The last few years for Nintendo have been challenging times for the company. The Wii U has fallen flat on it’s face after the record breaking success of the Wii. With only around 10 million Wii U systems being sold since it released in 2012. The Wii U is only one part of the problem for Nintendo. The death of Satoru Iwata a few months ago left the company without a president and a notable face that gamers kno1w. While Nintendo just recently announced Tatsumi Kimishima as the man who will replace Satoru Iwata, he has only been named the president for a year. This leaves the company with a big decision about who will lead the company during a period where they are struggling. Other factors, like the lack of third party support, and the leveling off of sales for the 3DS have also impacted the company.
Earlier this year the company revealed they are working on a new system codenamed the NX. Most assume this system will be a home console and a successor to the Wii U. Nintendo is moving on from one, if not the worst selling console in their history, and the combination of other factors makes the NX a extremely critical system for them. Its easy to say that the NX could make or break Nintendo’s future in the industry.
Various reports and leaks have many people believing that the NX will be a console hybrid system, where it can be both a home console like the Wii U and also a console you can take on the go like the 3DS. It is still just rumors at this point but if this turns out to be true it would basically make Nintendo only have one console they have to worry about for their next generation. If the NX turns out to be a hybrid console it definitely will have its benefits and drawbacks.
If the rumors of a hybrid console are true it could very well be trouble again for getting third party support for Nintendo’s console which the Wii U is sorely missing. Getting games from third party developers like Ubisoft, EA, and many others is very important for making sure gamers have something to play on their consoles in between big first party developed games.Both Xbox One and Playstation 4 have relied on third party support heavily so far this generation to help fill gaps in between their first party games.
The Wii U at this point has almost zero third party support which makes it seem like nothing is coming out for Wii U anymore, because there is nothing filling in the gaps in between games like Super Smash Bros. and Splatoon. Of all the things Nintendo needs to do to make sure the NX is a success, the support of third parties should be a top priority. If the NX is a hybrid console, it might be tough for third parties to develop for it, so Nintendo needs to make sure they do everything they can to help third parties with developing for NX.
Being a hybrid console may hurt their third party support but if it is a hybrid console it should only strengthen Nintendo’s first party lineup. By combining the 3DS and the Wii U into one system; Nintendo would also be combining the first party support each of those systems get. Instead of getting 4 or 5 first party games for each system the NX would presumably be getting 8 or 10 first party games a year which would definitely make the NX the system with the strongest first party software. Getting 10 first party games from a developer who knows how to make some of the best first party games would definitely set the NX apart.
The NX being a hybrid console would also combine the market of people who own a 3DS and Wii U. While many people, if not most people who own a Wii U probably also own a 3DS; there is still a good amount of people who only have one or can’t afford both consoles. By combining the markets this will eliminate people having to buy two systems to play their favorite Nintendo games. You may think that this would be bad because Nintendo would make overall less money from just selling one console compared to two different ones but actually it should only help. It would allow people who would have to spend the money another console to instead spend it on games for the system. It would also help with manufacturing costs because Nintendo only has to worry about manufacturing one system.
There are a lot of positives to the NX being a hybrid console but it still is an extremely risky idea. Nobody has proven that you can create a console that can deliver both a great home console experience with a great mobile experience. There are also factors like the power the console would be capable of and how much a hybrid console would cost. I should make clear though that everything we do know about NX is a rumor and most likely everything we have heard about it at this point could turn out to be false.
The NX will be an extremely crucial console for Nintendo as it could either bring Nintendo back to the top of the gaming world or make it fall further down the hole the Wii U has dug for them. Nintendo jumping into mobile gaming also will have a significant impact on the company but the NX will be the deciding factor on whether they will be successful or not. I think almost everybody wants Nintendo to succeed since they have basically been gaming for decades but after a misstep with the Wii U, they need the NX to be successful. If I know one thing from being a gamer for almost two decades, its that you never bet against Nintendo.