My response: What more could you want? It’s got all the buttons, it’s HD, and you can play on your TV or take it anywhere.
In many ways, we’ve arrived. Similar to the cellular market, where your phone looks about the same as it did 4 or 5 models ago, the Nintendo hardware line is maturing.
Could you imagine a follow-up console to the Switch not being portable? You don’t want to think about that, do you? Rest assured, the hybrid strategy is here to stay.
With Nintendo, that is. Competitors like Microsoft and Sony might not adopt it so quickly because of their emphasis on graphical power.
You can think of those companies as desktop PC makers, whereas Nintendo has differentiated itself as the laptop provider. Not leading the charge in technical specifications but in form-factor.
There certainly are advancements still waiting to be made in the gaming industry, make no mistake. In five years or less, we’ll likely have the opportunity to purchase a 4K Switch tablet with VR capabilities.
But Switch represents a revolution in how Nintendo makes their flagship consoles.
You just never know what to believe these days, but we might as well get excited about every little rumor while we can!
As the release of the Switch draws ever nearer, leaks and rumors are picking up more speed (and credibility). We’ve been learning a lot about Nintendo’s new console, what kind of ports the system has, as well as how the dock itself helps enhance gameplay while using the system at home. Certain developers are also starting to pipe up and say what games they may or may not have running on Switch development kits. Everything is just rumors at this point as we lead up to the January 12th full unveil of the Nintendo Switch, but these are some tasty pieces of gossip to tide us over!
Shot by Alex Campbell
“Escape the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
As good as Nintendo did with a 3.5 minute long video, they left so much unanswered! And rumor is, we won’t hear anything else official about the console until next year!
There’s a lot left unknown about the new Nintendo Switch – things that the trailer did not cover. We want to know all about it, and here are the things which are most important to find out before March!
Shot by Alex Campbell
“Escape the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Goodbye Wii Branding – Nintendo Switch is hailing in an all new era for the company. This new console is being marketed to adults, without a gimmick in sight. Let’s discuss!
Shot by Alex Campbell
“Escape the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
SplaTWOn, coming to a Nintendo Switch near you, March 2017!
We saw a good handful of games during the Nintendo Switch reveal trailer, but it wasn’t exactly clear which ones were new games and which ones are making a return from the Wii U console. We look at all the clues and present compelling cases for which games are new and which ones are definitive editions!
Shot by Alex Campbell
“Escape the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Hoping that some of the cheaper-looking parts of the controllers are just prototypes of the final hardware!
Nintendo Switch can be played with a plethora of different controller configurations, and we’re taking a close look at each of them PLUS any hidden buttons that might not be immediately evident on the controllers.
Shot by Alex Campbell
“Escape the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
The Nintendo Switch has been revealed! Here are all of our first impressions of the new console, the Joy-Con controllers, the games we saw… and there’s much more to come!
Shot by Alex Campbell
“Escape the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
As a Nintendo fan, I’m frustrated. if I were a Nintendo investor, I would be frustrated AND worried.
The patience of Nintendo fans is dreadfully thin, if not already gone. Nintendo hasn’t let a word slip about the NX for months and we’re expected to be primed for purchase in March! Scott presents three compelling cases for why the video game manufacturer is maintaining tight lips.
Shot by Alex Campbell
“Escape the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Can’t wait to play Breath of the Wild on the Nintendo Gome!
NX is a codename for Nintendo’s next console/handheld, but what will the system go to market with as an official name? We each take a few swings at predicting the final name of the NX, in hopes of having a correct guess on record!
Shot by Alex Campbell
“Escape the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
We need to talk. I’ve been a part of the Nintendo community for a long time now, and what used to be something to be proud of has me quite ashamed from time to time. The actions I see online are absolutely ridiculous and seem to get more out of hand every Nintendo Direct. Of course, not everyone acts the ways described below, but far, FAR too many do.
Make up your minds, please.
When Nintendo releases new games in the same franchise (Mario, Zelda, etc.) a lot of what I hear is whining for new ideas and new IPs. When Nintendo releases a new game or new IP (Federation Force, Codename: S.T.E.A.M., etc.) I’m also hearing a ton of complaints and hate. If you try a game and decide you don’t like it, that’s completely justified, but when Nintendo announces a game and it’s suddenly the apocalypse… not okay. Nintendo is completely aware you want a new Metroid game, I assure you.
No unreleased game deserves this much hate.
I’m a HUGE fan of the first two Paper Mario games, but couldn’t get into Sticker Star at all. While Color Splash looks more like Sticker Star than a traditional RPG, that doesn’t mean I’m going to attack the game. I’m going to do something revolutionary instead: I’m not going to buy the game. If reviews come out and the game happens to be incredible maybe I’ll change my mind, but there’s no reason whatsoever to throw punches at Nintendo for simply making a game I’m not interested in.
Nintendo is a business.
Why make Paper Mario: Color Splash when Sticker Star wasn’t as well received as the other games in the series? It sold well. Nintendo makes decisions that will first and foremost make them money. They try to please as many people as possible, but you’ll certainly never please everyone, and they know that. If Sticker Star hadn’t sold well either they would have taken a different approach for the next Paper Mario game or the franchise would cease to exist.
Enjoy your (extra) life!
So many people act like the decisions Nintendo makes will make or break their quality of life. Just take a deep breath and calm down. It’s completely possible to not be interested in any games Nintendo is releasing for months (possibly years) on end. Luckily they have such an amazing backlog of games that it should be easy to find something you’ll enjoy. So bust out that dusty N64 and 4 controllers, because Mario is always ready to party with you.
I wont stop being a part of the Nintendo community – it’s in my blood – but I sure hope the overall attitude changes soon.
I’ll take some NX news over these patents, rumors, and leakes please…
More patents have surfaced, and they may well indicate the direction that Nintendo NX is heading! We discuss all aspects of what modular controllers could bring to the table for Nintendo gamers.
Shot by Alex Campbell
“Escape the Premises” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
As someone who has been a Nintendo fan since I was old enough to hold a controller, I have never seen the company attempting to juggle so many different projects at the same time.
With Nintendo dabbling in so many areas, is it only a matter of time until they start dropping the ball?
Let’s take a moment and examine everything that Nintendo has on their plate, so we can determine if they’ve bitten off more than they can chew:
It makes me anxious just thinking about all of the things that Nintendo management must deal with on a regular basis, and each and every one of those projects comes with their own set of challenges: public relations, marketing, quality assurance, customer service, and more.
Wisely, Nintendo is not embarking on all of these endeavors alone. With the help of other established companies like DeNA, VANS, and Universal Studios, Nintendo is only shouldering a partial load for some of these projects. Still…
The load adds up quickly.
How many different ways can Nintendo’s attention be split before their products begin to suffer?
We’ve already begun to see the affects of an unfocused Nintendo, I’m afraid. The publisher was banking on a hit success with the Wii U, but the console performed below expectations, causing Nintendo to focus on attaining cash flow through additional means. The key to this extra revenue? Intellectual Property (or IP). Nintendo has invested in their character for decades, and finally decided that the time to cash in… is now.
Nintendo’s famous stable of characters can now be seen in places previously untouched by the company: mobile games, figurine toys, and more.
Is this a bad thing? No. But does it mean that we will get fewer software releases? Inevitably, it must. You’ve felt it on the Wii U and 3DS for the past couple of years.
Can we fault Nintendo for outsourcing some of these projects, like with DeNA and VANS?
Perhaps.
The risk with partnerships is the very integrity of your brand.
There are more companies trying to turn a profit with Nintendo’s own IP now than ever before, and Nintendo has less control over them.
Remember when 5th Cell was given permission to add Mario characters to their Scribblenauts game? It was called Scribblenauts Unlimited, because you could modify whatever nouns you wanted with any adjectives you would like. Except for the Mario characters.
Angry sweater? Check. Loose goose? Check. Green Mario? No go.
Nintendo’s IP used to be sacred, but now it’s plastered on tie-dye, Hawaiian VANS apparel with abandon.
Nintendo can make money through video games, theme parks, apparel and frozen yogurt… but they shouldn’t have done it all at once, with plummeting hardware sales.
The NX should have been priority 1, it should have been unveiled at E3, because it should be on store shelves this Holiday.
Nintendo… You’re really starting to make me worry about an NX delay. Please start talking.
Mysterious Nintendo patents are continuing to surface… could these be for the NX? And why is Nintendo taking so abnormally long to discuss their next console? All this and more in Scott’s Crew Cut!
Shot by Alex Campbell
“Reformat” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
There comes a time in every console’s life when it’s time to say goodbye. Today we bid farewell to the Wii U and remember fondly it’s brightest moments.
Music: “Wii U-logy” by Ryan Van Liere | Download MP3
Sometimes you do something so often that you just forget how to show.
If you thought “Open Air Adventure” was a specific genre, wait till you hear what we’ve done to the rest of the franchise! Help make TBC better! twobuttoncrew.com/survey
Shot by Alex Campbell
“Reformat” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Somewhere in Japan, Nintendo’s Research & Development staff members are pulling overtime and long nights to create Nintendo’s next console, codenamed NX. Soon we will have our first official details on the console and it will be off to the production lines. I predict that NX will bear some striking similarities to one of their past consoles, the Nintendo GameCube.
I think that Nintendo’s next console will be taking a leaf out of the GameCube’s book.
• • •
It is good to be a Nintendo fan. During E3 2016 we were treated to a monumental information and footage dump of a brand new Zelda game: Breath of the Wild. This new open world adventure is our first confirmed NX game.
NX just had its first game confirmed
Yet, as the excitement of E3 dies down in the weeks following the convention, Nintendo fans are still restless with excitement. Why? Because Nintendo didn’t show all of the cards in their hand like some of their competitors did at E3 this year. No, Nintendo is still playing things rather close to the chest as they gear up for a full-blown NX reveal event which should take place within a few months if indeed this new hardware will launch in March of 2017.
One question is burned into every Nintendo fan’s mind: what is NX?
That’s the question that causes our thumbs to navigate to fan-sites for news every morning. That’s the question that allows attention-starved trolls to mock up fake leaks of the console. I don’t put much stock in rumors that circulate outside of the few days before events, but that doesn’t stop me from coming up with my own theories.
I think that the NX will be a home console constructed with the same sensibilities that gave birth to the GameCube. I have some compelling arguments to present, but keep in mind that I know just as much about the NX as the next guy on the Internet: absolutely nothing.
Standard Controller
I’m willing to bet pretty heavily on this one. Why? Nintendo has been rebranding. Corporate rebrands are expensive (hit me up – I’m a graphic designer and I will charge you a lot of money). Reconstructing the image that a company projects of themselves is much like turning a gigantic ship; it takes a lot of time and effort to go in a new direction.
Nintendo just spent that time and effort on a corporate rebrand – they’re going red themed down to their Twitter Avatar, and they have a new slogan to go with it: There’s No Play Like It.
Nintendo’s new slogan, with which they will march into Holiday 2016 and into 2017
4 buttons: A, B, X, and sometimes Y.
No, wait – always Y.
These are the symbols that Nintendo has chosen to represent them for the next generation, and they will be on the NX controller.
We only know of one NX game and it’s Breath of the Wild, which is controlled by the standard buttons of the Wii U GamePad, and is also compatible with the Pro controller. Nintendo has stated that the game is the “same experience” on NX and therefore suggests that we will not be playing with a remote, a glass surface, or other non-traditional methods of input.
Buttons are all you need to control NX’s first confirmed game, Breath of the Wild
Keeping the cost low on the controller (by minimizing sensors) is also a lesson that Nintendo learned from the Wii U’s commercial failure. Any development dollars left over could be directly applied to the console’s internal specs, which will be needed in order to stay in the same league as Nintendo’s competition.
Not the Strongest Kid on the Block
Every time Nintendo is due for a new console, these rumors kick into gear: It’s going to be the most powerful console on the market! As much as I dislike to break it to you…
NX will not be a powerhouse 4K VR juggernaut.
Nintendo doesn’t have the experience in high-end computing that would be required to go head-to-head (or headset-to-headset) with the likes of Facebook’s Oculus or Sony’s PSVR. What Nintendo DOES have a great track record of doing is this: implementing affordable tech, optimizing its performance, and marketing it to all ages and audiences.
The Nintendo Gamecube did not outclass its contemporaries with impressive specs, but it was home to many creative innovations (within a set of limitations) that produced groundbreaking titles like Metroid Prime and Wind Waker, which were marvels for their time.
Different Media Format
Nintendo is not comfortable with doing things the same way. You won’t catch them copying themselves or others… very often. *cough*amiibo*cough*
Just like the GameCube featured its own unique media format, NX is likely to pivot away from those smooth Blu-Ray discs we’ve come to love on Wii U.
Rumor has it, NX will utilize cartridges.
Don’t think clunky N64 games – carts can be the size of an SD card these days.
Why move from a disc format? Well, solid state media (as opposed to spinning discs) would be quite beneficial for transporting the unit and, dare I suggest, all-around portability? The absence of moving parts is what enables portables to be taken on the go, and cartridges provide other benefits like being more durable, not getting scratches and smudges, etc.
It’s also important to remember that the amount of systems Nintendo has put out that featured discs is far outnumbered by the ones with cartridges… this would not be out of left field.
Emphasis on Portability
You know where this is going in regards to NX, but how does it relate back to the GameCube approach?
^ Did no one, ever
Yep – that. That strange lunchbox handle fixed to the back of the GameCube, meant to help you carry the console around. Sure, there was no gaming on-the-go associated with this feature, but we’ve come a long way since then.
Not only was the Gamecube physically constructed to be carried, but the console offered many different opportunities to link up and cross over with handled gaming – even more than the Wii and Wii U have done.
Now that Nintendo has moved their Portable and Console divisions under one roof, we should see a strong push in the arena of portability, mobility, and connectivity.
So, What is the NX?
I think it will be a home console that is not tethered to a TV screen. It may come with a miniature portable screen and stand; it may connect via Bluetooth or adapters to your smartphone or tablet for display purposes, or it might have a small, personal projector bulb.
Whatever NX is, it will certainly be unique.
Nintendo needs a game-changer. Nintendo needs to capture a new generation of children that are growing up on Minecraft and the App Store. It’s time for Nintendo to get back in the game!
Two Button Crew will be eagerly awaiting further details on Nintendo’s NX console, and we will continue to cover all things Nintendo on our Daily Show for Nintendo Fans.
