General Discussion

The most interesting thing about the GPD Win, for me, is the idea of acting as a portable console, plugging it into a TV and using a gamepad to play games when you're traveling. As a handheld device, though, the problem is playing games that aren't designed for a 5.5" viewport. PC games aren't designed for that space. The button/stick layout doesn't look entirely comfortable either, even less so than the Wii U gamepad (which, admittedly, I already have bias against). The ongoing idea (this seems to be the latest, not the first) of "handheld PC gaming" is like a battle of tug-of-war where neither side wins. Do people really want to play large format games on a significantly smaller screen? According to the funding page, at least 1400 people might, but that's not much of a market. Bear in mind, too, that's 1400 people buying in at the heavily discounted price of $300 (they've said actual retail will be $500).

Good points! It does look like decent hardware. I'm definitely interested to see how it's received when it launches.

Fun fact: 友だち(Tomodachi) means friend or companion in Japanese. So Miitomo is a mashup between "Mii" and "Friend". The kanji 友 (tomo*) is suppose to look like two hands meeting in friendship.

*tomo is just one of the ways to pronounce it. Kanji are hard.

I think "Miitomo" must also translates to "text addict" in some alien language.

This is awesome!

The NX has to be something competitive, and could really stand to stay away from any envelope-pushing gimmicks. I think what most gamers really want right now, is a solid platform, with means of posterity, where they can play Nintendo franchise games. Nintendo systems have never been the go-to for 3rd party experiences, with few exceptions. If they can change that, great, but the system needs to stay grounded with the "standards" of game development (e.g. use a tested control scheme, no gimmicks!). I feel like Nintendo shoots themselves in the foot too often when they try to think outside the box. Maybe they don't realize that they have all the innovation they need, right there in the games they make. Part of their strategy has been to reduce avenues of piracy, and I get that. At some point, however, conformity can be a good thing.

A subscription game service might work, and since everyone else is doing it, Nintendo might give it a go (is anyone actually doing subscription downloads, though?). It would be even nicer if you could simply keep the games you purchase for their virtual console, and have those tied to an account rather than a system. I don't know if they changed this for the Wii U, but I had a sweet library of retro games on the Wii, and lost them all because of this.

Handheld gaming doesn't interest me significantly, but I know it's huge, so I wouldn't be surprised if the rumors are true that the NX will be a console/handheld hybrid. Nintendo has shown interest in bringing their handheld games to the TV, ever since the N64. DS/3DS games pose a twin-screen problem that seems to only be solved by having a Wii U type setup, which, for me, muddles the experience. The beauty of those handhelds is that you can still view important information on the second screen peripherally. Contrarily, a controller in the hands can move out of that vision while focus is on the TV. This can be annoying. This, I think (if rumors are true), will be one of the make/breaks of the new system.

All I really want is a powerful system with a clean UI, a great controller (a WaveBird, with better button configuration would be perfect), and a proper online service. Build it, and they will come.

I don't know that the D-pad was all that innovative, rather a natural evolution of its predecessors (Intellevision was the first to go no-joystick, I think). Wii motion controls were fine enough for Nintendo (although, I would have much rather played Skyward Sword without motion controls), but not so much for 3rd party devs, so I don't know how much they dominated. Game Boy was awesome, and the DS was/is pretty amazing. I think the GameCube is my favorite system that they've put out, beside the SNES (best controller, and best games).

They do make great things, from time to time, but they seem to excel on the software side of things ;)

That's an interesting article, but some of those are a bit of a stretch. I'm nitpicking, of course (as I'm wont to do, sometimes), but a lot of items on that list are simply a natural evolution of existing ideas. Even the first sentence under "The Directional Pad" reads "The directional pad was inevitable." The modern side-scroller? Pitfall was around before Super Mario Bros. The Playstation had the Multitap, which wasn't pretty, but did the same job, and then some (supporting up to 8 controllers, if memory serves) when it came to multiplayer on one console. To say that we owe the innovation of virtual reality to the Virtual Boy is crazy talk (there was nothing VR about it, it was 3D).

Nintendo has made some great things, but there may be a bit of sugar on some of the details. One could argue that Nintendo has also been active in stifling progress in the industry over the years (e.g. the slow move away from cartridges, poor support of online gaming, abstract proprietary control systems...).

I think I barely remember playing Rock n' Roll Racing with a friend on their SNES, but I didn't pay attention to the developer. Years later, when I got a PC, I got into Warcraft II after seeing the review in PC Gamer (maybe I played a demo, I can't recall). After that, I played Warcraft.

I picked up Starcraft when it came out. In fact, I traveled half an hour to Wal-Mart in another state (West Virginia) because I had trouble finding it locally. I really enjoyed it at the time and then again at least a few times years later (which includes the expansion). When I got my new beast of a PC, I got Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty and Heart of the Swarm. More recently, I finished Legacy of the Void and I have the new expansion pre-ordered.

A few or couple of years ago I got into Diablo III (because of Cheerful Ghost), which was the first I've played of the series. After that, I found the Diablo II Battlechest in KMart for $2, so I bought it, but I didn't spend very much time playing it. I do have a demo for Warcraft III, but haven't spent much time with it either.

I think I haven't played many of the other games. I also played Hearthstone and Heroes of the Storm, but not as much for the latter.