Nintendo Already Hedging On Impending NX Console, It’s Not About Specs Or Horsepower
Don't expect Nintendo's next generation game console codenamed NX to trump upgraded game systems from Microsoft or Sony. That's our takeaway from comments made by Nintendo America President Reggie Fils-Aime, who downplayed the importance of "teraflops" and "horsepower" in a response to a question about how the NX will compare to Microsoft's Project Scorpio and Sony's PS4 Neo.
"For us, it's not about specs, it's not about teraflops, it's not about the horsepower of a particular system," Fils-Aime told Bloomberg in an interview. "For us, it's about the content. Nintendo is a content focused company, we create content that makes people smile. So for us we're focused on bringing our best entertainment to both the Wii U as well as the NX in the future."
Fils-Aime also said that whatever chest thumping match Microsoft and Sony have gotten themselves into over hardware specs, "that's for them to fight out in the red ocean." In contrast, Nintendo appears to be content to compete with a less powerful console, as it's done in the past, and hope that its rich IP of characters and franchises like Super Mario and Donkey Kong will prop it up.
The strategy has worked for Nintendo before, most notably with its original Wii console. Part of the charm was that it introduced motion controls, which made for some interesting gameplay, and it ended up selling really well. However, the same can't be said of the Wii U, another underpowered console (compared to the competition) that's been a bit of a disappointment in terms of sales.
Looking ahead, Microsoft is planning for the VR boom with Project Scorpio, an upgraded version of the Xbox One that it claims will be the most powerful console the world has ever seen. And not to be outdone, Sony is prepping a revised PlayStation 4 console that will be capable of gaming at 4K. It doesn't appear that Nintendo has VR or 4K gaming on its sights.
"For us, it's not about specs, it's not about teraflops, it's not about the horsepower of a particular system," Fils-Aime told Bloomberg in an interview. "For us, it's about the content. Nintendo is a content focused company, we create content that makes people smile. So for us we're focused on bringing our best entertainment to both the Wii U as well as the NX in the future."
Fils-Aime also said that whatever chest thumping match Microsoft and Sony have gotten themselves into over hardware specs, "that's for them to fight out in the red ocean." In contrast, Nintendo appears to be content to compete with a less powerful console, as it's done in the past, and hope that its rich IP of characters and franchises like Super Mario and Donkey Kong will prop it up.
The strategy has worked for Nintendo before, most notably with its original Wii console. Part of the charm was that it introduced motion controls, which made for some interesting gameplay, and it ended up selling really well. However, the same can't be said of the Wii U, another underpowered console (compared to the competition) that's been a bit of a disappointment in terms of sales.
Looking ahead, Microsoft is planning for the VR boom with Project Scorpio, an upgraded version of the Xbox One that it claims will be the most powerful console the world has ever seen. And not to be outdone, Sony is prepping a revised PlayStation 4 console that will be capable of gaming at 4K. It doesn't appear that Nintendo has VR or 4K gaming on its sights.
