Talk about the ultimate game of ‘two truths and a lie’. Problem is – next to nothing has been confirmed as a truth!
We’ve been hearing a lot of buzz about Nintendo’s next great console adventure on and off for quite some time. With the passing of Satoru Iwata last year and very little being revealed going into what looks to be its release date in the spring, the console has already met with its own fair share of drama. We didn’t even see anything out of the console at E3 (Electronics Entertainment Expo) this past summer, which left a lot of questions unanswered and a feeling of frustration and restlessness amongst the consumers.
Whether or not the following information is confirmed or if it is still just a hopeful rumor, here are some of the things being heard across the Interwebs when it comes to this console.
- Release Date: March 2017
This seems to be a fairly solid little piece of information. Over the last several months, multiple sources have made mention of this month and year pairing being the time period in which The NX is expected to hit the shelves. Somewhat unusual, however, as most of Nintendo’s console release dates previously have come in the fall/winter months (ahead of the holiday shopping season).
- Handheld/Console Hybrid
This has been a rumor for quite a long time. Several supposed patent designs (such as the one in the image above) have floated around the web and each of them stirred up quite the feeling of angst among the Nintendo diehards. However, nothing seemed to be confirmed about this rumor until quite recently. The head of The Pokemon Company has been quoted by several sources as stating that a Pokemon title, similar to what is on the 3DS and the handheld generations before it, is in the works for The NX. Granted, he has yet to say when and how the game will drop but that there is one in the works.
This seems to confirm that this rumor may be a bit more of a possibility than we once thought. And it would make quite a lot of sense given Nintendo’s manhandling of the handheld gaming device market. It makes sense for Nintendo to create a mash-up console that engages in both features: home use on the TV and mobile use when you’re not at home. I’m eager to see how this one plays out.
- Legend of Zelda: Breath of The Wild
By now, we’re all pretty sure that the next LOZ title is going to be featured on The NX. Shoot, Nintendo has even confirmed as much. And based on current intelligence, it seems like BoTW is going be among the possible last titles for the Wii U and a launching title (if not THE launch title) for The NX - which is quite interesting given the last rumor we discussed (handheld/console hybrid) and makes sense given the fact that next nothing has been seen in regards to The NX version of the game (we saw a demo based on the Wii U at E3).
Nintendo has seemed to work out a formula for console release. The last few consoles that they have dropped on our shelves have been associated either with a LOZ game featuring as the launching title for the console or really pushing the LOZ title and dropping as soon as possible after the console drops. This has not failed them in the past, even on the Wii and Wii U.
Factor into the equation the possibility of a handheld/console hybrid and the open world feeling of the game (based on what we have seen thus far), this is either going to be a brilliant success or such a failure that Nintendo may well need to go to focusing on the handheld market and ditching their hopes for the console division.
One last item…
- Region Lock: Still here or did they ditch it?
Region lock, for those not in the know, means that a console has been programmed to play games and content created specifically for that region (i.e. Europe games/content only for Europe consoles, USA stuff for USA, etc). All other content effectively gets locked and blocked from being accessed via that console. This could be on the verge of changing.
One source (gottabemobile.com) in their article regarding news and rumors about The NX (found here http://www.gottabemobile.com/2016/09/20/nintendo-nx-release-everything-we-think-we-know/) makes mention of the fact that so far two developer kits to their knowledge seem to be lacking the region lock capability and so far nothing has been confirmed or denied as to whether or not this item will be added later on (such as right before launch). This has not been confirmed but it is an interesting item to consider.
Some regions get exclusive releases and exclusive content that no one else can get or play without a console/device from that region. This would open up the market in a huge, huge way if this happened and totally change the game (pardon the pun).
Right now, these are the greatest hits of the ‘what we think, what we hear and what we know’ cycle of the next console from Nintendo, still codenamed as The NX. We may hear more as an unveiling event has been rumored for either this month or sometime later this fall/winter season. We shall see. I’ll update my thoughts/findings when that time comes.
Till next time!
