Some New NX Rumors (10/16/15)

Very interesting NX rumors that include "industry leading tech" that can compete with PS4, X1. Also a mobile unit for on the go gaming...

The big part of the rumor is the 2016 release date. Who knows if any of this is true but it's really exciting to see the rumor mill heat up a bit.

I predicted there was no way this thing came out before 2017.

What do you all think of this?

http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/10/16/nintendo-nx-reportedly-has-industry-leading-tech-and-2016-release-date?utm_source=IGN%20hub%20page&utm_medium=IGN%20(front%20page)&utm_content=3&utm_campaign=Blogroll&abthid=562104393688a5080b00000b

this is great.

I like the tech part so they can FINALLY have some real 3rd party support but I hate the mobile idea. I just want a true gaming system with a good controller (their pro controller cant stand up to xb1 or ps4). I really think the hardcore would flock back if this happens but they're so determined to put in some sort of fad or weird thing that hinders more than helps. Of course alot won't agree with the last part and that's OK,

Also we don't know if this is true so hopefully we'll learn real facts before next e3.

@immortality20: Mobile unit could just mean that the system is a portable and home console all in one. It doesn't have to mean mobile like "cell phone" mobile, I see it as meaning more like a 3DS but on par with whatever the NX specs are.

I really just want this to be true so that third parties can have a better chance of being on board. If NX starts getting these third party games then I may never have to invest in a PS4. I've held out this long but eventually there are going to be enough games on PS4 that I'm going to want one. But if these games end up on a Nintendo console, I'd just get that and be as happy as ever.

480p Handheld, 1080p home console please. Would be awesome to play both sets of games on the home console.

@mesome713: It would be pretty cool.

I also just hope whatever they do weather it's remote handheld play or not, at the very least have some form of off-tv play. Still the most underrated feature of the WiiU.

@roboccs: I would agree with that, also dual screen coop is awesome.

I think that the NX will come out holiday season next year. I just don't think Nintendo can sustain their image for another two years. With no 3rd party support and such low Wii-U sales, Nintendo needs to make a move. So I'm not surprised to read that 2016 is looking like a reality.

I have no comments on the tech, because, you know, Nintendo! But they have said for years now that they want an iTunes store setup where there is a central place to get the games and multiple devices to play them on (like an iphone, ipad, or ipod). So I can totally see Nintendo working on a console device and some sort of mobile device, where you can play the same game, not a port.

My personal concern is, that like iTunes, the new Nintendo setup will lead to digital titles only, which I do not support. So I hope Nintendo keeps physical media as well.

Pretty much confirms a weak system if true.

Since handheld gaming isn't close to being ready for current gen games and the console will need to do double duty the handheld specs will hold the console back.

I don't see how this helps Nintendo, they've lost the handheld market to the cell phones, how does a weak console help their brand?

Ya that is what worries me, if it is a handheld gaming console hybrid, I cant imagine it being very powerful at all. It would also be weird splitting up games between being played by the handheld and being played by the console. They should just drop the handheld portion of the system seeing as they have 3ds

Whatever it is I look forward to it.

New hardware is always exciting and easily one of the best parts about following this industry. Especially Nintendo post-2001 with their unique ideas.

Well I have the Vita and a PS4 and I like taking games like The Show and moving saves back and forth. There is a downgrade though on the Vita and if it's going to be seamless between the two the lower powered device will set the standard for both.

Ya, but vita is a seperate system, there is a version made for the vita to play, but im not sure how it works with a system that is supposed to be a handheld and a console

Well that's the thing. Will Nintendo make two versions of every game and allow saves to be swapped? If so that's great but they'll have even less third party support then they do now.

If it's just lowest common denominator then yeah, things are going to look and play pretty poorly on the console end of things.

There's still a lot of questions to be answered in all of this but I don't see how outdated handhelds that aren't making it anymore somehow fit in the living room on your TV.

This makes my prediction of a scalable handheld home console hybrid sound possible now. I threw out there that I think the gpu will be in the mobile unit and run off battery for handheld gaming on the go. Then when at home you can dock it to power base allowing more power to gpu. This would be for big home console type games which would not be playable on the mobile unit on battery by itself. Of course you could play the mobile games on the dock just not the other way around.The dock will have wired connection to tv or A/V equipment, and an internal HDD. The mobile unit will have maybe some solid state memory and sd card slot for handheld games.

Users on here had me change my mind about on par hardware but now that seems like the way thew are going. Also had me reconsider my previous thought that it would be out late 2016 considering their release history in the past.

Here's another source. I'll take this info with a grain of salt. They have disappointed me with the power of the WiiU. But if this is true this might be a really monstrously strong system if true.

Report: Dev. Kits Suggest Nintendo NX Likely More Powerful Than PS4 And Xbox One

http://www.nintendoforums.com/threads/nintendo-nx-will-have-incredibly-powerful-hardware.1963/

It looks like that practice is about to change with Nintendo's next generation console. Nintendo started distributing the software version of the "NX" development kit to qualified publishers and developers this week. We had a brief chat with a senior developer at a major game publishing company based in the U.S., and according to him, Nintendo NX is going to have very impressive hardware. Based on the development kit, the sheer processing capabilities of the hardware (which still hasn't been finalized) are going to be "incredibly powerful" and quite possibly faster than whatever Sony and Microsoft have in store. Specifically, one software demo included with the kit crunches so many polygons that it's currently impossible to run at 60fps using a current-generation Intel (we're assuming a Core i7 Skylake) CPU and a nearly top-of-the-line graphics card (no specifics provided, but they probably used a single graphics card).

Given that analysts are now predicting a holiday 2016 launch date for the NX, the only logical conclusion is that Nintendo is working with an established chip giant to design and create a highly specialized CPU and GPU combination that will outperform modern-generation hardware.

Excited about it, I like reading about *new* hardware coming out...just not letting myself go overboard I guess, incase its you know another let down. :P

There are always a thousand rumors about upcoming hardware and they only sound plausible because they are built on the last set of rumors. Its long been rumored that the system will be some kind of hybrid that combines handheld and console(which itself is not a bad idea)so someone running with that rumor--only makes it appear to be more valid.

When it comes to the systems hardware specs, again its kind of playing on the rumor or obvious. The Wii was severely lacking in power, but Nintendo dominated the market. They tried it again with the Wii U and it didn't work at all. So common sense would indicate that they cant try and go that route again, so a rumor playing on that again, will easily lend itself credence.

It needs to do more than compete with Ps4, it needs to blow it out of the water. I'm talking like a Dreamcast > N64 jump in power.

Power means nothing if they can't get games on it. More power is nice, but it only make games more time consuming and expensive to develop. Nintendo can't get big blockbuster 3rd party titles on the Wii U unless they help fund it, and the same will most likely happen to the NX because 3rd party devs are afraid of Nintendo consoles. They are afraid of competing with Nintendo games on Nintendo consoles because most of those who buy Nintendo consoles only buy Nintendo games.

I thought the 2016 release was obvious. It explains the lack of support for the Wii U in 2015/2016.

In terms of specs, it has to be at least around the PS4 specs, ideally better.

Everything else is already that... at least Nintendo tries to be different while the others just try to one up each other endlessly.

There is being different and there is being dumb... I would have liked to see Nintendo try VR seeing as they had virtual boy. I feel that they already have the wiimotes they can use and it would be really interesting to see what nintendo can do with it. If it were me, vr is the better direction than hybrid games

That's not really feasible or wise, being 4 or 5x stronger will do nothing more than make it a very expensive console. The PS4 is already dug deep in the trench, trying to pull it out with pure tech is not going to do it. Particularly since if the NX has the power, all it will have is the same multiplat games the PS4 has. Of course loading the first say 18 months with Nintendo's big hitters will go a long way--but all that extra power will go to waste for the 3rd party games. They will still lean heavily towards the PS4 with its already built in fanbase. You can say its future proofing against the next wave of consoles, but those are probably a ways off.

Power doesn't guarantee Developer X will make a game for the Nintendo system but it doesn't hurt. Knowing your console doesn't need a special, watered down version might give hope that you'll get the games everyone else is getting and it might pose a risk developers are willing to take.

They could put something out 3-4x as powerful as Ps4 and sell it for $300 if it had no disc drive or HDD. (SD cards for games) Gamecube was the strongest console its generation and it was $100 less than its competition, and the most efficient design.

We'll have come a long way from the 28nm 7xxx hardware in current consoles by the time NX is out, architectures have become more than twice as efficient on the same 28nm process, and 14/16nm will be a massive leap in technology.

Nintendo can easily do it, they just can't have any exotic hardware (no BC, no gamepad) slowing them down.

If Nintendo can make a sub 100 watt console that demolishes Ps4, they should do it.

@Chozofication: Could you imagine, the absolute $*&T storm that would ensue if they released another console without a hard drive? Even if the system was designed to not really need it, that will start them out behind the 8 ball "Nintendo has blown it again on a basic feature" is what people would say, no matter how powerful the console is. Second, backwards compatibility with the Wii U almost all but necessary, if this system comes out next year, just over 3 years after the Wii U launch. You cant just toss it and those that supported it aside. That's the first audience you have to win over, before you start looking to swipe people from other platforms. And yeah I get it, 3 years in the PC tech world is like 300 years. But keep in mind, this system didn't just start being made this week. If its true the dev kits are going out, it had to be cooking with the chosen tech for at least a year or so. So you have to take out the most recent advances.

@Sepewrath: Honestly not having a HDD would be that big a deal, but sure it'd get attacked for it by dumb dumbs :P

Let's be real here, people are not going to get by on the 500gb drive that comes with the Ps4, so those people will have to buy something extra anyways. Nintendo's model with Wii U is just fine, put a bit of flash memory in to get you started, then buy however much storage you want with an external HDD.

Backwards compatibility is great, but man Nintendo needs to move on from that ancient cpu architecture and not only would they have to incorporate Wii U's gpu in the new design, but Wii's as well since that's a part of the Wii U gpu. That is a lot of custom hardware that will drive the price up and/or keep it from being as powerful as it could've been.

You have a point with the dev kits though.

Uh, guys. Did you see this?

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?p=182030474#post182030474

Rumor: Nintendo NX Tech Demo Can Only Run On PCs With ‘Cutting-Edge’ Chips

Well looks like this is a big thing. Plus this shows that there is a handheld and a console setup. Plus the messages being leaked about how their dev kit works kinda shows that its a unified setup. Plus that patent about debugging shows that they are making NX as dev friendly as possible. This is gonna be big. Not just for Nintendo, but for gaming in general.

@immortality20: it will definitely be a system that you can play at home on an hdtv and away via a hand held unit. The games will be cartridge based, no more disc formats, 3ds backward compatibility. The handheld console hybrid rumors have been out there forever. Their last 3 handhelds have always done better than their last 3 consoles. Why would they abandoned that market? Most of Nintendos success has been the 3DS, DS and Gameboy Advance.

When the Wii U was announced I was under the impression the game could LOAD in the controller. If ever there was a way to make this possible... OMG

@Sepewrath: Nintendo has to get away from disk drive based software and stay with the DS cart. They DS cart are pretty cheap. If they can design a cart that can hold the same amount of data as a PS4 disc, that would be the winning move. Remember they are building a system that plays games at home and via handheld, only a cartridge could pull that off. Nintendo cant compete with PlayStation on home consoles, just like PlayStation cant compete with Nintendo in handhelds. The DS / 3DS carts are their best moves for data storage.they already have the established molds for them. If they can put a PlayStation 4 game on a DS type of cart that would be the move. Nintendos bread and butter is in their Handhelds. They have enough 1st parties to were they dont need first 3rd parties. Thats another category they beat PlayStation in. The bigest issue was most of their best ips or on the DS and 3DS. You guys are getting your hopes up too high. This system will be handheld based with TONS of software from Nintendo, Amiibo Support, a bigger Virtual Console to compete with PlayStation Now, backward compatibility with 3DS and DS games.

Are you crazy??? A PS4 BR disc can hold about 50gb of information while a 3ds cart can only hold about 4gb. The games would be awful to play at home, even if they bump up storage a bit.

@tiny_rick: Coolyfett is not crazy, but Nintendo has shown multiple times they are. This new system WONT take disc of any kind. No need to be rude Rick.

@Coolyfett: Dont you think the reasonable answer is that its digital only?

What about patches and updates? This thing will need some sort of storage inside the device to pull it off. Either that or the cartridges will need to have spare space for patches and updates and that space would need to be rewritten. I like the idea, but I think that there will still be issues with carts. It won't be like the SNES days where a cart is released and its never updated again.

I don't think that a 4GB card will fly these days. Heck I'm thinking that even a 64 GB SD card wouldn't be enough in the long run. Maybe cloud support for storage?

@Chozofication:I agree not having an HDD is not that serious and the one that would come installed would likely be completely inadequate forcing you to go out and buy one anyway. But like you said, the dumb dumbs will complain and if Nintendo wants to get off to the right foot, they cant have that. The PS4's 500GB sounded great to people seemingly forgetting the huge install sizes on the PS3 that have only gotten bigger on the PS4. But by the time the NX comes out, people will be calling for 1 TB at least, particularly if this a hybrid system, it will likely incline many to go all digital. And yeah I understand the burden of BC, but they really have no choice there, its a hard sell to say "thanks for buying the Wii U, now give us $400 for this one less than 4 years later" Many will feel burned and pass on the system, there are a lot of people already saying that.

@Coolyfett: Completely disagree, your not getting a cart to hold 50GB and expect it to be cheap. Also its about presentation here, you don't want to send the message that this simply a Super Gameboy. You want people to see it as a console and the way the software is delivered will have say in that. Nintendo just out competed Sony on home consoles last gen and yes no one can compete with them on handheld. But the combination of the two could be the thing that puts them over the top. But I don't think they'll be doing carts and I don't think they will go digital only, Perhaps they may look at a SKU that has no optical drive and one that does.

We dont know if they are going digital only, but imo the games designed for handheld use might be DL only. You DL them to some internal flash memory in the handheld from the dock, maybe this handheld/controller has an SD card slot as well. Then the games that are bigger designed for home console use will be available in physical copy as well as digital. But that would mean the physical games would be like a cart since it does not have optical drive.

Since the software dev. kit is just as or slightly more powerful than ps4 at the moment. I think they will go x86 and this will make 3rd party porting easy. No this does not guarantee 3rd party will come, but gives them the option as long as the install base is there. I think if the NX is a huge seller that we will see the big 3rd party games on NX. Even if the NX is not a ball park home run at the start, dev. will still port games over just not as many and more slowly, testing the waters.

Which would be a repeat of the issues with the Wii U supporting the gamepad, or doing a game across 2 platformers and being held back - see Smash 4.

I think Nintendo can still compete with cell phones, but a change in structure of their handheld market - from pricing, to design, etc. would likely have to change.

My curiosity is peaked to say the least.

Here's a Gamexplain discussion about the NX

NX rumors

A GT video about the NX

@GameboyTroy: Thanks for the most recent GT video. (Amusingly, Kyle Bosman reminds me of Toby McGuire.) Anyway, sadly, he is probably right about the NX coming out next year. He makes several good points. I have only had the Wii U for less than a year, and others are still waiting for a price drop. I want the NX, but it just seems too soon. I understand why Nintendo needs to do this...I just hope that Nintendo has a really good advertisement campaign for the NX. I hope that the console resonates like their portables, that the general public understands what it does, that it is not somehow confused with the Wii U, that its price will be competitive with the price drops that will come for the PS4 and Xbox One, and that it can prevail against the unjustified gimmick mockery. How is Nintendo going to prevent 3rd parties from abandoning them when the PS5 and Xbox 4 are announced at the launch of the NX, and they are going to be more powerful than the NX (a repeat of this generation)?

It makes me think that Kazeswan is right about the NX being a portable the can dock and play games on the TV. Nintendo's portables have the Mass Appeal that equals or exceeds the combined popularity of the PS and Xbox, and 3rd party developers like and support Nintendo's portables. I would be ok with this.

@Collie_Lover: The successors for the PS4 and X1 are likely a long ways off, these cycles will likely be close to a decade. If the NX does come out next year, it will be 6-7 years old by the time those consoles are coming out and be on to its successor as well. As far as the 3rd party goes, name a few major 3rd party release on the 3DS besides Monster Hunter. Nintendo's handhelds are generally supported solely by them and if its powerful hardware, the games take longer to make and become few and far between. If you expect the 3rd party to support a handheld with major release like Fallout, Witcher etc. Your going to be let down.

What makes a mjor 3^rd party release? I don’t have a 3DS so go easy on me. Some games out/coming out for the 3DS are:

SteamWorld Heist (Image and Form Games) TBA 2015

Lego Jurassic World (Warner Home Video Games) 6/9/15

Etrian Odyssey Untold: The Fafnir Knight (Atlus) 8/4/15

Rodea: The Sky Soldier (Kadokawa Games, Prope) 11/10/15

Sonic Boom: Fire and Ice (Sega) 2016

Mighty No. 9 (Comcept, Inti Creates) 2016

Moon Chronicles Episodes 2-4 (Renegade Kid) 2/5/15

Dragon Quest VII and VIII (Square Enix) TBA

Final Fantasy Explorers (Square Enix, Racjin) 1/26/16

Bravely Second: End Layer (Silicon Studio, Square Enix) TBA 2016

@Collie_Lover: Fallout 4, Witcher 3, GTA. MGS, AC, Tomb Raider. These are the type of big 3rd party games Nintendo platforms have been missing for over a decade now. And a handheld trying to play at console wont be the one to bring them back. Even the Wii U has gotten things like Lego games, Sonic games; those aren't major, system selling release.

The 3DS has MGS3. The Wii U got AC and COD in its 1st year.

@GameboyTroy: A bad port of an 8 year old game does not count. Everything gets CoD from Treyarch, but remember Nintendo wasn't getting the Infinity Ward developed CoD games until West, Zampella and half the team left. And the Wii U hasn't gotten an AC game since Black Flag, not even Rogue which was made for last gen systems--hell they don't even get the Madden games anymore. I mean seriously...Madden, they would put that series on microwaves if they could. So yeah, I'm going to stand by my point.