We’ve known for some time now that Nintendo’s upcoming NX system has a large emphasis on portable gaming. When you’re out and about, it will work as a portable gaming system. Unlike the Nintendo’s DS family of systems, the NX looks to have one screen rather than two. At home, you can place the system into its docking station to play your games on your TV. According to a number of Eurogamer sources, the NX will also have detachable controllers on both sides of its display. Logically, the docking station would probably also double as a charger.
You’ve probably also already heard about the possibility that the NX will use game cartridges. According to a number of Eurogamer sources, this is indeed the case. With the system’s heavy emphasis on portable gaming, that’s not too surprising. Eurogamer has heard a suggestion stating that Nintendo recommends using 32gb cartridges. Some modern games are much larger than this, but you’d think the NX would support larger cartridges as well. This isn’t the first time cartridge-based games have been mentioned for NX. In May, some Eagle-eyed fans noticed that the trademark for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild included cartridge-based games. That is a notable change in wording for Nintendo’s usual home-console trademarks.
Digital downloads are also expected to be a thing on the Nintendo NX, but nothing is known about this for now. Eurogamer also states that according to one source, NX planning has been stepped up a gear at Nintendo. This is ahead of the console’s unveiling, which is currently planned to happen in September. This means we don’t have that much longer to wait for concrete information on the new system.
There have also been rumors that the system might run on the Android OS. However, one Eurogamer source says the system will run on a new OS created by Nintendo. This would not be surprising as Nintendo generally always makes their own OS. Also, according to a source, the NX will not feature any backward compatibility due to the huge shift in hardware. But what about the graphical power of the NX? According to Eurogamer sources, the NX uses the Nvidia Tegra mobile processor as its core.
So where does this place the Nintendo NX relatively speaking? Well, it is a step up from the Nintendo 3DS, but almost certainly not as powerful as the Xbox One and PS4 systems. At this point, everyone knows that Nintendo is not interested in providing cutting edge power to directly compete with Microsoft and Sony. While current NX dev kits are powered by the Tegra X1 chip, one source says they are apparently actively-cooled. This means there is audible fan noise. That in turn leads to the speculation that the Tegra X1 chip might just be a placeholder for Tegra X2 chips in the final Nintendo NX system. You can find some additional information on the power of the Nvidia Tegra processors here.
There have also been rumors of various Wii U games reappearing as NX ports. Games like Super Smash Bros. and Splatoon have been mentioned. There is also Pikmin 4, which Miyamoto himself confirmed to Eurogamer earlier this month. A few third parties have also released their plans for the system. Regardless, we will soon finally get to see the true NX (quite possibly with a new name). When Nintendo unveils it in September, the rumors will be dispelled.
