The sorry state of the Wii U

[squirrelfriend]

not to mention the fact that the complexity of mobile games is severely limited by the standard touch-only interface

can nintendo really make money on a software ecosystem based on things like flappy tanooki

[spoiler][/spoiler]

well what makes you think nintendo would only use shallow touch screen controls
why do you presume this
they could use tactile feedback on the screen
they innovate tec
if they resist the temptation to go free to play it'll work
free to play is best used to introduce new IP, not existing IP

[C.Mongler]

what if they added.....buttons

[Kalahari Inkantation]

sure they could do that, but now their device is bulkier and more expensive with less relative screen real estate than a button-free equivalent

and already they have problems

[squirrelfriend]

well nintendo would make making a nice cut off the mobile games they sell while most smartphone makers don't have the capacity to do so
it's like comparing apples to oranges

[C.Mongler]

there's no way to make an ergonomic design with buttons, pack it up folks

[squirrelfriend]

more like no one has thought of it yet

[squirrelfriend]

look at the 3ds. two screens. the retro '90s are in again. bring back flip phones nintendo

[C.Mongler]

i mean just do what the psp go did lol

[Kalahari Inkantation]

there's no way to make an ergonomic design with buttons, pack it up folks

that's not what i said at all

an ergonomic design that includes buttons would naturally be more expensive than a button free equivalent or compromise in other areas (see: blackberry priv, which is both overpriced and full of compromises)

in building a smartphone that doubles as a dedicated gaming machine, nintendo would have some enormous conflicts of interest regarding interface options, software pricing and complexity, hardware capability/longevity/pricing, etc. to reconcile, and as evidenced by the gravestones of the dozen other gaming-oriented smartphones that litter the mobile industry, that is no easy task

yes, nintendo has a much larger and more prestigious software ecosystem to support any of its mobile ventures than sony or any of those other guys did, but it still would have to find an adequate balance between all of those other concerns

[squirrelfriend]

well how different would that be from developing a new handheld tec tbh
like with the 3ds nintendo used cheap parts and tacked on the useless 3d gimmick that was supposed to compensate for that
it ended up being okay after stumbling for a while

people lease their phones or devices from t-mobile et al. now as opposed to a few years ago
the advantage of that is that by it having mobile data is that nintendo could tout that you could literally play it anywhere (where available)
casual gaming shouldn't burn out your data plan
the lag wouldn't be noticeable in games like pokemon
maybe a bit problematic in some areas like animal crossing but i've tethered my phone to my 3ds b4 and new leaf didn't lag much if at all

[Thyme]

miitomo was fun for posting dank memes for the first 3 days and then i spent all my coins on booty shorts and now it's INCREDIBLY boring and pointless, which is a darn shame. i hope the fire emblem and animal crossing mobile games aren't the same shit

yeah i dropped it after the first week as well

[C.Mongler]

there's no way to make an ergonomic design with buttons, pack it up folks

that's not what i said at all

an ergonomic design that includes buttons would naturally be more expensive than a button free equivalent or compromise in other areas (see: blackberry priv, which is both overpriced and full of compromises)

in building a smartphone that doubles as a dedicated gaming machine, nintendo would have some enormous conflicts of interest regarding interface options, software pricing and complexity, hardware capability/longevity/pricing, etc. to reconcile, and as evidenced by the gravestones of the dozen other gaming-oriented smartphones that litter the mobile industry, that is no easy task

yes, nintendo has a much larger and more prestigious software ecosystem to support any of its mobile ventures than sony or any of those other guys did, but it still would have to find an adequate balance between all of those other concerns

well how different would that be from developing a new handheld tec tbh

lol felt beat me to it

[Hiro]

uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh i mean if we're calling sequels 'ports' then splatoon is the only original title nintendo has made since like the year 2000 

3d World adds a lot to the 3d land formula
NSMB Wii U is arguably the best one in that entire shitty franchise
Mario Kart 8 is the best Mario Kart since DS, way better than the shitty Wii one and better than the "eh it's better than the wii one at least" 7
and lol I wish the Wii U Kirby was simply Canvas Curse HD cuz that game is a fuckload of wasted potential

I was being cynical/joking, I love MK8, Sm4sh, and 3D World
also my guess for the March date is that they're using the latest AMD chips, which couldn't be produced in large quantities in time for the end of the year. Still, I would have much preferred they just release Zelda U this winter, then push the NX back to maybe September 2017 and just release the Zelda U port then, plus they'd have more time for a bigger launch lineup which could maybe include some big winter release AAA titles like Dishonored 2, FF XV, or Mass Effect Andromeda

[C.Mongler]

ok GOOD cuz i felt extremely triggered

also i'm curious if zelda actually has months more work left on it or if it's being artificially staggered like everyone is assuming 

[Kalahari Inkantation]

well how different would that be from developing a new handheld tec tbh

lol felt beat me to it

well, let's see:

1. a $200 dedicated handheld console doesn't have to be (and can't be due to cost limitations) even a third of the multitasking swiss army knife of a device that the average $500 smartphone is

a gaming smartphone would have to have every one of the iphone's essential features in addition to the ability to competently and comfortably play proper games, all while being about 1/3 the cost of last year's iphone model in order to appeal to children and the parents of children

2. with a dedicated gaming handheld there's no real need to consider what the pricing model for the typical game is going to be - you pay upfront ($30+) for a full experience

expectations in the smartphone space are completely different, the average game is """free""" and loaded with ads and microtransactions, and $5 tops for maybe something of higher quality with a little bit more depth

also a service like virtual console would be nonviable as piracy of legacy games is rampant in the mobile space

3. a dedicated gaming handheld becomes outmoded only every five or six years, minor revisions like the '''new''' 3ds notwithstanding - with smartphones the standard evolves yearly, and now nintendo would have to find some balance between the pressure to iterate annually and maintain a long-term technical standard

those are just a few of the problems nintendo would have to resolve that it simply doesn't even have to think about when developing a new 4DS XLi U - the general dedicated handheld's price range is from $150-$250, its games are purchased in full up front (for the most part), and it remains the standard for five years at a time

so it would be very different

the business models of smartphones and dedicated gaming handhelds completely contradict each other in too many significant ways for a nintendo venture into the smartphone space to be feasible imhotbh