Here's everything we know about Nintendo's 'NX' so far
The Wii U is floundering, but Nintendo's 3DS has locked down the portable gaming console market - so it's no secret that Nintendo's strength right now is in handheld systems. Thus, it would make sense for their next console to focus on that kind of gaming.
That's exactly what Nintendo is doing, at least according to Eurogamer.
The console, codenamed NX, will be officially unveiled in September and released in March. Essentially, it's a handheld console that can connect to a docking unit and display to your TV if you want to play it like a regular game console.
Here's what the system might look like, based on what sources told Eurogamer:
The console and controller look to be one and the same; it's basically a Wii U Gamepad with the processing power of a console inside of it. One other thing to note is that both ends of the controller can be detached and turned into separate controllers, but as of now it's unclear exactly how that works or when you will need to use it.
The games will supposedly come on cartridges like the 3DS, with an option to download them instead. In terms of horsepower, it sounds like it will be slightly more powerful than the Wii U, but less powerful than the Xbox One and PS4.
Without having actually seen and played the NX for ourselves, it's tough to tell if this is a smart move or not. Despite the success of the 3DS, more people are playing games on their phones than on dedicated gaming hardware these days. Will the NX be small and comfortable enough to fit into your daily routine?
Regardless of that, it makes sense for Nintendo to unify all of their games on one device. If these rumors are true, you will no longer need to buy two consoles to play every Nintendo game. And let's be real: The only reason to buy Nintendo consoles is to play Nintendo's games.
Also worth noting: Nintendo is a Japanese company, and seven of the top 10 selling games in Japan in 2015 were 3DS games. There's definitely still an audience for handheld games, even if it's not as big as it was in the GameBoy days. Hopefully, people who like gaming on the bus and people who like gaming on the couch will both have fun with the NX.