Perhaps one of Nintendo’s biggest flaws is the fact that their consoles are rarely able to satisfy the needs of modern developers. The Wii U’s library consists almost entirely of first-party games – considering the fact that Nintendo make great games, this isn’t too big a problem. It’s still a problem, though.
Nintendo has finally acknowledged this, or maybe they’ve just went and accidentally solved what is arguably one of their biggest flaws; but the Nintendo NX is shaping up to be a gamechanger. Nintendo has always shone brightest in the software market, where they’re actually creating the games – so it’s surprising to hear that, apparently, the NX will be up to “3-4 times more powerful than the Wii U.” (Thanks, Direct Games).
It’ll support modern engines and development pipelines like Unreal Engine. Third parties will be able to port their games. The system will be powered by the NVIDIA Pascal Tegra.
This could mean many things for the upcoming console, and more importantly, upcoming games. We won’t remember the NX twenty years later for its slick UI or impressive hardware. We’ll remember it for the games we played and the experiences it offered us, and Nintendo would do well to ensure those experiences don’t fall short of what you’d expect in their games.
It could be a trade-off, with impressive hardware substituting for less impressive titles from Nintendo, and the ability to play more third party titles instead.
With the release (March 2017) drawing nearer each day, and an announcement coming later this month, it’s an exciting time for the gaming community. Keep an eye on Fraghero for all the best on Nintendo, the Nintendo NX, and more.