Nintendo's NX Is "Really Great" and Has Potential to Draw in Casual Gamers, Ubisoft Says

Assassin's Creed and Far Cry publisher Ubisoft is optimistic about Nintendo's NX console. CEO Yves Guillemot said today during an earnings call that the system, from the publisher's vantage point at least, is looking "really great." He also mentioned that he believes the NX may draw in casual gamers, a point that CFO Alain Corre brought up in an June interview with MCV.

"On the NX, what we have seen is really great," Guillemot said. "We think having a new machine coming is going to help the industry to continue to grow and to take a lot more casual players back to the industry."

Nintendo's Wii console was a huge hit with more than 100 million units sold, success that was fueled in part by the fact that it appealed to casual gamers. Its successor, the Wii U, was a failure by comparison, selling 12.8 million units by Nintendo's latest count.

The NX is due to launch in March 2017. It's rumored to be a console/handheld hybrid that uses "industry-leading" technology, though it remains to be seen what that means.

Software development kits for NX, which is only a codename, were reportedly sent out in October 2015. Ubisoft confirmed at E3 this year that the next mainline Just Dance game is coming to NX, though it's possible the company is also working on other titles for it.

Nintendo's next earnings briefing is scheduled for July 27, at which time the company may provide more details about NX.

Also during the briefing today, Guillemot said Ubisoft is also "really excited" about Microsoft's slimmed-down Xbox One S system, which begins its rollout on August 2.

"We are really excited by the Xbox One S because it's going to continue to boost the market and bring better graphics," he said. "We will be able to give more immersions to our players."

In other Ubisoft news, the company had a strong fiscal first quarter, with overall sales rising 44 percent and digital revenue breaking a company record.