According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Nintendo's next major hardware release is now in the curious grasp of third-party developers. But what is it? What is the NX? And why does it sounds like "an eggs"?
Nintendo's late CEO Satoru Iwata described the NX as "a dedicated game platform with a brand-new concept".
The Wall Street Journal states that the NX "would likely include both a console and at least one mobile unit that could either be used in conjunction with the console or taken on the road for separate use".
Which, from that description, feels like an extension of the Wii U (a game pad that could be taken off and played with - basically a combination of DS and Wii) - but hardly a brand-new concept. And a bit boring, after all the speculation.
What's the truth, Trevor?
Nintendo's late CEO Satoru Iwata described the NX as "a dedicated game platform with a brand-new concept".
The Wall Street Journal states that the NX "would likely include both a console and at least one mobile unit that could either be used in conjunction with the console or taken on the road for separate use".
Which, from that description, feels like an extension of the Wii U (a game pad that could be taken off and played with - basically a combination of DS and Wii) - but hardly a brand-new concept. And a bit boring, after all the speculation.
What's the truth, Trevor?
CONCEPT ALBUM
Whatever the NX turns out to be, the big problem with Nintendo releasing a console with a brand-new concept is expecting third-party developers to embrace it.
You only need to look at how underutilised the Wii U's gamepad has been, or the spectacular failure of Microsoft's Kinect, to see that few developers want to push into unfamiliar territory. They play it safe. Broadly speaking Nintendo, and Nintendo alone, gets the best out of its hardware.
The risk with releasing something esoteric and new is that it'll be seen as weird. The original Wii controller was catching lightning in a bottle; we can't see how Nintendo is going to achieve that twice.
There's been rumour that the the controller will feature shoulder scroll wheels instead of buttons - which is novel, but hardly a revolution. Another pair of conflicting rumours is that Nintendo will revert back to cartridge-based hardware... or drop physical media altogether, and make the NX a purely online-only system. In other words: games would need to be downloaded or streamed.
Of course, there's also Nintendo's much-discussed move into smartphone gaming to throw into the mix. Some are speculating that the NX could come pre-loaded with Android, or turn out to be some sort of weird console/phone hybrid.
Frankly, none of the above rumours get us particularly excited, or suggest the sort of "brand-new" system that Iwata promised. Which is why we're putting our money on the handheld/console whispers. Even then... meh.
Whatever the NX turns out to be, the big problem with Nintendo releasing a console with a brand-new concept is expecting third-party developers to embrace it.
You only need to look at how underutilised the Wii U's gamepad has been, or the spectacular failure of Microsoft's Kinect, to see that few developers want to push into unfamiliar territory. They play it safe. Broadly speaking Nintendo, and Nintendo alone, gets the best out of its hardware.
The risk with releasing something esoteric and new is that it'll be seen as weird. The original Wii controller was catching lightning in a bottle; we can't see how Nintendo is going to achieve that twice.
There's been rumour that the the controller will feature shoulder scroll wheels instead of buttons - which is novel, but hardly a revolution. Another pair of conflicting rumours is that Nintendo will revert back to cartridge-based hardware... or drop physical media altogether, and make the NX a purely online-only system. In other words: games would need to be downloaded or streamed.
Of course, there's also Nintendo's much-discussed move into smartphone gaming to throw into the mix. Some are speculating that the NX could come pre-loaded with Android, or turn out to be some sort of weird console/phone hybrid.
Frankly, none of the above rumours get us particularly excited, or suggest the sort of "brand-new" system that Iwata promised. Which is why we're putting our money on the handheld/console whispers. Even then... meh.
THING IS
If the NX is a combination of handheld and console, well... that's sort of interesting, but it's hardly going to have the kind of mass crossover audience that the Wii offered.
It's not really going to give us new types of gameplay - merely the convenience of being able to take your games on the bus with you.
Also... would Nintendo really risk its existing handheld business in such a way? And if it would - what sort of compromises would be required in terms of the hardware power?
It's hard to know what the NX could offer that's going to be as epoch-defining as the Wii controller. We remain poised to be surprised - and Nintendo is traditionally the sort of company to keep its nude playing cards close to its chest until the last minute.
But even then, we just sort of wish Nintendo would focus on games. We're not anywhere near as interested in hardware as we are in the next bona-fide Zelda, or Mario, or F-Zero, or Splatoon. Or - better yet - new characters, new types of games.
Nintendo makes the most pure, most unique, original and iconic games in the world. There's nobody to touch it, frankly. And we actually think it lost confidence in the Wii U too soon: the console still had much potential that not even Nintendo tapped into.
Regardless, progress is what it is, and Nintendo wants to move forwards. Current thinking has it that the NX - or whatever it'll eventually be called - will arrive (at least in Japan) towards the end of next year. Our misery will be extinguished soon. An Eggs.
If the NX is a combination of handheld and console, well... that's sort of interesting, but it's hardly going to have the kind of mass crossover audience that the Wii offered.
It's not really going to give us new types of gameplay - merely the convenience of being able to take your games on the bus with you.
Also... would Nintendo really risk its existing handheld business in such a way? And if it would - what sort of compromises would be required in terms of the hardware power?
It's hard to know what the NX could offer that's going to be as epoch-defining as the Wii controller. We remain poised to be surprised - and Nintendo is traditionally the sort of company to keep its nude playing cards close to its chest until the last minute.
But even then, we just sort of wish Nintendo would focus on games. We're not anywhere near as interested in hardware as we are in the next bona-fide Zelda, or Mario, or F-Zero, or Splatoon. Or - better yet - new characters, new types of games.
Nintendo makes the most pure, most unique, original and iconic games in the world. There's nobody to touch it, frankly. And we actually think it lost confidence in the Wii U too soon: the console still had much potential that not even Nintendo tapped into.
Regardless, progress is what it is, and Nintendo wants to move forwards. Current thinking has it that the NX - or whatever it'll eventually be called - will arrive (at least in Japan) towards the end of next year. Our misery will be extinguished soon. An Eggs.
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