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What form will the next Nintendo handheld take? [roundtable]
 
I was thinking about this the other day. Some of the fears that I had about the DS -> 3DS transition have kind of been borne out. The games are more traditional, with less touch-screen focus and much less dual-screen play (which it seems that people besides me generally hated, anyway), due to design conflicts with 3D. (Am I the only person who was looking forward to big, expansive, dual-screen levels in NSMB 2? It was barely even 3D!)

It seems to me that the DS functionality of the 3DS is mostly useful for backwards compatibility. Of course, it won't be removed, because 3DS games have been built with it in mind, but where will Nintendo go next? Will they ditch 3D? Will they ditch the dual-screen and/or the touch screen, now that smartphones are stealing that action, or will they make a smartphone console to make the analysts happy (for a day or two)? OR will they finally fuse home and handheld consoles, perhaps even releasing a Wii U-compatible standalone tablet system?

Ever since the DS, Nintendo seems to have lacked a clear sense of focus and purpose in their handheld console design. The kitchen sink design approach has its positives and negatives, but where will they go from here?

And how do you feel about the way that 3DS game design has been trending so far? Is it becoming the system that you wanted it to be?

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10/14/12, 23:40    Edited: 10/14/12, 23:43
 
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I honestly have no idea where they will go from here, but I also think it's too early to really talk about it. My guess is that they will implement some other new gimmick that will be popular at the time, but this gimmick likely doesn't yet exist so I don't know what it'll be.

Now for what I would personally want, that would be a unified system. With how much technology has advanced, I see no reason for there to be a separation of home system and handheld (other than the obvious of making more money selling two things). So I would want the successor to the Wii U and 3DS to be the same hardware, with a portable and a home system available, both of which played the same media (hopefully cartridges/cards). This would save the consumer a lot of trouble deciding between home and portable, and no one would miss out on any games if they didn't like one or the other.

For your last question: No. In most cases the quality of the software doesn't match the $40 tag, and there seem to be quite a few games on it that would be better suited for a home system. Nintendo's handhelds became popular because the games were different than what you could get on a home system, so I hope Nintendo doesn't lose sight of that...
10/15/12, 00:00   
It will marry the handheld and console. The opposite of the WiiU. Instead of having basically a console that streams to an empty (processing wise) tablet, it will be a beast of a handheld that will stream to a small box that connects to the t.v. You want to play on the big screen? No problem. You want to play on the go? No problem. You want asymmetrical gameplay? No problem, just sync WiiRemotes to the tv box and BAMB! WiiU backwards compatibility.

Damn, beaten by 42 seconds! Damn you first storm of the year slowing down my internet connection
10/15/12, 00:00   
Edited: 10/15/12, 00:02
Yea, I agree that there's no reason to have "handheld games" and "console games" anymore. A handheld should be able to play any game that it is capable of running and a console should be able to play any game that the controls allow for.
10/15/12, 00:22   
@Mop it up
@cooliocuneo
@Jargon

Disagree with ALL OF YOU

Combining both will screw over those who only wanted a cheap handheld.
10/15/12, 00:44   
@Renjaku You want a cheap handheld? Buy a phone! j/k
10/15/12, 00:49   
@Renjaku

Well, I don't think the handheld needs to be super powerful. I think that consoles should continue to be more powerful than handhelds. But there are lots of games on Wii that could run on 3DS (WiiWare and VC games for example) and they should be available on handhelds. And there are lots of games on 3DS that could be played on Wii and those should be available there.
10/15/12, 00:50   
Goddammit.

Years ago I posted a thread here that predicted exactly what you guys are talking about. The combining of the handheld & home consoles into one system.

It must have predated the site upgrade though, because I can't find it. Now my chance to look like a genius is gone.


...Unless Zero has the old site archived somewhere....
10/15/12, 00:53   
I'll think on this and get back to you.
10/15/12, 01:59   
@GameDadGrant
Take your time. I know you take this shit seriously.

This was actually supposed to be a thread about how we have never gotten and will never get dual-screen or primary touch-screen games on the 3DS, but it mutated into something else. But whatever.

@Shadowlink
Delusional man here, everybody! Be careful.
10/15/12, 03:11   
Everything is going to end up in the cloud, I don't care who is making games. Fifteen to twenty years from now you are going to just have devices be they portable, boxes under your TV, etc and they link up to your game accounts and you can stream them anywhere you want on whatever device you have.
10/15/12, 03:34   
@Anand

*sigh*

Genius is always unappreciated by lesser minds. 'Tis my cross to bear I'm afraid.
10/15/12, 04:07   
@Jargon oh, you were talking about something different. More backwards compatibility is always nice.
10/15/12, 04:10   
Backwards compatibility actually scares me. The more control features there are, the ompatible with a new handheld. Either they plan to pack in the kitchen sink from now on or the games may never get out again without a re-release.

I like the idea of fusing the handheld with the home console but its easier said than done, I'm sure. I like the compactness of my handheld. We should have the option of a mainstream device that doesn't cost as much as a home console.

Just as the DS, the 3ds has some diamonds in the rough that showcase the value of the handheld's features. I dont know if they are genre defining but only time will tell how much more we will get.
10/15/12, 04:37   
Edited: 10/15/12, 04:39
Until the 3DS, I've never been much of a handheld gamer. Someone bought me my DS and I really only played Mario Kart and Metroid Pinball. After that I sold my DS.

To be honest, not sure what direction the next handheld will take. Seems to me, since they have the technology to make the screen 3D, they should keep it and let players choose which way they want to play their games.

I have never been someone who is into mobile phones. I mean, sure we need phones to communicate, but thats it. I own a piece of shit trac phone and I usually pay about $15 a month tops. I don't a phone that searches the internet and all this other shit. It boggles my mind how people act like they would die if they didn't own a smartphone. I know a several families that own these phones and their plans for everyone in the household cost them anywhere from like $175 a month to well over $200. SERIOUSLY! What a waste of fucking money. It actually makes me sick to my stomach the way people act like they need this shit.

I honestly cannot believe that smartphones one day would replace handhelds. Again, even though I own a 3DS, I would rather play games on a big tv screen. It would actually bum me out if Nintendo came out with a smart phone. I definitely would not pay for any phone service, I would just use the thing as a handheld videogame console.

I know times change and companies need to change as well to compete in today's market. I honestly don't think Nintendo or any other company needs to make any big changes to a handheld console, other than every so often come out with a new one with improved power. I mean, what else is there really.

@Oldmanwinter

I figure you are correct with your 'cloud' analysis. With that said, I dread all off this downloading digital crap, ect. I like having my games, movies and shit on physical media. Plus, what if I don't want to be connected to the internet, ect. So, that means I wouldn't be able to play any games. What happens when my cable or whatever goes out(which happens more than losing electricity).

I honestly think no matter what, there should always be a choice. Sure, I don't mind downloading games from the eshop, ect. But games that I consider really worth my time or games that I really enjoy, i want those on physical media. I like having all my games,movies,ect on a shelf. I like having something to look like. If all the games become just downloadable, ect, at least for me, its like making things less personal. Sure, I like my computer and all, but I think things are starting to be taken a little bit too far. No, Im not scared of the future or changes, but I think about when I was a kid and would receive videogames for my birthday, xmas or whatever. Now, with the way things are going, its like when someone receives their videogame gifts, its like, yea, I bought you these games, but they are all online ready to be downloaded.

That just seems fucking cheap. Again, people should always have a choice. I'm actually hoping that the amount of games that people download for consoles that can also be purchased on physical media account for way less than 50% of the total games sold. Maybe that way we will always have that choice.
10/15/12, 07:12   
hhhhmmmm a hologram. lol or this
10/15/12, 18:55   
Edited: 10/15/12, 18:56
Thinking outside the box here. Maybe something like a 3D Stylus with buttons on it. I'm thinking along the lines of wiimote or kinect here where the tip of the stylus can be used away from the touch screen where X,Y, and Z-space is measured. Some effect of now you can control in 3D.

They COULD put in some input device for 3D VR but I doubt it unless it was an add-on and not a main feature. I do think you'll be able to play your handheld games on the big screen.

Who knows... its Nintendo. Sometimes its WOW and sometimes its WOW, REALLY... THAT'S IT? They could just add a second analog stick and say its what everyone wanted in their next handheld.

PS - it may be the first Nintendo generation handheld where a download only system is launched within its life cycle.
10/15/12, 19:11   
Edited: 10/15/12, 19:12
4D
10/16/12, 00:29   
@Anand I don't know, I think games will start using those other features soon. The 3D hype is wearing off, and the system offers a lot more than 3D over the DS, so I think we'll see games ditching the 3D if it isn't necessary for specific games. It's like how when the DS came out, every game for the first two years had touchscreen controls shoved into it, but then later on games started using button controls and just had a token map on the bottom screen, and used the touch screen mostly when it made sense.

@Renjaku $250 is a cheap handheld? I personally wouldn't call $170 cheap either.

Though I'd settle for a device like the Super Game Boy or Game Boy Player. The Wii U is perfect for a 3/DS player since the controller already has all of the functions of the 3DS and then some, so hopefully that'll be a reality. It wasn't really viable on the Wii since it didn't have a touchscreen, and as Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time showed, the pointer wasn't an adequate touchscreen replacement (though I still would have been fine with a DS Player with that setup, but I'm probably crazy!).
10/16/12, 01:24   
This is the future:



@Anand
The dual-screen/touch-screen thing died a long time ago, even before the 3DS's asymmetrical screen layout basically mandated that anything important go on the top high-res/wide-screen/3-D/main screen. Did developers wimp out or did gamers just decide they liked games with traditional controls better? I dunno. Even die-hard Nintendo fans bitched about Phantom Hourglass's controls and wanted things to go back the old way (personally I loved the touch-screen controls for that game). *shrugs*
10/16/12, 02:18   
Edited: 10/16/12, 02:22
3 screens.
10/16/12, 02:44   
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