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The video game industry loves to speculate, and no other rumors are quite as juicy as those about new consoles. Nintendo’s upcoming NX is no exception, and with it expected to launch in early 2017, the demand for new info couldn’t be higher.
One rumor that has been floating around for a while has been making a comeback, as sources are allegedly confirming NX will be a hybrid system that functions both as a portable handheld and a home console. On the go, NX will supposedly feature a core unit including a screen flanked by detachable controller pieces. When together, the concept sounds like it might look somewhat like a Wii U GamePad. At home, there will be a dock that you leave hooked up to your TV and that you can plug the core unit into when you’re ready to play on the big screen.
Another rumor that continues running strong is that NX will bring back cartridges as its preferred form of media for physical games. Supposedly the company is recommending developers use at least 32 GB cartridges. This rumor has given a surprisingly large amount of credence by the fact that Nintendo’s trademark for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild includes cartridges in addition discs and digital downloads.
Finally, a more recent rumor suggests that at the heart of NX will actually be a mobile processor; more specifically, a Nvidia Tegra processor. Current dev kits are reported to be using the chip developer’s X1 chip that can already be found in a number of products, including Nvidia’s own Android-based Shield console. However, in spite of some other rumors, the NX will not be using Android as Nintendo is developing its own operating system.
Of course, all of this needs to be taken with a grain of salt. Nothing has been confirmed yet and we don’t know when exactly the real specs will be revealed, though there’s a rumor for that as well, suggesting the system will be unveiled in September. Should that not be the case, Nintendo is sticking to its March 2017 release window, so we are bound to hear more sooner or later.
Source: Eurogamer
I really hope this is not true, but all available information is pointing to it being very close to the truth. If so, the NX is not a console system at all, but just a mobile handheld device. A laptop doesn’t become a desktop computer just because you plug it into a docking station. Likewise, a mobile handheld device doesn’t become a console when plugged into a docking station. If the form factor is mobile and the chips are mobile then it’s a mobile device. I will still await official word from Nintendo, but as a developer I will probably stick with the Wii U through 2017 and then switch to various flavors of XBox and PS4 after that. However, I think Scorpio will be thee system to develop for in the future.