According to an article on Eurogamer.net, the upcoming Nintendo NX console will be a portable console with detachable controllers. The article cites a “number of sources” that confirm this configuration to the website.
The NX will work as a typical handheld console – albeit a high-powered one, as it will have its own display. The difference is that the display will be bookended by two detachable controllers on each side. They can be attached or detached as required. Once home, the system can connect to a TV via a base unit and be used as a regular home console.
The core technology for the NX will be based on Nvidia’s mobile-focused Tegra, surprising many who expected the console to use an AMD processor. The development kits that developers are using use the Tegra X1, the chips used on Google’s Pixel C tablet and the Shield Android TV console.
The console is clearly being designed with a preference for mobile gaming. To punctuate that thought, Eurogamer confirms that the Nintendo NX will use cartridges for games. That was hinted for a bit; their sources are just confirming it. Nintendo is said to be recommending 32GB cartridges, which is pretty small.
The end result is a system that will be more powerful than the Xbox 360 and PS3, but well short of the performance of the PS4 and Xbox One. With both Sony and Microsoft moving to more powerful consoles during the next year, the gulf between those systems and the NX will widen substantially more.
The Nintendo NX is scheduled to be formally unveiled in September, although there have been rumblings that Nintendo may want to accelerate that unveiling. Nintendo, however, is not offering any information.
“Nintendo has not made any new official announcements regarding NX which is due to launch in March 2017,” a Nintendo spokesperson told Eurogamer. “As such [we’re] unable to comment on the various rumors and speculations circulating.”
