The gaming console arena during the recently-held E3 2016 was dominated by Sony and Microsoft, two companies which boldly revealed their powerful innovations for the next generation of the console wars. In the midst of spectacle from the two tech giants, however, lies the dark horse of the console market, Nintendo.

Nintendo was surprisingly understated in its E3 presentation this year, with the gaming giant's exhibits practically focusing on the upcoming release of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, as well as Pokemon Sun and Moon. The company's upcoming console, the long-awaited Nintendo NX, was not discussed by the company at all.

Thus, many Nintendo fans have now become apprehensive about what might happen to the Japanese gaming giant's next flagship console. In a lot of ways, the NX seemed to be designed as a console to topple the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One. Considering the average console cycle of up to eight years, this notion seemed pretty safe.

However, the gaming generation's console cycles proved far shorter than what is conventional, with Microsoft confirming the Xbox Scorpio and Sony announcing the PS4 Neo during E3 2016. Thus, when the Nintendo NX does release next year, there is a very real chance that it might end up as a machine that is once more out-punched and outgunned by its rivals.

There was a time when Nintendo was a company that offered gamers the best of what technology could offer at the time. However, with the Wii and its successor, the Wii U, Nintendo has more or less relied on its creative innovations to push its consoles forward.

While this strategy proved to be a winning technique during the previous generation, with the Wii selling more than a million units worldwide, it ultimately proved catastrophic to the Wii U, whose sales figures are but a fraction of its predecessor's. Even the Xbox One, which is being beaten by the PlayStation 4 by a long shot in terms of sales, is far ahead of the Wii U.

Thus, the NX seems to be in danger of being yet another failure. After all, unless Nintendo pulls out a trick out of its sleeve that is at least as revolutionary as the Wii, there is a fairly good chance that the company, once a giant in the console industry, would get trampled by Microsoft and Sony's next-generation consoles.

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