Nintendo's NX Console Is Not A Successor To Wii U

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In an interview, Nintendo’s president Kimishima Tatsumi announced that the new NX console currently in development will not be a successor to the Wii U.

According to Kimishima, the new NX console will be a home console that is sold alongside Nintendo’s current Wii U and 3DS gaming devices. Kimishima did not give any details on the performance of the console, but he did say that it was meant to be a new gaming experience. This could allude to a more powerful console designed to be a better competitor against the Xbox One and Playstation 4, but it might also point to a unique new interface similar to the Wii’s motion controls or the Wii U’s tablet.

During the interview, Kimishima was asked about the price of the Nintendo NX console, but he was unable to give a definitive answer at that time. According to Kimishima, developers are pushing Nintendo to add new features to the console, and Nintendo is carefully considering these suggestions. Although the new features would give the console new functions, it also would raise the production costs--hence Nintendo’s hesitation as it wants the console to remain affordable.

Although the NX console is still under heavy development, this information raises several new questions about what the NX console will be. It could be anything from a new Nintendo VR headset, to a high-end game console more powerful than the PS4, to essentially a tweaked Wii U with a new controller. At this time, it is impossible to know.

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Michael Justin Allen Sexton
Michael Justin Allen Sexton is a Contributing Writer for Tom's Hardware US. He covers hardware component news, specializing in CPUs and motherboards.
32 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Dunzaus
    I think it's because it's not a successor like the Wii U was to the Wii. Thats my 2 cents.
    Reply
  • Quixit
    The Wii U needs to be taken out back and shot, it's already failed to sell enough units to be profitable.
    Reply
  • dstarr3
    The Wii U needs to be taken out back and shot, it's already failed to sell enough units to be profitable.

    Well, the weird thing is that the Wii U is the only current console with any decent exclusives. The PS4 has Bloodborne, and... well, that's about it. The Wii U's got Bayonetta, Fast Racing Neo, Xenoblade, Monster Hunter, Splatoon, Smash, etc. It's the only console worth buying at the moment, and nobody's buying it. And nobody's going to buy it now especially, with the NX on the horizon that so little is still known about.
    Reply
  • Quixit
    17995273 said:
    The Wii U needs to be taken out back and shot, it's already failed to sell enough units to be profitable.

    Well, the weird thing is that the Wii U is the only current console with any decent exclusives. The PS4 has Bloodborne, and... well, that's about it. The Wii U's got Bayonetta, Fast Racing Neo, Xenoblade, Monster Hunter, Splatoon, Smash, etc. It's the only console worth buying at the moment, and nobody's buying it. And nobody's going to buy it now especially, with the NX on the horizon that so little is still known about.

    That tells you more about the futility of exclusives than anything else. Maybe publishers will finally learn that multi-platform titles are the only smart way to go.
    Reply
  • Jeff Fx
    The Wii U needs to be taken out back and shot, it's already failed to sell enough units to be profitable.

    I did my part and bought one, but never used it beyond setting it up. There's so much competing for the time we spend on entertainment.

    I could play VR games on the Vive, Fallout 4 DLC on PC, Uncharted 4 on PS4, or Battleborn on Xbox One, and that's just a few of the gaming options. I also have so much TV, and so many movies competing for my time, and I just never get around to using my Wii U.
    Reply
  • RedJaron
    A complementary console? Wonder if it's a VR console. Virtual Boy 2.0?

    17995273 said:
    Well, the weird thing is that the Wii U is the only current console with any decent exclusives. The PS4 has Bloodborne, and... well, that's about it.
    Um, how about Uncharted, Last of Us, Ratchet & Clank, Gran Turismo, and LittleBigPlanet? If you count games that are only available on Sony consoles, or those where it's just PC and PS4, that list grows. But everyone will have some good exclusives ( Halo, Forza, Gears of War on XBox ). Saying only one console has worthwhile exclusives is biased in the extreme. Not everyone shares your gaming preferences. Also, considering most people like playing games with friends, the greatest exclusives lose a lot of luster if you don't have someone to play it with.


    17995273 said:
    It's the only console worth buying at the moment, and nobody's buying it.
    Perhaps you ought to consider WHY no one is buying it. The U is about $50 cheaper than the other two, so that should give it a big advantage. Except the PS4 and especially XB1 have stronger media capabilities, especially since the U can't even play a DVD or Blu-ray. In a way, my PS3 and PS4 have saved me money because I've never had to purchase a Blu-ray player. It's also cheaper to get a set of controllers for the PS4 or XB1 than the U. Then there's the extremely limited 32 GB storage

    The U may have some redeeming qualities, but there are plenty of reasons that keep it from being "the only console worth buying at the moment."
    Reply
  • CaedenV
    While skeptical, I am really hoping the rumors of the NX being a gaming platform (more like a VM) will be true. That would be a fantastic way to bring Nintendo to PC, Apple, Android, etc.
    Probably not true... but man, it would be nice.
    Reply
  • cptnjarhead
    I miss the days when consoles had exotic hardware and exclusive games.
    Then again, with VR in the mix, we are at a crossroads for content. Kind of like the boardroom meeting at Sega back in 1995 just before release...and they realized that Nintendo went 3D graphics, and they thought 2D was still king. I think any new console not built around VR will end up like the Saturn.
    Reply
  • tical2399
    Nintendo, we don't believe you, you need more people. Now Nintendo, you know good and damn, well this will be your next home console. Yes it might have some kinda handheld function, but it will mainly be for the home.
    Reply
  • dstarr3
    The U may have some redeeming qualities, but there are plenty of reasons that keep it from being "the only console worth buying at the moment."

    Well, okay, the only other console worth buying is a second-hand PS3. Sure, there's a new Ratchet and Clank or Uncharted game, but there's three other games (and better ones) from each franchise to be played on PS3. And never mind that, while the PS3 has a really big library of great games, the overwhelming majority of those great PS3 games are just PS2 remasters.

    And Gran Turismo/Forza/etc, I see no reason to play those when there are so many racing sims on PC that are so vastly superior.
    Reply