Patrick Söderlund's giving nothing away
Image: The Telegraph

The Nintendo NX is due in March 2017, and all that is truly known with 100% certainty is that it will play video games. It won't be a toaster or a talking robot (we don't think), and it'll probably have some kind of controller with buttons and sticks. There are reasonable and logical ideas that can be put forth about it, but 100% nailed down details are non-existent.

What we also don't know is how much major third parties will be on board, the likes of Ubisoft, Activision, EA et al. If Nintendo's next console aims to compete in the conventional gaming space support from companies that control some of gaming's biggest brands would undoubtedly be helpful, and in some areas there are positive noises around the likes of Square Enix and Bandai Namco being keen on the device.

Back in February we shared a report that EA and Nintendo had a series of meetings lined up back in March, with earnest conversations to take place about the next system - the focus, according to the sources in question, was on sports games and related areas. It all seemed reasonable, and you can check out the report - for which we collaborated with Liam Robertson - over here.

There is a radio silence of sorts around the NX right now, though, which is probably why we've been pointed by multiple tipsters to comments from Patrick Söderlund, the executive vice president of EA Studios. In an interview with BBC's Newsbeat he said the following when asked about EA games on NX.

I personally and the company are huge fans of Nintendo, they're the reason why I started making games. We're in constant communication with them and when they come to market something - and if it makes sense for us - we'll be there.

It's the kind of answer that'd bring a smile to the PR Manager that may or may not have been in the room. They're hardly the words of confidence, either - an EA executive wouldn't have dreamt of being ambivalent about either the PS4 or Xbox One systems before they were unveiled to the world, we suspect, because EA makes big money on Sony and Microsoft platforms. It merely reflects the deterioration of Nintendo's clout with EA that its executives can do the equivalent of a polite shoulder shrug and say "if it makes sense to us".

But there it is, something an EA man said about NX. Which was, though we all want to know more, ultimately very little.

[source bbc.co.uk]