Topic: Nomura Securities: NX will be unveiled in June and released October-November

@skywake: Except that after Iwata-san clearly stated that they won't release the next console until they satisfy the consumer base. I am aware that the NX will replace the Wii U but having a short lifespan of the system is a bad sign for Nintendo. Look what happened to SEGA's past.....sound familiar?

Also, the Vita is damn powerful and yet it couldn't even come half the sales of the 3DS. So asking for a powerful portable isn't helping. Also, didn't Nintendo try to make a better CPU to make it easier to make games for the 3DS?

Analyst prediction, nothing more. But I am in the 2016 camp myself.

Odds are I was the person posting and creating those charts. I'm not going to try and make them again! Though I will say that based on the numbers the 3DS "sales peak" was in 2012/13 and the Wii U is either in the middle of its peak or just at the end. Also that based on history the 3DS is due for a replacement this year while the Wii U could hold on for a bit longer. That's just based on a typical console cycle, Nintendo could choose to extend or shorten the cycle if they wanted.

Look at it this way, the 3DS has had its time in the sun and its sales are slowing. The New 3DS is a CPU/RAM upgrade but in the same way that the DSi was. At this stage they could do a lot more with portable hardware at an acceptable price. And by that I mean quite a bit more capable than the Vita was and at about the same price of the New 3DS XL.

@skywake: though I'm more in the home console camp I'd be fine if NX is handheld, and that's probably safer for 2016. The New 3DS models were a stopgap nothing more. And while 3DS will obviously sell more, I think for the most part just about everyone who really wanted a 3DS has or has had one by now.

3DS has lived its life. And this is likely its last major year before riding off into the sunset.

This is interesting.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=191406998&post...

For those of you hungry for some leaks, there's a guy on reddit who claims he has access to the NX's operating system. He says he's part of a group contracted by Nintendo to find exploits in the OS to run unsigned code (homebrew).

According to him, the OS build for NX compiles for ARM, and there's another build which compiles for PowerPC (likely for a Wii U OS update). There's also drivers for Google Fi, which he says lends credibility for a portable device. It also makes heavy use of Material Design in the OS.

https://np.reddit.com/r/NintendoNX/comments/3xuumg/rumor_nint...

Of course, this is the internet and you'd be a fool to not take this information with a grain of salt. But judging from his post history, he seems like he knows what he's talking about. It's certainly believable enough, and reads like it's relevant developer information as opposed to wild fan speculation. Take it or leave it, I guess.

The consensus on NeoGAF so far is, that the guy on reddit seems to have some believable, developer-centered (not fanboy-centered) information.

Given that it's all code focused, he doesn't make any conclusions from it (e.g. "it's probably a handheld"), and it seems to match up logic and some early rumors, I'm willing to believe this one.

@iKhan: yeah if that's legit its probably a handheld. And Google Fi and "material design" which is in Android.... Nintendo phone xD

Google Fi? Does it by any chance pester the users every few minutes like Fi?

If true it's pretty much guaranteed to be a portable. Very unlikely they'd make an ARM based piece of hardware as a home console. If they are? Very unlikely it's going to be more capable than the Wii U. Also hints here that they're making it easy to develop for this portable system AND the Wii U in parallel. Very interesting.

..... though it's precisely what I've been guessing all along so. All the more reason for me to be very, very sceptical!

Master, there is a 90% chance this new App will be what all the cool kids are talking about.

I think it's more likely that it's just an android-based handheld. Which in my opinion is the best route to take. It's free, it's easy to develop for, and it's ubiquitous.

As long as it still has buttons, and we still get full sized games, I fail to see a problem with that.

I still don't think Android necessarily makes sense. You'd have to assume that Nintendo would care more about backwards compatibility than the ability to run mobile apps. And you can assume that Nintendo being Nintendo they would still want a very, very tight ecosystem. I don't think Android is at all secure enough for Nintendo to go that route. Piracy would be a HUGE risk.

And from what I can understand Google Fi is more of a WiFi and mobile network ecosystem. They keep a database of all of the free WiFi hotspots that are suitable for VoiP services and so on. It includes a smart system where your phone will decide whether it sits on a 4G tower, 3G tower or a WiFi hotspot. Doesn't sound too far removed from what Nintendo has done with portables since the DS. Basically it's really just a more comprehensive version of what Nintendo tried to do with Nintendo Zone

I don't think they are going to use pure Android, but could they not increase security by modifying Android such that cartridge games are more secure?

@iKhan: All versions of Android when the incredibly locked down versions have been cracked. Android is laughably insecure to its core, made worse by how many people use it encourages hackers to want to get as much out of users of Android as possible.

Well they could lock it down to the point where it's not really "Android" anymore. But at that point you have to wonder what the point was and there would still be vulnerabilities. Probably easier to just have it as something other than Android and just build a toolkit that allows easy porting from Android and iOS.

I'd say the number one benefit is immediate access to Android applications, and that's a huge deal. If games still have to be ported, then you aren't going to get nearly the same volume.

But if it's still really insecure (and Nintendo wants to avoid that), I suppose another option is to run Android in parallel with a simple base OS. But that would take a crapton of RAM and processing power.

@iKhan:
"Immediate access to Android applications" is a large part of what would make it vulnerable.

BTW I was joking about Nintendo phone in case anyone thought I was serious. I don't think anyone besides Nintendo fanboys would buy it.

That said, a portable that can run an iOS like OS would be beneficial IMO.