The Next Handheld. [Speculation]

[Sentacotus]

So with Fire Emblem's home really being suited well toward handhelds what do you think the next handheld from Nintendo will be like? Will it even happen in the first place? While I love the hell out of my 3DS and its managed to do well in the market no one can deny how smartphones have taken a huge chunk of the handheld business away from Nintendo and how if they produce a new one they are fighting a hard uphill battle. If they are willing to fight it in the first place. I find this particularly concerning since handhelds have been a huge part of Nintendo's revenue even when their consoles didn't do well. Furthermore, as a Fire Emblem fan its concerning since the titles are pretty much at home on handhelds and sell the best on handhelds. While I'm a huge fan of the console Fire Emblems, I'm not sure how well they would do on Nintendo's new console (and that's a whole new can of worms).

So what do you think? What new features and appearance could be on Nintendo's next handheld. Will they even have one in the first place? Will they try something completely unexpected with the NX or pull a fast one somewhere?

Edited April 10, 2016 by LordTaco42

[Anacybele]

Handhelds aren't being hurt by the phone market at all. The 3DS has been going strong for a long time. :/

I don't really care much what the next handheld is, I care more about the NX. I'm not as big a fan of handheld systems. I feel more comfortable playing on a home console with a larger TV screen that I can see better. And I think home consoles have better games overall.

Edited April 10, 2016 by Anacybele

[Zera]

The 3DS is fine, so I'm not sure when or why a new handheld will appear, but it probably will at some point.

[Sentacotus]

The 3DS is fine, so I'm not sure when or why a new handheld will appear, but it probably will at some point.

Yeah probably not for a little while. But like anything else hardware gets dated and I think the base 3DS was released back in like fall 2010 so its coming up on it's sixth year.

[Jave]

I'm expecting an NX Handheld and an NX Console, with a shared game library.

[Sentacotus]

I'm expecting an NX Handheld and an NX Console, with a shared game library.

That's what I think as well. If Nintendo does keep making handhelds. Maybe throw in some exclusives for one or the other (Like Fire Emblem would be for the handheld). Of course, there are any number of ways a console/handheld hybrid could be implemented its anyone's guess.

Edited April 10, 2016 by LordTaco42

[Anacybele]

I'm expecting an NX Handheld and an NX Console, with a shared game library.

I actually would be okay with that, especially if one copy of each game would be compatible with both. I'd have the home console when I'm at home and I'd have the handheld version simply only for vacations and road trips.

(Like Fire Emblem would be for the handheld)

No way, put it on both at least, please.

Edited April 10, 2016 by Anacybele

[Roflolxp54]

Nintendo 3DS's been out for 5 years at this point (out in Japan on late February 2011). It may be a bit while longer before we hear anything on the possible next handheld. Nintendo DS came out in November of 2004 and it wasn't until March of 2010 when the 3DS was first announced.

Improvements I would like to see would be better battery life, first/second-party capture card hardware built-in, and if possible, support for wired Internet connection.

[Anacybele]

The New 3DS has awesome battery life. I've only had to recharge it like two times since I got it. And I had a couple of roadtrips since then. Though I obviously didn't use it every single day.

[Ema Skye]

No way, put it on both at least, please.

If TMS #FE doesn't sell well, and combined with PoR and RD's worst in the series sales, console FE is very unlikely.

[Zera]

Improvements I would like to see would be better battery life, first/second-party capture card hardware built-in, and if possible, support for wired Internet connection.

Better battery life is a must. I could literally leave my original DS Lite in sleep mode for a month, and it would still have power. By capture card, do you mean something like the "share" button on the PS4 controller?

[Sentacotus]

Improvements I would like to see would be better battery life, first/second-party capture card hardware built-in, and if possible, support for wired Internet connection.

A built in capture card would be pretty clutch but it would probably also spike the cost of it too.

[Anacybele]

If TMS #FE doesn't sell well, and combined with PoR and RD's worst in the series sales, console FE is very unlikely.

Sorry, but I think you're incorrect. TMS#FE is not actual FE and is nothing like actual FE, and thus you can't use it to predict the sales of a future home console FE. FE has a larger fanbase now than it did back in the PoR and RD days, and it's getting more advertising than ever. A home console FE should sell better by default now for that alone. If the Wii U's life wasn't about over, I'd say release it on that, but the NX is around the corner now.

Edited April 10, 2016 by Anacybele

[Roflolxp54]

Better battery life is a must. I could literally leave my original DS Lite in sleep mode for a month, and it would still have power. By capture card, do you mean something like the "share" button on the PS4 controller?

A built in capture card would be pretty clutch but it would probably also spike the cost of it too.

By capture card, I mean those that are used to record video footage of gameplay directly from console onto some other display (most commonly a PC). Several YouTubers often make LPs and other gameplay videos through use of a capture card as the quality is overall much better than what an ordinary camera can show. The main prohibitive costs are that capture cards are very expensive (more expensive than even the 3DS handheld itself), that installation of capture cards violates the 3DS warranty, and that they're often in limited stock and may have very limited support, not to mention that quality of capture cards may vary.

It's something I would like to see -- it's not a big deal if it's not a thing. And yes, it would drive up the costs but it would probably be cheaper than getting the handheld and then find some third party modder to install the hardware.

Of course, there could be two different versions of the same handheld -- one version with the capture card; the other without.

[Sentacotus]

It's something I would like to see -- it's not a big deal if it's not a thing. And yes, it would drive up the costs but it would probably be cheaper than getting the handheld and then find some third party modder to install the hardware.

Of course, there could be two different versions of the same handheld -- one version with the capture card; the other without.

That's actually an interesting thought. If they offered it I wouldn't mind getting one with a capture card in it even for the extra dough considering the hassle it is to currently do it. Although given Nintendo's track record with videos and fan made things I think we'd rather sooner see a Nintendo console with Halo on it before that happens.

[Roflolxp54]

That's actually an interesting thought. If they offered it I wouldn't mind getting one with a capture card in it even for the extra dough considering the hassle it is to currently do it. Although given Nintendo's track record with videos and fan made things I think we'd rather sooner see a Nintendo console with Halo on it before that happens.

Oh yeah, that was a thing some time ago. If only Nintendo knew that stuff like LPs and whatnot are basically free advertising (since quality of Nintendo's marketing varies).

[Samias]

Handhelds sell better in Japan than consoles by a large margin. Even a "failure" like the Vita is actually doing pretty well overseas, as the PSP was always extremely competitive with the DS. Despite the 3DS declining in numbers from the DS, their anti piracy measures were far more effective with flash carts and emulators being far less ubiquitous than during the DS era, so Nintendo probably feels this generation was ok. Not great, but not dire. I presume they're going to continue about 7-10 hours of battery life of continuous play and 70~ hours of battery life in sleep mode. The graphics will probably jump up to 480p, MAYBE 720p if Nintendo is ambitious but the likelihood of a 1080p or better handheld seems unlikely as Nintendo typically prefers the cheap and utilitarian approach to all their hardware so they make a profit on their systems rather than taking a hit on initial costs and hoping for strong software sales. Dual sticks will probably become standard considering Nintendo rarely goes backwards on hardware revisions. If it isn't a part of the new console, it will definitely have some kind of crossplay function, likely being able to link certain games or be used as a controlller like Smash Bros has demonstrated between the 3DS and Wii U. It'd be cool if you could stream to the TV to play games though.

Also the mobile market IS putting a strain on the 3DS. Nintendo has just done a good job continuing to court indie devs to work on porting their titles to the 3DS because it has such a comfortable control scheme compared to playing games on mobile, and has stronger battery life. Nintendo also offers a strong selection of 1st party games like Mario Kart and Smash Bros. However the 3DS has lost traction even with children due to mobile Minecraft being such a hit. Meanwhile, the adult crowd consumes an extremely large number of puzzle games and social games on mobile. It's a billion yen industry which Nintendo could only dream about these days by comparison. Selling millions of copies of Pokemon worldwide is great and all but the saturation of mobile gaming actually eclipses any dedicated gaming system. I prefer my 3DS but I'm a part of the minority. Even my fiance uses his phone for games more than he uses his 3DS because the phone is more essential to have on him.

[Sentacotus]

I think thats partly why Nintendo is now working with other devs to make mobile games because they realize how important iy is now in days.

[Butterstroke]

It will be called the New New 3DS system!

But, I do want an achievement system for Nintendo games. Just so I can see how little I have done no matter how far I am in the game.

[Jave]

It will be called the New New 3DS system!

But, I do want an achievement system for Nintendo games. Just so I can see how little I have done no matter how far I am in the game.

The current My Nintendo/Miitomo system seems to be a preview on how NX will handle achievements.

[kingddd]

Handhelds sell better in Japan than consoles by a large margin. Even a "failure" like the Vita is actually doing pretty well overseas, as the PSP was always extremely competitive with the DS.

The biggest problem with console gaming in Japan is that it is really expensive. An average console game at launch release costs almost 80 to 90 USD equivalent in their market. This is not to take into currency value but the amount they usually make on the job. Handheld games cost as much as a console game here in their country so it's no surprising that Japan much prefers mobile and handheld gaming considering how much cheaper it is compared to the North American market.

Look at the price of Dark Souls 3. I would have to pay almost 95 Canadian for the game at release in Japan.

[Samias]

Look at the price of Dark Souls 3. I would have to pay almost 95 Canadian for the game at release in Japan.

The price of new entertainment media in Japan is absurd. I remember games and CDs being ridiculously expensive, like Persona 4 was something like 8000 yen new. But the PS2 was insanely successful. I think consoles underperforming not just because of price but the fact that most people can't really afford the space at home and rarely have time to sit down and play anyway with such a long working day and long commutes on public transit.

[Sentacotus]

The biggest problem with console gaming in Japan is that it is really expensive. An average console game at launch release costs almost 80 to 90 USD equivalent in their market. This is not to take into currency value but the amount they usually make on the job. Handheld games cost as much as a console game here in their country so it's no surprising that Japan much prefers mobile and handheld gaming considering how much cheaper it is compared to the North American market.

Look at the price of Dark Souls 3. I would have to pay almost 95 Canadian for the game at release in Japan.

The price of new entertainment media in Japan is absurd. I remember games and CDs being ridiculously expensive, like Persona 4 was something like 8000 yen new. But the PS2 was insanely successful. I think consoles underperforming not just because of price but the fact that most people can't really afford the space at home and rarely have time to sit down and play anyway with such a long working day and long commutes on public transit.

Could also be possibly due to inflation. Where games have steadily remained at the same price here in the US since like forever ago inflation has been steadier/lower in the US and standards of living have gone up. In short, while games are around 60USD here new the value of people's money has gone up. I have no idea what the inflation situation is in Japan or what not and I'm just spit balling but 60USD new as opposed to 80-90USD seems like a huge discrepancy. I know Canada has issues with importing and sales taxes and such but in Japan I wouldn't think that would be the case...

Edited April 14, 2016 by LordTaco42

[Samias]

Could also be possibly due to inflation. Where games have steadily remained at the same price here in the US since like forever ago inflation has been steadier/lower in the US and standards of living have gone up. In short, while games are around 60USD here new the value of people's money has gone up. I have no idea what the inflation situation is in Japan or what not and I'm just spit balling but 60USD new as opposed to 80-90USD seems like a huge discrepancy. I know Canada has issues with importing and sales taxes and such but in Japan I wouldn't think that would be the case...

The US is actually exceptionally cheap compared to the rest of the world. And everything is so expensive in Japan because of companies trying to squeeze what they can out of people who buy new, since there's a thriving rental and used media market. Now in the age of digital distribution they still lag behind and try to wring every yen out of buyers. Anime is the worst, where a single episode could be priced at something absurd like 2000 yen (3-4 episodes per volume, the volume being around 8000 yen). However games and music are not really much better. The average console game is about 8000 yen and the average portable game is around 5000 yen. The average single for music is something like 1500 yen and has 2-3 tracks + instrumental versions. The US exchange rate usually hovers around 1 USD = 110 yen these days but back when I visited it was more like 1 USD = 80 yen...

Your average Japanese gamer simply buys things from a used shop to get comparable prices to something in North America. It doesn't matter how much of the market is domestic. While I found food, clothes, household goods and comics to be cheap, everything else was a racket compared to back home.

[Sentacotus]

The US is actually exceptionally cheap compared to the rest of the world. And everything is so expensive in Japan because of companies trying to squeeze what they can out of people who buy new, since there's a thriving rental and used media market. Now in the age of digital distribution they still lag behind and try to wring every yen out of buyers. Anime is the worst, where a single episode could be priced at something absurd like 2000 yen (3-4 episodes per volume, the volume being around 8000 yen). However games and music are not really much better. The average console game is about 8000 yen and the average portable game is around 5000 yen. The average single for music is something like 1500 yen and has 2-3 tracks + instrumental versions. The US exchange rate usually hovers around 1 USD = 110 yen these days but back when I visited it was more like 1 USD = 80 yen...

Your average Japanese gamer simply buys things from a used shop to get comparable prices to something in North America. It doesn't matter how much of the market is domestic. While I found food, clothes, household goods and comics to be cheap, everything else was a racket compared to back home.

Yeah that's really bad. Can't say I blame them for buying used I'd probably do the same thing.