While still staying pretty secretive about the upcoming NX console, Nintendo of America’s Reggie Fils-Aime made some admissions regarding the Wii U flop.
“One of the things that we have to do better when we launch the NX, [is] we have to do a better job communicating the positioning for the product. We have to do a better job helping people to understand its uniqueness and what that means for the game playing experience.”
The new console will have a much easier time with brand identity over the Wii U by simply having a different name than the previous console. When the Wii U launched, many gamers were confused wether or not it was a new console and not just another weird peripheral for the Wii. Nintendo just never seemed to be able to explain the functionality of the Wii U’s gamepad. It had great potential with asymmetrical gameplay but few games actually were able to use the gimmick successfully.
The new console, still using the codename NX, will be coming out in March 2017.
We are still yet to see any confirmed hardware specs. All we’ve gotten from Nintendo is that it will be “a dedicated game platform with a brand-new concept.”
The biggest rumors regarding hardware making the rounds right now are that the console will feature a mobile device that will also connect to a TV and that a return to cartridges with flash based storage rather than optical drives.
Games wise, there are several Wii U titles that are expected to be ported over to the new console, including Smash Brothers, Mario Maker, and Splatoon. By releasing these titles with the NX, Nintendo hopes to win over gamers who never adopted the Wii U. But unless it launches with new exclusive titles it can’t ever hope to win over those who actually bought into the Wii U.
Did you get the Wii U? Are you excited about the upcoming console or will you wait and see? Let us know in the comments below.