The Nintablet
A few months ago, we talked about what it would be like if Microsoft did release the perfect Surface Phone. A phone similar to the HP Elite X3 but carries the Surface brand that just might carry Microsoft phones to the mainstream. Rumor has it that Microsoft is working on one right now but won’t be announced in the company’s upcoming October event. How about Nintendo? Aside from the DS, the company hasn’t had much luck with the console market after the Wii U disaster. Their new console, the NX will be coming out in a few months and is rumored to be another hybrid console with a tablet interface and detachable controllers. How will their tablet wrestle public interest from more powerful consoles like the PS4 and Xbox One and tablets like the iPad Air? Especially now, that Nintendo’s competitors just came out with new iterations of said consoles to be partnered with first and third party VR headsets. But what if Nintendo does come out with its own tablet? Let’s call it the Nintablet or the N-Tablet since the NX happens to be a codename.
With the Nintendo NX coming out in a few months, this unsolicited suggestion for Nintendo is a bit late. But wouldn’t it be a good idea for Nintendo to come up with its own real tablet and not a pseudo-tablet like the Wii U? This way, Nintendo will be able to hit two birds with one stone. The tablet market and the console market. Aside from the Wii-U, Nintendo as an electronics and software company has not entered the tablet market like its competitors Sony and Microsoft as it tries to maintain its focus on games and entertainment thus losing out on some possibilities. Sure, the company made use of touch-screens with the Nintendo DS and Wii-U but does not have a dedicated tablet on its own. But what if it did? Have they thought about it with the NX?
An ideal size for a Nintendo tablet would be one with an 8.9 to 10-inch screen, similar to the iPad. A tablet preferably capable of 4K resolution and has the ability to stream to 4K TVs. The Nintablet does not need to strive to be as thin as the iPad Air but just thick enough as most modern Ultrabooks able to support at least two Type A USB ports, an HDMI port, a cartridge slot and a case design wherein two detachable controllers can slide in easily on both sides. Yes, that’s the rumored design of the NX, but there’s more.
The Nintablet should be able to operate as a standalone tablet running a fork of the Android Operating system. Yes, it’s basically a better Ouya that runs Nintendo games. But the Nintablet will be able to support both touch-screen games as well as traditional gamepad-controlled console games. Kids and adults will be able to enjoy the tablet during commutes even without controllers. As an Android tablet, people will still be able to load popular games and apps such as Candy Crush, Clash of Clans and Pokemon Go with Nintendo’s blessing and exclusive content through partnerships. Meaning, Clash of Clans can be modded with Legend of Zelda characters. As an Android tablet, Nintendo and Third-party developers should be able to create downloadable games through Nintendo’s own app store as one way to load casual games into the system besides more content-heavy up-to-32GB cartridge exclusives as planned for the NX. If Nintendo can squeeze in a Game Boy/DS cartridge slot besides the planned new cartridge slot, it would be great.
The Nintablet will also be able to have the ability to play an extensive library of licensed game ROMs for its legacy systems like the NES, Super NES, Game Boy, Game Boy Advance since retro is currently in, popularized by the company’s own release of the NES and Famicom Mini. The emulation app will be faithful reproductions of the original screens or enhanced if Nintendo chooses. And, depending on the system being emulated, Nintendo can market various plug-in controller designs ranging from classic NES to the Wii-U classic controller pluggable to type A USB ports on either side. The ROMs can be bought legally, and cheaply from Nintendo’s app store besides re-mastered versions of the same games to teach the younger generations some gaming values like one-hit-deaths and three strikes and they’re out.
As mentioned, whether casual tablet games or console games, the system should be able to cast or stream to modern TV sets to act more like a console. The streaming device can also be marketed separately like Chromecast or Roku or the Nintablet can have an app that interfaces with both.
Nintendo is also known for sturdy hardware, and hopefully, the NX keeps up with tradition. As a Nintendo product, people wouldn’t mind purchasing the Nintablet given Nintendo’s brand name and reputation. It’s from Nintendo, so it’s good, or okay at the least.
It’s going to be Zelda, Metroid and Mario galore with the Nintablet. Nintendo will have a true home for its planned Super Mario Run for Apple devices along with older Mario titles. Casual Zelda games can unlock items for Breath of The Wild. Samus Aran can roll her way through obstacles on a tilting marble game and young girls (a not-so-easy market) can play dress up with Princess Peach, Daisy, Rosalina and Zelda. And since it’s a tablet, other apps are possible besides games such as kid-friendly browsers with parental controls, educational apps with game characters, instant messaging, ebooks like an NES encyclopedia, comics—an entire ecosystem. The possibilities seem endless for Nintendo fans. Wouldn’t you agree?