Has PS4 Pro Paved The Way For Nintendo NX Success?

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The long-awaited PlayStation 4 Neo (now PlayStation 4 Pro) has finally been revealed. It’s a supped-up version of the current console, boasting 4K gaming, a 1TB hard drive and improved performance all round. Reactions to the news, however, have been split.

The PS4 Pro does everything we all expected it to do – there were no big surprises, and thus, the response from gamers has been underwhelming. Nintendo’s NX promises to be a very different sort of console, especially if the numerous rumours that are floating about are to be believed.

Do the reactions to the PS4 Pro indicate that gamers are bored of chasing high-spec consoles? And does that mean the NX has a unique opportunity to capture gamers’ attention?

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Who cares about 4K yet, anyway?

There’s no denying that 4K is the future, but at the moment, few consumers have chosen to upgrade from their 1080p TV. There are several reasons for this: firstly, 4K TVs have only just started to become affordable, and secondly, there isn’t much you can watch in 4K. You need a 4K Blu-ray player to watch ultra HD discs (which are currently pretty pricey), or a fair bit of hard drive space if you’re choosing to download. Even streaming services like Netflix only have a small selection of 4K titles at the moment.

When it comes to gaming, only developers that want to take advantage of the PS4 Pro’s new capabilities will. There’s no guarantee that every PS4 game that’s released from here on out will be in 4K.

Consumers are also aware that tech companies are already developing 8K screens, which may be dissuading many to invest in 4K. After all, no one wants to spend £800 on a TV only to discover it’s already out of date in just a year’s time.

There’s no denying that we all love a gorgeous-looking game, but the introduction of 4K or HDR isn’t the only way to push games to their limits. Take a look at the footage from the new Legend of Zelda – it’s not in 4K and looks incredible. There’s much more developers can do to impress us than simply up their graphics game.

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Graphics aren’t everything

The comeback of the 8-bit video game is proof that gamers don’t just care about graphics. Now more than ever, there’s a greater focus on story and gameplay. Games like Undertale are simple, yet quirky, and the focus on character and story is exactly why it has a huge fandom.

In recent years, Nintendo has abandoned the rat race towards a more powerful console, and has instead focused on the things that make gamers happy – loveable characters, fascinating worlds and innovative gameplay. Of course, Nintendo has also managed to do something that Xbox and PlayStation (largely) haven’t been able to do: hold onto its first-party titles.

The Xbox One and PS4 are very similar consoles; there are only a few differentiators. This gives the NX an opportunity to grab people’s attention. Nintendo didn’t have much success with the Wii U, but as we’ve previously discussed, this may be partly down to poor timing.

The Wii U was released before the Xbox One and PS4, but Nintendo’s next console will hit the shelves halfway through the life-cycles of Sony’s and Microsoft’s consoles. If gamers aren’t bothered about upgrading to a higher-spec version of the same console, they will be more receptive to purchasing one which offers something different.

We don’t know how powerful the NX is going to be, and while power may not be everything, Nintendo does need to offer an advancement of some kind. It must be a sizable leap from the Wii U, and going off the footage from Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, it will be.

We’ll have to wait until October to see what Nintendo has in store for its next generation of home console.

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  1. A high pixel count and impressive special effects are certainly nice to have but I agree too much focus is given to those.

    1. Sony and MS managed to provide compelling software with those higher pixel counts and special effects too. If it wasn’t for Nintendo’s first party slate of IPs the Wii U would have been DOA.

      I wish Nintendo would figure out they are a software, accessory and handheld company. The WIi was a fluke the Wii U wasn’t marketed properly and did not offer 3rd parties any reason to be there.

      I expect to be disappointed in the NX specs and move on.

  2. Prior to the hand-held hybrid and Nvidia based tech rumours, I heard AMD had gained contracts with certain companies. One rumoured to be Nintendo. So I’m not on board with the current rumours of the NX because… they’re ridiculous, and it won’t sell. Wii U was a flop due to poor marketing, and abysmal price-performance ratio (charging same price for a near-decade old tech, on an underwhelming console, in comparison to the power of the XB1/PS4 – which is just greedy, especially when they have no 3rd party support). That being said… this does mean that the NX needs to be a powerful machine to contend with the competition. They can’t rely on gimmicks anymore, as the sales of the DS have plummeted in the past several years dramatically. They hold the hand-held market, but there’s no call for it. And they’re using iOS games to tide them over until the NX is released currently.

    Nintendo need to stop re-using the same gaming format they have for the past 30 years. Their contemporary games, ironically, are just the old formula/format of their older titles using contemporary graphics and mechanics. Or plain remasters/remakes of said titles. (The irony here being that people suggest games aren’t about graphics… but that’s literally the only evolution to Nintendo’s IPs in the past decade and a half). So they need to throw some money at RnD, make sure the NX will compete with atleast the PS4 Pro. And start experimenting with new gaming formats, IPs and aim to get 3rd party support. People want to buy Nintendo for their titles, they are fun – but they’re too expensive… and they’ll have to buy a 2nd console for cross-platform 3rd party titles that Nintendo have seemingly refused to support.

    1. The Wii U an underwhelming console what nonsense the ps4 was Sony’s worst console yet with a mediocre game’s library just remaster’s and shovelware indie rubbish and old ps3 port’s.Nintendo game’s aren’t even that expensive and the Wii U was affordable far cheaper than previous console’s the sega Saturn which cost £400 at launch.The Wii U was the only console this generation that had game’s that were worthwhile and fun to play at least nintendo tries to do something different even if they failed.The ps4 and xbox 1 were more powerful but they’re pretty boring console’s not much of an improvement in term’s of quality software compared to last generation.A console need’s more than just power to succeed as nintendo’s previous console’s did have power the n64 and gamecube but still failed.

  3. There is plenty of 4k programming on Netflix, Amazon Prime, and youtube, and plenty of 4k HDR programming on Netflix and Amazon Prime. I’m looking forward to shows like Luke Cage, The Defenders, Iron Fist….and have already enjoyed shows like Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Orphan Black, Breaking Bad, etc. etc. on Netflix/Amazon Prime. And both are adding more content all the time.

  4. I have faced SO many trialed complications with PlayStation 4 and The Nintendo Software.
    Firstly, The 3D Systems that are Portable Handhelds are failing with no warranty left.
    “There is no dollar percentage off!” Pretty sad, huh! 🙁
    Secondly, The Wildcard Engine: Ark Survival Evolved PS4
    has gradually lowered its quality with the graphical glitch.
    What has really happened to your productivity, Wildcard?
    Lastly, “Where are the refunds for The PlayStation Store?”
    “Is PlayStation eating up all of Credit and Debit Card Accounts?”
    I have spent 60+ dollars on purchasing “Ark Survival Evolved PLUS The PlayStation Plus Card”
    and I was completely unsatisfied with the product that was being released on The PS Store.
    I am completely unsatisfied about the refunding rules of The PlayStation Store.

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