Why Nintendo Needs To Build A Unified Platform With the Nintendo NX

There’s been a lot of speculation about Nintendo’s mysterious new NX console for years now. After the terribly disappointing Wii U sales, investors and Nintendo fans alike are hoping for a hit that could return Nintendo to its glory days. (The recent Pokémon GO success notwithstanding.)

Little tidbits of information have been trickling out on rumor sights, but as we near the official announcement, a clearer picture is emerging. Today a report on eurogamer.net alleges that the Nintendo NX will be a portable console with removable controllers and a dock to connect it to a TV, and it will use cartridges and downloads for its games. All of this seems to track with the rumors thus far and sounds credible. Assuming that the basic facts of this report are correct, there’s another key piece of information that I think will hurt Nintendo: No backward compatibility.

The console gaming space is changing like never before. For decades there’s been a consistent pattern of distinct console generations. But the rise of mobile phones, tablets, and app stores, has made the importance of a consistent platform clear. Sony and Microsoft see the greater potential for creating a platform for games and apps with their respective brands. The announcement of the NEO and Scorpio projects, point to the end of distinct console generations.

This new direction for consoles makes perfect sense. Companies that control large platforms have immense power. Just look at Apple, Google, and Valve (with Steam) for example. Combined these platforms have billions of users, and sell massive amounts of games and apps to their customers. Over time a collection of purchases serves as a sort of “lock-in” for the platform. While it’s debatable if this is good for consumers, the power of these platforms is undeniable.

But just how do you go about building a platform? One of the keys is backward compatibility. Would iOS and Android have so much value to users if they weren’t apple to continue to use their existing games and apps when they upgrade their device? Obviously the continued use of such assets is crucial to their success in the marketplace. Backward compatibility provides immense convenience to customers, and our conveniences quickly become our necessities. (Just look at coffee use!)

NEO and Scorpio both include the promise of backward compatibility. They represent the start of an ongoing platform for the Playstation and Xbox brands. Assuming the NX lacks such backward compatibility — and it appears likely from current reports — it could prove a serious problem for Nintendo.

Now more than ever Nintendo needs a strong platform. Just looking at Nintendo’s current product lineup we see a lot of fragmentation. Did you buy a favorite game on the Wii’s Virtual Console? Want to play that on your Wii U’s GamePad? Sorry you can’t unless it’s available for the Wii U’s Virtual Console, and you’ll also have to pay an upgrade fee. And sorry you can’t play that same game on your 3DS unless you buy it again. Even playing a Wii game on the Wii U is a strange experience, since you have to switch over to the Wii’s interface, and use entirely different peripherals even when the GamePad should be sufficient. And don’t even get me started on the subtle fragmentation between the 2DS, 3DS, and New 3DS.

The NX represents an opportunity for Nintendo to build a unified platform. But if the reports are true they will instead be adding yet another platform they hope their customers and developers will embrace. And long suffering Nintendo fans (like myself) probably will, but that number seems to be dwindling every year.

Of all the gaming companies in the world Nintendo has the most valuable library of games, bar none. Most of Nintendo’s titles are true classics, and they could provide a unified Nintendo platform with immense value. The rocket success of Pokémon GO, proves the continuing value of such properties, but also demonstrates the importance of using a platform (iOS and Android) to deliver those experiences.

Now I realize that all of this is conjecture at this point. I’ve been a Nintendo fan since the NES days, and have owned every home console (and most of their portable systems) since then, so I want Nintendo to succeed. Nevertheless, the landscape has changed. I hope Nintendo is able to learn from its mistakes while still retaining the magic that makes them so special.

(Blog post from my blog at 1NerdBrain.com)