— Nintendo Enthusiast:
September 14th, 2016 marked the 15th anniversary of the Nintendo GameCube. The console was the lowest-selling system of the 6th generation (minus the SEGA Dreamcast), but it still managed to build a solid library of hit games and is fondly remembered by gamers all over the world. But, there’s one standout quality of the system — it was the last time Nintendo pushed the envelope with power. Many gamers and analysts wish that Nintendo would return to this way of creating systems, instead of continuing to take the unique approach that it’s been doing for the past two generations. If the NX does happen to turn out to be like the GameCube in this regard, could it work?
Even if it did, Nintendo would still struggle with sales. NX would have an even tougher time trying to succeed now that the PlayStation brand is bigger and Xbox has become a more established brand.
That's a dark red ocean my friend. DS and Wii exploded because the waters were blue. NX needs to target blue waters again.
I've been saying they should call it the Nintendo Gamesphere, just to be awesome.
If Nintendo managed to balance the specs, nothing insane or anything, but a good boost for both developer and customer, and have a good innovation then they have a great shot of regaining some fanbase with the NX for Gen 9.
Not counting 3rd party support, of course, but if the specs were good there may be no reason not to port, which could help Nintendo's relationship with other parties who ran away over the Wii eras.
Then hypothetically with that new ground maybe Gen 10 will truly be a console war the likes of which no one has seen.
It would be a very tough sell if all it did was exactly what the others do and nothing more.
Why pay a second time for a console that is literally the same as what you already have outside of Mario? That's what outsiders will think, and it's a thought that Nintendo would do well to dispel before it has a chance to form.
On the flip side, however, going full stand-out would also be a tough sell to the core crowd, as the Wii proved, and since the Blue Ocean moved on, they can't be the console's focus, either.
What Nintendo needs to do is to make it just traditional enough for change-sensitive traditional gamers to like it, while still having a hook to it that won't be discriminated against, like the whole share button thing, or a way of playing both home and handheld games on the TV, or something else that gamers will find useful.
Neither completely red ocean nor blue ocean.
Nintendo needs to aim for the Green Ocean.
That sweet spot between "I already have a console like this so I won't buy an NX", and "It's not doing anything different enough from what I have to get my money" is what Nintendo needs to hit.
The Wii U came close but it sacrificed too much power to get popular third party games in the long run.
Had it done that, it could have gotten a lot closer to that sweet spot.
The NX is Nintendo's chance to take a dip into that Green Ocean full of open wallets and happy smiles.