Switch Nintendo NX may not have a disc drive

[Damien Lee]

I often check out AlphaOmegaSin's channel on Youtube for his views on the gaming industry. Anyone that is aware of him will know that he is a fairly popular Youtuber and hardcore game enthusiast. If you're offended by salty language I don't recommend you check out any of his videos, as he can swear profusely at times.

Nevertheless, he came across some interesting information. It seems like Nintendo has filed a patent for console without a disc drive.

Could this be for the upcoming NX? Some food for thought...

 

[Hyrule Chicken]

It could mean a few things. The most obvious of all is that it'll be digital games only. Now, a lot of people are big fans of having a physical disc (myself included) but we shouldn't discount digital games just yet because it does open it up a lot of things that physical disc just can't do. For example, game streaming! Imagine that you don't need to download the whole game to play, that it'll stream as you progress (think Netflix, but for games). That would be pretty cool and opens up a TON of possibilities since the game developers wouldn't be tied down to a defined space limit that a disc has.

Also, reading up on the patent, it does mention something along the lines of a SD memory card slot, which could potentially mean... The return of "cartridges"? Why not buy a game on a 64 GB USB stick that fits in the palm of your hand and plug it into your console instead of a disc? Pretty interesting if you ask me!

 

[GunGunW]

Hopefully it's not the NX and it's something else.

 

[Hyrule Chicken]

@GunGunW That's a good point, just because Nintendo submitted a patent, it doesn't mean that it's necessarily for the Nintendo NX.

Maybe a "companion console" or a new handheld device?

Either way, I think it's pretty interesting and I'm looking forward to hearing more details about it. Lots of possibilities are available now that high-speed internet and wifi are common in the majority of households.

 

[GunGunW]

I think Alpha touched upon the idea it could just be a Virtual Console box. I would love that, if it was just maybe a cheap digital only $99 dollar console that could download and play games off the Virtual Console. To make it enticing, it could have things the other Virtual Consoles don't have, like GameCube games.

 

[joshposh]

Nintendo needs to compete with Sony and Microsoft, we all know that. Why not do a one up on them by going all digital. It makes perfect sense as someone has already pointed out that game makers are not limited with space anymore. They also cut down on packaging and manufacturing cost which in turn puts more money in their pockets and the consumers get the convenience of games to order at home on demand and quite possible cheaper because of the none existent manufacturing cost.

This has been a long time coming. But hard copies are going to be the consumers responsibility to back things ups and store. Not the makers.

 

[Hyrule Chicken]

I think Alpha touched upon the idea it could just be a Virtual Console box. I would love that, if it was just maybe a cheap digital only $99 dollar console that could download and play games off the Virtual Console. To make it enticing, it could have things the other Virtual Consoles don't have, like GameCube games.

Now this I can absolutely get behind! A stand-alone Virtual Console box that would play NES, SNES, N64, and GC games would be absolutely AWESOME. I mean, like you said, it would have to be priced right (< $100, maybe it comes with 10 games or something) but this would be an automatic buy for me.


As for digital only, I'd only be okay with it if there's an offline mode. If I can't play my games if my internet goes down, now I have an expensive plastic box sitting uselessly in my living room, and that's not good!

 

[GunGunW]

@joshposh Then the prices of digital games need to go down. As of right now they're the same price as physical releases.