The Nintendo Hybrid

  Imagine, if you will, a world in which handhelds and home consoles are one in the same. Imagine buying a new Nintendo console and also getting a handheld as well. Imagine turning off your console and fitting it into your pocket to play later away from home. Now stop imagining, because this very well could be the future of Nintendo consoles.

  Earlier this year it was reported that Nintendo's handheld division and console division merged into one building. One of the reasons cited was to further expand connectivity between console and handheld. With that said, it's a almost a no-brainer what's coming after the Wii U and the 3DS/2DS have run their course. Nintendo is aiming to create a handheld home console hybrid. Why wouldn't they? Their handheld division has always been their strongest. Even their most successful home console, the Wii, pales in comparison to the success of the Nintendo DS.  With industry analyst and everyday bloggers suggesting that Nintendo goes 3rd party or release games on the iOS market, making their next console into a hybrid that doubles as a handheld could seriously silence such asinine comments as those.

  If Nintendo realeases a hybrid for their next console, they could easily grow the fanbases of several of their handheld centric franchises. Pokemon comes to mind. Fans could finally get the home console Pokemon game they've been asking for, and when they're ready to battle, or leave the house, they just carry their hybrid with them as they would their 3DS. Even more casual focused games like animal crossing could benefit from having the portability of a handheld alongside the in home experience of a Nintendo console. Beyond just being able to game anywhere, Nintendo will no doubt add some new innovation that we never thought of. They could potentially add GPS technology, a solar energy sensor (ala solar boy django), or some other idea thats can only be described as Nintendo.

  If they do create a hybrid, there are several benefits. They could make it very affordable, due to cost being lowered. With Nintendo only pumping out hybrids instead of console and handheld, they would save a lot of resources, time, and money. They could produce games faster, since team won't have to debate about putting it on the handheld or the console. However, this hybrid would most likely have to be larger than any other handheld they ever manufactured to prevent overheating and house all this technology. It would probably at the smallest be the size of a Wii U Gamepad or Apple's iPad. The hybrid also would have to have a decent online infrastructure. It would be a waste not to. They could upgrade the miiverse to include voice chat, crossgame chat, and videochat during gameplay.  It would take a lot more effort than the average person would assume it would to get the hybrid just right, but if done right, Nintendo could dominate the home console and handheld market with a single device. 

  So I shall leave you with a little food for thought. If the Wii sold over 100 million units, and the DS sold over 150 million units, imagine how successful they would have been if combined into a hybrid somehow. This is the future console that we very well could get from Nintendo. Is your body ready?

Super Smash Bros. Wii U may be the best in the series

unless you've been burried under a rock, you know that Nintendo is releasing a 4th Smash Bros. game for both the Wii U and 3DS in 2014. As per the writing of this article, Villager, Megaman, and Wii Fit Trainer have been announced as the latest Newcomers. It's also been stated that there will be no story mode this time around, but I have not doubts whatsoever, that this will be the best Smash Bros. game ever.

  First of all, Sakurai and his team seem to be really dedicated to balancing the game out as much as possible. This will make the game more enjoyable for competitive tournament players, and those who just play for fun with weapons galore, such as myself. very little if any talk of weapons has been mentioned so far, but if the character balancing is any indication to go by, there will probably be less Smart Bomb type items this time around. Some would argue that a lot of the items in Brawl were over powered, so here's hoping they balance that out along with everything else.

 The next thing that can really make this Smash Bros. the best one yet, is the character roster. Sakurai is looking to cut down on clowns and dud characters like Rob the Robot (shudders....) Yes, yes, I know Villager and Wii Fit Trainer aren't exactly known for being fighters, but for what's been shown, they seem to be formidable opponents. The roster is being chosen very carefully, as to appeal to every demographic that is even slightly interested in Smash Bros. That has to be a plus, right?

  Last but definitely not least, is the portability. This will be the first ever Smash Bros. game to be on a portable, the 3DS (or 2DS if you prefer that). If Nintendo are smart, they will find some sort of way to have some form of interactivity between the 3DS and the Wii U version of the game. You can finally falcon punch somebody on a bus (assuming C.Falcon returns) and not get arrested for doing so. As long as the online is smooth and better than the lagfest that was Brawl, its sure to be a hit.

 So with all of this going for it, Super Smash Bros. 4 (thats what I'm calling it) is set to shatter all of our expectations in a good way and deliver a superb, zany, quirky, tightly balanced, fighting game that we all want. Make it happen Sakurai. My Body Is Ready.