Report: Nintendo Sending NX Console Developer Kits

[Lizzy Finnegan]

Report: Nintendo Sending NX Console Developer Kits

Nintendo reportedly sends out developer kits for NX platform, some speculate a 2016 release.

According to a report from upcoming NX console [http://www.wsj.com/articles/nintendo-begins-distributing-software-kit-for-new-nx-platform-1444996588]. According to the report, the console will include a "mobile unit that could either be used in conjunction with the console or taken on the road for separate use," and that the console will come with "industry-leading chips" in order to better compete with PlayStation and Xbox.

The kit is said to be available for third-party developers to either modify existing titles, or to create new ones.

"We are increasingly of the idea that Nintendo might launch the NX in 2016 because of the softness of 3DS and Wii U," David Gibson, an analyst at Macquarie Capital Securities, told The Wall Street Journal. Additionally, a Nintendo spokeswoman reported that the company intends to disclose NX details in 2016.

The new "dedicated game platform" was go region-free [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/140137-Nintendo-Announces-New-Mobile-Market-Partnerships-Developing-Next-Consolr] with the NX.

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[Xyebane]

Report: Nintendo Sending NX Console Developer Kits

Nintendo reportedly sends out developer kids for NX platform, some speculate a 2016 release.



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I think you mean kits. Kids implies child slavery.

 

[RejjeN]

Report: Nintendo Sending NX Console Developer Kits

Nintendo reportedly sends out developer kids for NX platform, some speculate a 2016 release.



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I think you mean kits. Kids implies child slavery.

No no, you got it all wrong! It's not slavery, it's insurance

Gotta make sure those developers do their best after all!

 

[09philj]

They need o clarify what the hell it is sometime soon.

 

[Dragonbums]

I can't wait for them to sit on it and do nothing with the kits for 4 years until Sony and Microsoft send theirs in so they can then complain about how hard the NX was to develop for and make excuses out the ass for why their game isn't coming on the platform.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Man, that Wii-U is sure to pick up steam eventu-... oh.

Nice to know I bought a system Nintendo decided to support for like 6 years, one of which actually had games.

 

[FoolKiller]

As a fan of the Wii U this saddens me. There were a lot of good games on it over the last year and I was hoping for a minimum 5 year life span.

 

[PixelMetal]

I can't wait for them to sit on it and do nothing with the kits for 4 years until Sony and Microsoft send theirs in so they can then complain about how hard the NX was to develop for and make excuses out the ass for why their game isn't coming on the platform.

Developing for the Wii U is a horrendous pain in the ass. Nintendo is still stuck in the mindset that games should be developed specifically for their platform, and that developers shouldn't design their games to be cross-platform - y'know, that thing most console developers do. Christ, they have their own implementation of OpenGL - a supposed "standard" - that couldn't have been handled in a less standard way.

I don't regret returning my Wii U devkit for a second, nor do I regret not being able to release on the platform - and I own a Wii U. The userbase simply isn't large enough to make it a worthwhile investment when compared to not only the cost of purchasing (leasing, really) a Wii U devkit and dealing with all of the extremely platform-specific quirks, but the lower cost of entering the market on more powerful and widespread consoles like the XB1 or PS4, for which devkits cost absolutely nothing.

 

[Lightknight]

We're just talking about a powerful handheld here? Hmm... I have been terribly disappointed with Sony's failure to support their PSP or Vita so... I might actually like this.

But it still sounds like Nintendo could be making another flop here with console integration. IOS is dominating the handheld market and they're only getting more game friendly with non-proprietary hardware.

 

[chozo_hybrid]

As a fan of the Wii U this saddens me. There were a lot of good games on it over the last year and I was hoping for a minimum 5 year life span.

Yeah, I wasn't expecting it to last ages, but at least I has games worthy of keeping it hooked up to my TV for some time.

If it really is what my friends and I were hoping, it will function like a console, have big awesome games, some if not all that can be taken on the move with your "controller" which I hope it a comfortable and decent battery life. Merging their mobile with console means not having to buy two systems for each purpose, I can get behind the idea, the question becomes, how will the do it. This does make me question what the power of the machine will be again though.

 

[Hairless Mammoth]

the console will include a "mobile unit that could either be used in conjunction with the console or taken on the road for separate use,"

It's still probably too early to ask, but will the console be nearly fully functional without the mobile potion? Or will it be like the Wii U at launch, where a gamepad was necessary for many things that the pro controller could easily do if they didn't make some menu items gamepad only? (I still hate how the OG Wii requires a wiimote to navigate the menu, when you might just want to play a game that supports a GC controller.) If lil' Timmy takes his NX portable on a trip, and his sister wants to play something on the NX at home, it would be great if some or most games could work on the base unit alone.


With that line, maybe the NX really is going to be another attempt at a "third pillar" (Remember that from the early DS days?). Except I'm sure they would intend to blend either the handheld or home console line or both into the NX.

and that the console will come with "industry-leading chips" in order to better compete with PlayStation and Xbox.

So an Intel Atom, then? Intel is an industry leader. It works...

Seriously though, if the NX really intends to compete with the other two, it's gonna probably need to match or even outperform them. If it will double as Ninty's next home console and it hits stores by 2016, the NX will be 3 years behind the Xbox Uno and PS4.

What happens if/when Sony and MS get enough pressure to go to the 9th gen by 2019? The NX will just be as old as the other two are now. Its mobile portion better have the ability to hold its own if Nintendo is cheap again in the hardware department, and now they've got strong competition in the mobile sector as well.

 

[Sheo_Dagana]

Figures that they're giving up on it before they get out a current-gen Zelda game, or even any real noteworthy titles beyond Splatoon and Smash. I frankly love the Wii U and I think it's been underestimated, but a complete lack of 3rd party support is killing them. The Gamepad was pretty great as far as I'm concerned.

On the other hand, it's hard for wanting to blame them to go this route in order to try and get competitive with Xbox and Sony's current consoles. Even if it DOES screw over early adopters of the Wii U.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

The last year of the Wii was a really good one (Xenoblade, Kirby, etc) so maybe the final year of the Wii U will be another blow-out bash. It would be a shame for the Wii U to go out with a whimper.

 

[Fox12]

Man, that Wii-U is sure to pick up steam eventu-... oh.

Nice to know I bought a system Nintendo decided to support for like 6 years, one of which actually had games.

I'll... I'll just leave this here.

Spoiler

Seriously Nintendo, what are you smoking? Keep it away from me.

 

[CaitSeith]

As a fan of the Wii U this saddens me. There were a lot of good games on it over the last year and I was hoping for a minimum 5 year life span.

4 years for such poor sales performance is still a pretty good mark (considering that the Dreamcast lasted less than 3 years).

 

[Mr.Mattress]

As a fan of the Wii U this saddens me. There were a lot of good games on it over the last year and I was hoping for a minimum 5 year life span.

It'll still probably have the Minimum 5 years, considering Nintendo shows their Consoles 2 years before release (The Wii, WiiU and 3DS were all revealed 2 years before their launch). Plus, Nintendo might still launch new titles for the WiiU for a while when the NX is launched, like they did with the Gamecube and Wii.

OT: I've been hearing good things about the NX, but I don't know if any of them are true. I'll just have to wait and see what the next console looks like.

CAPTCHA: cutting edge. Yep, that's a rumor I've heard for the NX.

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

I can't wait for them to sit on it and do nothing with the kits for 4 years until Sony and Microsoft send theirs in so they can then complain about how hard the NX was to develop for and make excuses out the ass for why their game isn't coming on the platform.

This is what happens when the industry is flooded with code monkeys instead of actual designers: they lose the ability to truly design. The attitude 3rd parties have towards Nintendo truly is contemptible; maybe it wouldn't be so bad if they weren't so incompetent.

As for the rumor, let's keep in mind that WSJ tried to do the same thing claiming Nintendo was doing a Zelda series for Netflix...and then nothing came of it. Sounds to me like News Corps was just desperate for attention.

 

[EndlessSporadic]

I can't wait for them to sit on it and do nothing with the kits for 4 years until Sony and Microsoft send theirs in so they can then complain about how hard the NX was to develop for and make excuses out the ass for why their game isn't coming on the platform.

This is what happens when the industry is flooded with code monkeys instead of actual designers: they lose the ability to truly design. The attitude 3rd parties have towards Nintendo truly is contemptible; maybe it wouldn't be so bad if they weren't so incompetent.

Your attitude towards developers is no better. You seem to have no clue what game programming and development actually entails, and the fact that you are comparing "code monkeys" to designers, which I should mention are two completely different jobs, completely undermines any type of argument you may try to make. Coders are not paid to design - they are paid to code. Designers are rarely paid to program - They are paid to design. Programmers don't code for the Wii U because it has a non-standard interface and designers don't consider Nintendo platforms because they have a history of being underwhelming and that prevents them from designing systems as they envision it (though I will give credit that you don't need high specs for innovation).

It's not like we can push a button and magically shit out a game for another console. We have to design around hardware constraints and work around abstract and obscure software API. PC, Xbox, and PS4 (hell, even most mobile targets) have a standard API format. Nintendo tried to create their own standard and it is very different than the current standard. Most companies use third party engines line Unreal Engine, Unity, or CryEngine. In order to add support they would need to write a *significant* amount of code in order to provide the same functionality that other platforms have, plus they need to test the code. Consider the costs for a moment. Will the cost of adding support for the Wii U be recuperated by sales on that platform? No. No it won't.

Nintendo shot themselves in the foot with this one. Don't blame the developers for not developing for Nintendo. Blame Nintendo for changing their API into something proprietary in nature. It is downright foolish to expect developers to change the way they program when literally everybody else is using another standard.

 

[CrystalShadow]

I find a 2016 launch highly improbable.

The Wii U is almost certainly going to have a 'standard' 5 year console cycle.
And anyone paying attention to their history will know that new consoles are in development long before they are released.
For that matter, they tend to show actual near final, working prototypes of the consoles more than a year before release.

We have yet to see anything. All we have are vague rumours. I would still bet on a 2017 release, not 2016.
(unless they frame it as a 3ds replacement, I don't see it happening.)

If it's going to get released 'early', (as in, before the Wii U officially reaches end of life), expect it like... april 2017 or something.
That'd still be 6 months early or so...
But 2016? Nah. I don't think so.

 

[bluegate]

I can't wait for them to sit on it and do nothing with the kits for 4 years until Sony and Microsoft send theirs in so they can then complain about how hard the NX was to develop for and make excuses out the ass for why their game isn't coming on the platform.

This is what happens when the industry is flooded with code monkeys instead of actual designers: they lose the ability to truly design. The attitude 3rd parties have towards Nintendo truly is contemptible; maybe it wouldn't be so bad if they weren't so incompetent.

snip snip.

I like you for actually making sense and trying to explain this, but seriously, don't bother discussing with either Aiddon or Dragonbums, those two are so far up Nintendo's arse, no word other than Nintendo's will reach them. They won't learn anything from your post and when this subject comes up again, they will argue the same point again and again, most likely with each other too. The Nintendo defense force around here tend to form their own little echo chamber.

No matter how painful it might be to read some of their deluded posts, just try and ignore them.

As for the topic on hand; Well, this is what happens with consoles I suppose, developers get development kits, big whoop?