Nintendo NX: New Rumor Suggests It Will Support Cross Play, Specs Close to PS4/Xbox One And More

When it comes to the Nintendo NX, there still isn’t a ton of information out there about what the console will do or what it will offer. What we think we know is that the newest console from Nintendo will not actually have an optical drive. The company hasn’t actually confirmed this but it appears that it also hasn’t denied those rumors and because of that the gaming world is moving on with that assumption.

This weekend, more rumors about what the NX is going to bring. The new rumors are coming from someone close to the company who says that the NX is more than just one console but more of a platform. That means that there is a push to make it quite a bit more cross-platform than what we’ve already seen from the Nintendo brand. There are some versions of the game that allow release on both the 3DS and the Wii U but the NX is geared to expand on that idea.

The company is reportedly looking to come up with a console that is comparable to the Xbox One/PS4 when it comes to the specs and the way it operates back and forth. While it makes sense for Nintendo to modeling their newest console on the ones available, there might be a bit of a danger of aiming their new console at those that have already been on the market for over a year. It’s possible other features will help set the console apart but we’ll have to wait and see when the company finally starts talking.

SOURCE

This sounds in line with a lot of the speculation that has been going around for the system. The bit about specs is interesting- though a bit worrying. If Nintendo plans to stay competitive beyond just the next 3-5 years, it is in their best interests to surpassthe PS4 by a fair bit. It would be cheap enough to do so now as well.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I write for the site linked in the OP. However, I did not write the article in question; moreover, the original source seems to be in Italian, which is a bit of an issue since I think not a lot of us know Italian, so I went ahead and linked to this anyway. I copied the full article, so you are free to not click on the source link (this counters any conflict of interest).

Nintendo would be smart to use hardware that surpasses PS4. but this is Nintendo.

If NX tech specs are on a par with PS4 or Xbox One they will officially become a joke company. They need to blow both out of the water (shouldn't be difficult, both are way under spec for the generations they have released in) or just **** off. to be blunt.

I would wager it's a safe assumption that the specs would be on par with PS4 and X1, if not a little weaker or more powerful. And more of a focus on cross-play seems to be an evolution of some of the things Nintendo has (slowly) been working on.

I mean, it all sounds nice, sure. I'd love for the next console to be more powerful than the PS4 and X1, but if the recent past is indicative of Nintendo's preference then I don't know if that's going to happen.

Looks like a generic italian blog. Any reason to believe they'd have inside information? I kind of doubt it...

I hope these rumors aren't just setting me up for a major disappointment when the NX is finally revealed.

I hate to be jaded, but this "Nintendo's next machine is going to be the dream machine" all feels like Déjà vu to me.

I liked the full disclosure. It shows good character and integrity.

I'm fine with PS4 specs.

That said going digital is a no-no. If this beast uses carts then it'll be a no question day one buy.

I am very interested in seeing what they have in store for us. I really hope the hardware is a little better than the PS4 so it can have a proper life cycle this time instead of having to playing catch up again in a few years.

Going digital? They lost my money then.

Please for the love of God Nintendo....don't do something funky with the controls or whatever.

Just make it a simple type machine.

I would love for Nintendo to have a machine in the run where you can have 1st party Nintendo exclusives and 3rd party support.

A gen 9 system close to current ps4/X1?

Stay on course Nintendo.

@LJS9502_basic: Where the heck do you live where your internet sucks that bad?

Just give me free internet, motion controls (i needs my Gyro), integrated account, Miiverse, backward compatibility, ability to upscale to 1080p, NFC reader, WiiMote support with Fightpads etc, and last but not least, i want more Nintendo games.

Yea going digital only would be a no buy for me...eShop price is notoriously high..& stays high. & my internet sucks. :P

Where did I say it did? i like physical copies. Always.

Yes please! Let's go back to the Gamecube days!

The popularity of Amiibo leads me to think it won't be all digital.

I'm not fine with PS4 specs e.g.

1. NX needs high clock speed quad core CPU (>2Ghz) and low clock speed quad core CPU(1.6Ghz) configuration as in recent ARM CPUs.

2. Tonga GCN's tessellation improvements for NVIDIA style gimping of the competition tactics.

3. Tonga GCN's ROPS Delta compression improvements for NVIDIA style bandwidth savings.

Unless Nintendo is planing to align whatever comes after the Nx with the PS5 and Xbox 4, they're gonna get a powerful machine out, that would of course fall under the assumption that the Xbox one and Ps4 will have at least 5 more years as the main consoles after the Nx launches, if Sony and Microsoft however go the other route and launch new consoles in 2018 (standard 5 years) the Nx will be horrendously outdated by then and it's the same story all over again, of course being an x86 system helps with third party support but we need to consider this, how outdated are these consoles already? The boinare Gpu on the xbox one was already very outdated in 2013 when it launched as was the slightly more powerful ps4 gpu that's still a 7000 series, my point is how much lower can you get in 2016 as Nintendo for a new console? They would pretty stupid to see this console as competition to the 9th gen entries from Sony and Microsoft, maybe an inbetweener trying to align launches with the competition?

I hope it's stronger otherwise the same thing might happen when next versions other consoles come out.

I'd like for the NX to be aggressive and please have physical copies for the games and have free online.

if they plan to have ps4/one graphics they best get it out now. Unless they want to be left behind again.

@LJS9502_basic: To be honest, very few games are worth owning a physical copy these days. Sure, it's nice to have a collection to get sweet link karma on Reddit, but I realized the value of digital copies when the regular copy of Skyrim was a disc and a cd key (and the disc was useless, because I could just download the game).

This isn't the days of Baldur's Gate and Heroes of Might and Magic. The only ones worth owning in physical format is The Witcher series and Blizzard games, and only in collectors editions.

Lowest priced R9-285 "Tonga Pro" is $158.98 with a chip size of 366 mm^2 with 28 nm process tech.

PS4's chip size is 348 mm^2 with system of the chip and 28 nm process tech. PS4's GPU was based on Radeon HD "Pitcairn" 78x0/R7-265 which has a chip size of 212 mm^2. The difference between 348 mm^2 and 212 mm^2 would be the non-GPU parts i.e. 136 mm^2.

If Nintendo uses 28nm process tech, the minimum would be either XBO's Bonaire variant or Pitcairn variant. AMD could improve Bonaire or Pitcairn IP with Tonga's improvements e.g. tessellation and ROPS delta compression.

Tonga Pro's with 136mm^2 SoC components world yield 502 mm^2 chip size i.e. that's 1st gen PS3 combined CELL+RSX chip size!!!

Total CPU+GPU+EDRAM area size for 1st gen Xbox 360 is 438 mm^2. GPU+EDRAM size is 262 mm^2

Total CPU+GPU area size for 1st gen PS3 is 493 mm^2. GPU size is 258 mm^2.

So what is Nintendo's plan this time?

Launch this years after Xbone/PS4, with about the same power or a bit stronger ?

In which case it'll get third party support for a few years (i.e. PS4 ports), and then once the next PS/Xbox hits it'll be left behind again.

Wii U = underpowered hardware plan has failed.

Options

1. Semi-custom Tonga Pro variant which would beat PS4. Stay at 28 nm process tech.

2. Be a PC OEM for 14 nm PC APU i.e. FX-8800p APU chip size with 14 nm process tech would easily fit 4 Excavator CPU modules(8 core/8 threads) and 32 CU IGP (similar to Tonga). Leverage PC's economic of scale to lower the price.

3. Another PS4 like solution based on Pitcairn IP. Stay at 28 nm process tech.

4. Another XBO like solution based on Bonaire IP. Stay at 28 nm process tech.

5. Stay in the handheld market and create home games on PC/PS4/Xbone

No need for another console with the strenght of PS4/Xbone. No need for another console to start of a gen underpowered.

So is nvidia really out of question due to pricing?

How could NVIDIA beat 2 for 1 deal? AMD could made AMD Jaguar IP very cheap.

6. AMD Project Quantum single GPU variant = performance target for 14 nm/16 nm super APUs.

28 nm process tech 500 mm^2 Fury would be 285 mm^2 with 16 nm process tech.

28 nm process tech 366 mm^2 Tonga would be 209 mm^2 with 16 nm process tech.

GoFlo's 14 nm process tech would be about a year old in 2016 which is the same as Samsung's 14 nm fabs.

So basically Nintnedo will try and compete with PS4 and Xbone for a second time in one generation.

@charizard1605: Nah man, Nintendo has its own generations from now on. New hardware will be released mid-gen, the specs will be closer to the older gen of course. While other companies try to keep their consoles alive for what, 5-7 years maybe, Nintendo keeps at solid 4 years.

People who are expecting the NX to blow the xone or Ps4 away in terms of graphical capabilities are going to be very disappointed.

So, if this is true, then Nintendo will once again get no third party support. Awesome.

I think the WiiU was an incredibly safe concept and destined to be a disappointment because it was pushed to extend the life of a brand (Wii) that was already dead by 2010. What i think it succeeded at being is a prototype for things to come.

Based on all the rumors that we could find, i assume that they're merging their handheld and console division into one ecosystem that will most likely function under one operating system, effectively tapping into their vastly more successful handheld side of the business. The lack of an optical drive may indicate that cartridges similar used for the 3DS or maybe SD cards(?) will provide the physical platform instead. The NX is a very interesting proposition by Nintendo for us.

They know the Wii brand is dead and very toxic, so they will use something els. I suspect "Nintendo" is enough, at least i hope so.

If the console is digital-only, I won't be buying one. That is all I know or care about.

@charizard1605: I agree. The console/main platform (assuming the "service across different machines" rumour is still a thing) it should be stronger than the PS4 otherwise it'll be eclisped relatively fast (assuming normal gen lenght) by the next hardware from Sony and MS.

This

I doubt that this will be a 5-6 year length. By the time the NX is on the market (i suspect early 2017), the Playstation 4 will be roughly 3 and a half years old. I'll bet my soul that they'll push for another 4 years at least until the Playstation 5 is on the market.

That gives NX a lot of wiggle room to strengthen their new brand and reinvigorate their damaged imagine.

Rumors are rumors. It wouldn't be shocking if they were true, but I'll still be taking any and all of them (good or bad) with a grain of salt until Nintendo says something.

Being on par with what will be 3 years old consoles that were never cutting edge to begin with is pathetic. And no disk drive? No thanks.

No disc drive, because it is probably going with flash formats.

Regardless, this is all just speculation and rumors right now, dismissing a console that does not even have an official name or announcement based on this is just dumb.

@charizard1605: Well if it comes out and its something else I will get it.

Most sensible way to do things :)

Or almost anyway, lol, Nintendo could make this thing equivalent to the original Gameboy, and if they actually launched with Galaxy 3, Zelda, Pikmin 4, and Dragon Quest, I would still buy it.

Knowing Nintendo "cross play" means making a game a certain way so it can only be played that way, they'll come out with some game that sounds cool but then you find out you need one Nintendo NX and then even then you would still need exactly 7 friends, no little no less, each needing their New 3DSs and their own companion cartridges, to play, then even then it still won't work unless you have a proprietary something-or-other to stick up your ass.

Whereas, I thought cross play means if I bought Metroid on my Wii that the Wii U and 3DS eShop ports would be free. So, basically Nintendo has had three different devices offering VC and they're saying "sorry you might have bought some games three times but we promise the 4th time is the last"; **** Nintendo.

This is supposed to be a "9th gen" machine.

If it's only "close to" the PS4, no one will care. If they get ports of PS4 games, no one will care. If they get slightly shinier versions of games we've already played like 2D Mario/Luigi/DK/Kirby, Wii Sports/Fit/Music/Party, Mario Party/Sports/Kart/Smash, then no one will care. If they get odd random 7/10 3rd party exclusives and indie games no one will care.

They need to smash down the door and kick in some teeth with an ACTUAL next gen machine for people to care.

360 launched with shittons of "next gen exclusive" 360/PC games, locking out the Gamecube and PS2. If you wanted to play, you had to upgrade. Nintendo should aim for the same. Stop playing catchup, and start setting standards!

So Nintendo is gonna be behind yet again and by there choosing.

Other things to consider, AMD's once cancelled Project Skybridge: the hybrid Arm_x86 variant SoC. Carrizo L, as they are limited release on certain OEM's, Puma+ cores, and of course, the upcoming Zen cores.

NX needs to launch in 2016 if this is the case. They need to get it out as soon as possible to make sure it gets as much shelf time with the twins as possible. PS5/X2 won't be coming out until 2019 or 2020 if you're hopeful. Nintendo be in the sweet spot for keeping up with the joneses for 3rd party support by then. I actually think that they are going to go with a card reader somewhere along the lines of 3DS. This means that combined with loading from the HDD and card, they will have the fastest loading times along with full 3rd party support. NX could end up taking over PS4 and X1 before their lifespans are over.

@bunchanumbers: I think NX might still have problems getting third party support if Nintendo did. Wii U should have MGS5 and Persona 5 but yet its getting passed for some reason. They will pass on NX the same reason they pass on PS3, someone will pay them off. Im still shocked Batman Arkham Knight and Mortal Kombat X didnt release on last gen, i feel they would have had the sales easily to justify the port. GTA5 missing from Wii U? Why?