Nintendo NX: 8 Reasons It's Already Doomed
Stuck between a ? block and a hard place.
The NX: Nintendo's big question mark, and a chance for the beloved video game company to get back on its feet. After the commercial failure of the Wii U, Nintendo's next console needs to turn things around in a massive way, or risk losing the faith of consumers forever.
Nintendo has made some bizarre (to say the least) decisions in the last couple years. Take the name Wii U, for example. Did they want to confuse consumers? And what about the complete lack of marketing leading up to the console's launch? In retrospect, it's hardly surprising it fared so terribly. These days the company has all but given up on the Wii U. 2015's E3 conference was brutally lacklustre, featuring the controversial disappointment Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival and the delay of Star Fox: Zero. It's pretty much confirmation that the NX is coming sooner rather than later. But is the NX destined to fail before it even launches? Based on some of Nintendo's extremely severe underlying problems - and worrying recent trends - all signs sadly point to yes.8. It's Going To Heavily Incorporate Amiibo
Amiibos - the little plastic figures which depict all your favourite Nintendo characters are one of Nintendo's few major successes recently. The figures have done phenomenally well, even if there were a few teething problems at the start with regards to stock and availability.
Amiibos contain an NFC chip in the base and are able to be scanned by the Wii U gamepad, which registers the figure on the console. What's the point? Depending on the figure, certain content is unlocked by specific games. And the problem? Additional Amiibo functionality is becoming far more worrying. What started as merely cosmetic upgrades (like new skins for your Mii drivers in Mario Kart 8) are becoming much more substantial. In Mario Party 10, an entire game mode is locked behind an Amiibo, and Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival isn't even coy about it's intentions it's right there in the title. There's no way Nintendo are going to leave the Amiibos behind. If anything, they'll play an even bigger part in the NX and its games, and that's extremely concerning. Many gamers are already frustrated by locked on-disc content and the pressure to spend extra money in order to experience the full product.