Nintendo unveiled yet another Nintendo Direct making tons of big announcements, including Cloud being in Smash Brothers (this seriously bears repeating, and will be the focus of a future article), Pokemon’s 20th anniversary resulting in a 3DS re-release of the first gen Pokemon games, updates to surprise-success stories Splatoon and Super Mario Maker, and a slew of other things----including that Star Fox game that is going to suck and is going to flop miserably. It was overall a very fun Direct, and a slightly somber one since it’s the first one since the passing of Satoru Iwata.
But there’s a major Nintendo product that has not been fully discussed for an extremely long time: the Nintendo NX.
It is totally understandable that discussing the Nintendo NX would harm some of the momentum of the WiiU (which may or may not even exist at this point). Totally understandable that discussing the NX would demean some of the games currently making money like Smash, Mario Maker, and Splatoon. Totally understandable that if we totally neglect the WiiU, then that long-anticipated Zelda game will be brushed underneath the hype of Nintendo’s next console.
But here’s the thing: the WiiU is over. It’s all over. It will never create mammoth sales (barring an awesome bundle like Smash Bros. U with ALL the characters), it will never escape the last place hole, and the third-party support for the system is all but over. Can you announce the NX and keep the fans in the loop for the WiiU? Of course you can.
WiiU owners have been rewarded for their loyalty in recent months; with Smash Brothers’ lineup becoming more and more beautiful, Splatoon fixing itself many times, Super Mario Maker becoming bigger and bigger, and overall more games being available in the WiiU Shop. But it’s time to hype the NX, Nintendo needs to go all-out on their upcoming console---whatever it is.
They already have the support of Square Enix with Dragon Quest and maybe (MAYBE) a Final Fantasy VII remake. EA and Ubisoft have also (cautiously) voiced some support for the upcoming machine. Nintendo should continuously reward the few that chose to purchase the WiiU with tons of goodies, surprises, and updates, I am not against that. As a matter of fact, it would be nice to see some more Nintendo Store deals and more HD remakes (F-Zero GX, Star Wars: Rogue Leader, MELEE). However, it’s time for them to look ahead and start giving the NX some attention as we veer closer to what might whether be the tail end of the eighth generation, or the beginning of the ninth.
We need details, we need explanations. Nintendo’s secrecy does help them sometimes, but it also damaged them in the eighth generation as they withheld so much about the WiiU that it became generally assumed that it was an add-on to the original Wii system---leading to its dismally slow start. But gamers are now more informed than ever, and demand information now more than ever. You can’t keep us in the dark for so long. We need to see more. We need to see something.
Give us the Nintendo NX. It is time for it, and we are already waiting.
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