My Predictions About Nintendo’s NX

Rumors and speculation about Nintendo’s newest console have been everywhere since they first announced it. Now we’ve learned that we don’t really have to speculate anymore – this summer, they’re telling us all about it. This fall, it’s hitting the shelves.

Now we could let this take all the fun out of trying to figure out what the NX is going to be. Or we could try and figure it out anyway and hope that our predictions hold water! Today, I’m going to throw out some gimmicks I have thought of that might just be what this console needs to really take off.

The Nintendo4One
Everyone is always complaining that Nintendo’s consoles aren’t graphically on par with the Sony or Microsoft consoles. Now as someone who thinks of good graphics as a nice perk rather than a gaming necessity, I’ve never cared much for that argument. However, I do understand that hardware is important for a console because companies want to develop for good hardware. And while it is easy for a third party like Bethesda or Square Enix to develop games that work on both X-Box One and PS4, they pretty much have to redo everything if they want the game to work on a Nintendo console. And most companies aren’t willing to go that extra mile. This means that third party support tends to flounder on Nintendo consoles, and while Nintendo has an incredible first party lineup, a lot of people need more than just the newest Zelda game to convince them to spend a few hundred dollars.
Enter the Nintendo4One, a console designed to match exactly the hardware specifications of the competition. Be satisfied as you play Call of Duty on the same system that your kid uses to play Super Mario. Watch the newest Assassin’s Creed title unfold before your eyes, and then later beat up some people in Smash Bros. Third parties will beg to publish for this console, but that’s not all! Every first party game from the other big companies will also play on it. So you don’t just get Mario, you get Nathan Drake and Master Chief too. The Nintendo4One is the only system you’ll ever need – at least until next gen.

The Nintendo Throwback
Sometimes you have to look to the past to move into the future, and that’s exactly what this console is for. Compact discs, digital DLC, all these things are ruining video games. The best days of gaming, the ones we all remember with fondness in our hearts, are the days of the Nintendo 64. So to recapture the glory and beauty of that era, Nintendo needs to make a console that works the same way.
Can you imagine how throwback that would be? Having to blow out your cartridges again, using a controller that isn’t the exact same shape or button placement as the PS4 or X-Box One, playing games with polygonal graphics that don’t have any updates or installation times – it’d be a glorious reminder of what games used to be. Heck, if they don’t want to develop a whole new console for it, just re-release the Nintendo 64 and then make some new games for it. Fans would scramble like mad to pick up these things, and a whole new generation would experience the joy of the N64.

The Wii-Z
Pronounced “wheezy,” this console is the ultimate promoter of laziness. Using the latest voice recognition technology, this console takes the comfort and ease of the Wiimote and Nunchuk and takes them to a whole new level. It’s a console you never have to touch with your hands – every game is completely digital and there’s no controller, so there’s no reason to get off of your couch in order to play.
When you play a video game, all you have to do is shout orders at the console. “Talk to the mayor!” “Slash the monster!” “Kiss that man right on the mouth!” Whatever you say, the console makes your character do. Now I can already anticipate complaints, accusations that voice controls would be too slow for action games. Just think of it like sports – your character won’t react fast enough, something bad will happen, so you lean forward and give the console a good yell. Wake up everybody in the house if you have to. It’s just like yelling at referees and nobody ever complains about that. Except the referees, of course.

The Amiibo Plate
Okay, chances are they will name this console something way better than that. But here’s the idea – Nintendo really wants to sell those Amiibo. These little action figures are one of their most successful financial decisions in recent years. So why not take them to the next level?
Make each Amiibo the vessel that holds video games. Get rid of CDs, instead the software for every video game is kept in its own Amiibo. When you place the Amiibo on the plate, the console starts up the game and you can play to your heart’s content.
There are advantages to doing games this way. Buying a game is more than just a really expensive disk that gives you virtual enjoyment – you now get virtual enjoyment and a really cool action figure for people to look at. Plus, you can use these little guys for some serious DLC bonuses. Each time you buy one of these Amiibo-games, it could unlock some new costumes, game modes, or features in other Amiibo-games you own. So every game you buy is not only a stand-alone game, but also expands and improves the games you already own.

But enough of my theories, adventurers! What gimmicks do you think would work for the NX? Are you excited for the unveiling of Nintendo’s new console? Discuss it in the comments so that maybe we can give the big N some good ideas!