Despite the Rumours, Nintendo NX Will Not be Android Based

"Phew!"
-Apple fanboys

Sucks as would have been great for 3rd party devs. Whatever they do, hope they make life easier than on WiiU

It would have been a great choice IMO

but im not expert either.

I really don't care what they use, as long as it is friendly for developers.

What if Nintendo develops NX based on the same architecture as Xbox One and Playstation 4 but just makes the system more powerful/flexible? Is that not a viable option? Wouldn't that show their desire to lure 3rd parties back into the fray?

At least it would have signaled that Nintendo is actually taking third parties serious this time around.

I love Android, but its only a good choice for a console if you're looking to build a dedicated indie machine. It would do nothing to bring major 3rd parties onboard.

If they used Android do you know how long it would take before the NX became rooted (then easy piracy for anyone)? spoiler alert: within a few days of launch.

Nintendo using android? That's a laugh. Honestly, if they have unity which is just as accessible as android, why would they consider Android? If anything, Nintendo would have to sign a contract with Google and it would be like Sony that Google builds its own system being the next console rival... HAHAHAHAH!

It doesn't surprise me at all. Piracy would have been a much bigger issue, as mentioned by some people already. Plus, we would get a bunch of awful games trying to get into the eShop.

Kinda disappointing, it really would've made it easier for developers to port games over. Here's to hoping they find a better alternative, they can't keep putting out consoles with such scarce third party support.

Nintendo would have shot this rumour down regardless whether it's true or not, so it could still happen!

Great news! There were so many red flags with the NX running on Android if you think about it.

@MitchVogel
There are other operating systems that are 3rd party friendly.

Android still rocks.

Remembering back, I remembered when Nintendo of America posted this advert for a next gen console engineer:

....Description of Duties:

Nintendo Technology Development is looking for a lead graphics architect in the system-on-chip architecture group in Redmond, WA. The group is responsible for the architecture of Nintendo’s game console SoCs. The graphics architect plays a key role in determining the SoC architecture. The job responsibilities are:
•Evaluate HW graphics (GPU) offerings from SoC solutions available in the market based on performance, power, and silicon area.
•Evaluate the performance of the SoC solutions for both proprietary and standard graphics APIs.
•Determine workloads and simulation models for both performance and power characteristics of GPUs.
•Keep track of GPU architectural improvements in the industry and devise strategies to incorporate them for future Nintendo gaming platforms.
•Act as the graphics architectural evangelist working with global Nintendo teams for future and on-going programs.
•Work with external SoC vendors as the Nintendo focal point for graphics GPU architecture.
•Should be prepared to work through architecture, design, validation, and bring-up stages of SoC design in cooperation with internal and external teams.

Summary of Requirements
•The ideal candidate will have had experience working directly in a GPU architecture and design team with significant responsibilities.
•Low power and SoC design experience would be a plus.
•The candidate is expected to have good architectural insights and the ability to apply that for setting future graphics direction for Nintendo.
•A bachelors degree (graduate degree preferred) in computer science/engineering or electrical engineering.
•5+ years of lead or architectural role experience are required.

I'm not an expert in computers, but just the fact they were trying to employ a US designer suggests they were trying to go up against the PS4 or XB1, and that's not an Android based system.

@Nintendo_Ninja That there are. I don't really care what powers the next Nintendo console, I just want something that's easier for developers to port games to.

Its disappointing, because Android as a base system for NX could help Nintendo a lot. Nintendo simply does not have the skills to make a proper OS.

The concerns mentioned in the article are not valid at all:
"Security and managing content to cater for families and children were potential concerns"

Android would only be used as base system. There would be no trace of Google Play store, Google services and no way to install Android packages by your self. It would be a totally closed system made by Nintendo, where you could only get you software through the Nintendo e-shop. The quality control of the system and software would be the same as on Wii U and 3DS.

Android as a base system would not change that at all. Piracy and content concerns would not be an issue here. But it would still help developers to easily port their Android games and software to the e-shop, where Nintendo would quality test and monitor everything, as they do today.

"There is no truth to the report "

Translation - we are making Anrdoid the NX OS, but the report was a an unofficial rumor and there not truthful.

How many times did Iwata say "we currently have no plans to drop the price of Wii U" in early 2013 before they dropped in in September? It's all just semantics and doublespeak w/ these guys. Believe nothing any of them ever says.

And who even said it, a nameless Nintendo spokesperson? Oh sure, that's believable.

Android would be a terrible idea unless it was just some type of optional comparability layer like blackberry has. (The Retroarch/Libretro blog has a really good explanation of why).

I'll let Trixie deliver my response.

http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2012/280/9/f/was_there_ever_any_doubt__by_texasuberalles-d5h440n.jpg

I'm relieved.

Awesome. Time for a party to celebrate!

@Artwark

Nintendo doesn't need Googles permission to fork the basic Android system, witch is Open Source and free to use.

Only if you want to use Google Play store, services and apps, you need to follow some specific rules made by Google. And Nintendo would probably not use Google services at all.

And buy the way, Unity has nothing to do with Android. Its two completely different things. Unity also runs on Android.

Nintendo would still make their own dev tools for this new system, that would allow developers to get the best out of the console hardware, and make great optimized games. Android underneath as base system would not change that. But Android could provide NX with a lot of great features under the hood, and make it easy to port commonly used software to the Nintendo e-shop.

@daveh30 This is possibly true. It might make more big AAA 3rd party devs take Android seriously just the fact that Nintendo were using it. Equally, it's easier to justify to a big game studio or publisher an Android target for their engine as they know it'll have uses beyond just Nintendo hardware. It's a lot less risky than spending ages on a pure NX version of the engine in case NX flops like Wii U. Plus like it or not, tablets and phones are rapidly catching up to consoles in terms of specs, so it's not totally daft to suggest that AAA games might come to those other Android devices sooner than we think.

But yeah, it'd probably be of more immediate benefit to small and mid-sized studios using engines like UE4 or Unity.

@Artwark Unity doesn't automatically work on whatever system. Someone has to put a lot of time and effort into making it work with specific architectures / systems. With Android, that work is already done, but with WiiU, Nintendo ultimately have to pay either Unity or their own programmers to make it happen

The predictions about what "NX" will be are pretty funny. I've heard everything from a tablet device that plugs into a TV and can used as a handheld to a VR headset.

Guess IGN jumped the gun. That's why they should have said "The NX is rumored to be android based" instead of "The NX will be android based."

@Artwark Imagine a revival of the Zelda CDi games!

Quoting @dres : "Nintendo simply does not have the skills to make a proper OS."

This is also my conclusion from experience on WiiU. Or rather, they can, but it takes up so much of their time and effort, it's simply not economical or justified

So much for Gamexplain's 40+ min discussion

This doesn't mean anything, Nintendo had to deny the report even if it was true.

I'm so tired of Apple fanboys, who in their hatred for everything Google or Android, can't see the possibilities here.

Please understand ....

Nintendo NX would still have its own unique interface made by Nintendo. There wouldn't be any trace of Google or Google services, because Nintendo would just fork the basic Android system. You would probably not even notice that its Android running underneath, doing the heavy lifting as the basic OS.

No matter what people are saying about Android, it is a fantastic system, that runs great on the right hardware. And Nintendo only needs to make the system work on one or two particular hardware setups. Not thousands of different phones or tablets!!

New rumor, CDi is involved.

Well, thought so! I have expressed my concern about how using Android is not pratical for Nintendo in the previous article.

No surprise there.

I am happy to hear Nintendo aren't using Android as a platform, assuming what they say about the rumour isn't a lie in itself.

I don't get this thinking of Android making it easier for 3rd party developers to port games over to the NX either. I doubt very much Nintendo would want mobile games on their system, nor would anyone actually buy them. And I don't see having an Android based operating system enticing big publishers like EA or Activision to give a sh** about porting games. They just want a console that's essentially along the same lines as a PS4 and Xbox One.

No. They will be using iOS!

Glad to see them come out against the rumor right away. I doubt NX is going to run on Android but I think it'll be a Nintendo Framework hybrid that'll maybe let you run iOS and android apps. It could be a streaming machine for Wii/U/3ds but then there's the QoL stuff they have that has to work with it too. That "X" is what's teasing me..but I'm confident that they're going to use their framework just cause it's pretty amazing and would, probably, link the 3ds and U.

Yaaay, NX isn't going to be another Ouya!!

@DarthNocturnal That sounds too simple and straightforward for Nintendo. Would that be the same for the 3DS successor and what would be the Nintendo gimmick controller? And also are you saying Nintendo’s games would be available to anyone with Steam on PCs and Steam Machines because that would just mean no one would buy Nintendo hardware.

Whelp, that's definitely too bad.
Oh well, in one year's time we'll probably get to see what kind of junk OS Nintendo makes for NX and how fast we'll be able to ignore it and just go straight to loading a game.

All right, now that we got that confusion out of the way, everyone is going to start coming up with new ideas yet again.

Let's just hope it's simple for third-party developers to develop for (or at least not complain about).

@SanderEvers
Lol, high fives for the ability to make that connection.

@dres Nintendo can't do OS? Their OSs may not be pretty but are very functional and very stable. MS can't do a good OS - I have an Xbone that is slow and crashes often and is a pain to navigate. It depends on what is most important and for me MS adding transparency to stuff for Xbox One is not as important as something that runs as smoothly as something by Nintendo.

More and more phone games are done on Unity, so that's plenty. As someone said, we don't need 600+ Flappy Bird clones, which has we would likely get it if was as simple as pressing a button like Android. Nintendo controls wouldn't stop 100 of almost the same type of game.

@DarthNocturnal Nintendo would only do that if they were desperate. If it doesn't have exclusives, their hardware won't sell, and if the platform isn't theirs, then they lose 30% of the software sales.

Now, IF Nintendo finds a way to make an PC compatible with most Steam games without making their game compatible with other PCs, then it could dominate the "Steam Box" market and be competitive on console again.

They would let go any chance of getting money from 3rd party sales (which nearly nobody would sell/buy on Nintendo e-shop instead of Steam), but since it doesn't requires any effort from developers, developers won't drop support to the system or put incomplete versions, which is one of the main reasons Wii U is selling so bad (and just the chance of it happening again would hurt next system sales a lot too).

They would have to drop backward compatibility too, if they want the system to be competitive in price. But PS4 is there to say people doesn't care, and they would have PC's library to cover Wii U's.

Achieving that IF (and convincing the board its safe enough) is really hard though.

Eh, it would have been easy for developers, but I'm not sure it would have been the best route. There are other options, and I'm reasonably confident by now that they get they have to flexible and accessible with future systems.

Today's least surprising bit of news.

@dres If this rumor was true, I'm sure it had more to do with hacking and piracy than capabilities.

Good to hear. Android seems like a bad choice for a game console.

@ikki5 Exactly how I feel.

Yeah, because Nintendo has never denied something they later did within the next year.

Like when they denied a 3DS XL would be made...
Or when they denied a more powerful 3DS would arrive...
Or when they denied they were going to do anything on mobile...

...Yeah, we'll see. The rumor doesn't mean anything, but neither does the denial.

@Vineleaf

Yeah, but do they understand that said hardware must also be substantially powerful and feature strong 3rd party support?

I find funny how many of you actually believed this.

@DarthNocturnal @Hikingguy Hey I thought I was the only one that NX would be a SteamOS machine. Way back when SteamOS was announced I saw a forum post on a SEGA forum that SEGA could create a new console as a SteamOS machine. They would offer every third party games and they would create their own application, like Steam, that would be pirate "secure" and would play DRM free SEGA games from cd or digital download (like PS4). SEGA games would be available only from the SEGA application.

Then when NX was announced the thought immediately came to me: a strong SteamOS PC (removes the third party problem) and a second application with Nintendo and Virtual Console games ONLY with the option to transfer Wii U VC games

SteamOS is basically Ubuntu, so you can program everything easily.

Too risky, would be way easier to open than it would be if they developed their own OS. Thank goodness they confirmed it false.

I'm glad to hear this. Nintendo seem to be more comfortable doing their own thing instead of using other products, so creating their own OS might produce the best result.

@Project_Dolphin

They're way last in sales now, and last generation, the Wii was way behind as far as 3rd party support was concerned with literally 1000 fewer released games than either the X360 or PS3. Obviously, making these absurdly backwards and underpowered consoles is not the answer. I will also remind that when they were the power-console with the SNES, they outsold the competition (the Genesis), and for a time, the powerful N64 featured many high-profile PC ports, including Starcraft, Quake, and an exclusive Doom.

Going back to "well, they were powerful with the GameCube and it didn't sell" is fallacious cherry-picking and ignoring the actual reasons the GC struggled--namely that it was also backwards in a lot of ways (inferior shoulder buttons, awkward button placement for many genres, game disks 1/4 the size of anyone else, no built-in online capabilities, etc.). Not to forget that the GC came out on the heels of the N64--a console that burned 3rd parties and was practically dead for two years before the GC even launched.

@Project_Dolphin

No, I'm not backpedaling or adding qualifiers. I merely pointed out that there was far more to the GameCube's failure than you apparently understand. I explained reality.

The GameCube did a lot of things right, and it was a step in the right direction, but it was not a reversal of fortune. By the time the console launched, gamers largely had no interest in Nintendo--the company was an afterthought after the horrific and vacant final years of the N64. During the year the GC launched, the N64 had only 20 games released--for the whole year. The year the PS2 launched, the PS1 had 528 games released. That was a far stronger brand recognition among consumers.

On top of that, Sony correctly saw the rise of DVDs and latched onto it, making the PS2 even more appealing. The Xbox launched with a powerful marketing campaign and also included DVD playback and revolutionized FPS titles.

You are the one that lazily brought up "power only" as the reason the GameCube apparently failed, not me. So I can't backpedal on a point I didn't even bring up. I noted the importance of at least delivering powerful hardware that developers expect of the generation--hell, bringing up the GameCube actually supports my point as merely having generation-par hardware was enough to get the GameCube better support than the N64, despite lower sales.

It was Nintendo's other mistakes that prevented the GC from succeeding.

Then again, as has been pointed out numerous times, Nintendo has been on a steady decline since the NES and Game Boy/Color lines as every new generation sells worse than the generation before, barring the obvious flukes/statistical anomalies of the Wii and DS. These obviously did not reverse this trend as the Wii U and 3DS didn't just fall below sales of those two, but fell to below GC and GBA levels, perfectly in line with the gradual decline Nintendo has been experiencing since the NES.

To just run to the GameCube and say "well it was powerful and it didn't work" is laughably absurd. What's the weight of your argument then? That the GameCube failed because it was powerful? The Xbox was more powerful, and outsold the GC. Even then, you still have to explain the actual reasons the GC failed, which I did--and which you apparently found upsetting for some bizarre reason.

No, power alone won't make a console sell. But power will certainly not hurt things, as power and generation-parity technology alone helped the GC garner better 3rd party support than the N64.

So yes, you are cherry picking. The only information I provided before was, again, literally only noting that the Nintendo needs to make the next console powerful enough for 3rd parties to care. That is the only thing I said. You brought up the GameCube, cherry-picked one element about it, and then ran with it, apparently, without a valid point to back up your non-argument.

shrug

@DarthNocturnal @Hikingguy
I wish!!

I'm not surprised at this "news" (Who seriously thought Nintendo would use Android?), Android gets rooted hours after a new version gets released, and Nintendo loves to control their consoles (Exhibit 1: the rapid-fire of "stability patches" for 3DS), so suddenly using Android would open them up to all kinds of issues with piracy, security and of course... stability :3

@Jason723 That's gaming "journalism" for ya

@Project_Dolphin Who needs more powerful hardware? It's not like anything third party will sell well on a Nintendo platform anyway.

@Superryanworld

That's a good reason for Nintendo to just go 3rd party themselves.

@Project_Dolphin

At what point did I ever say those were the only criteria necessary for success? Indeed, I never did. You made a blind assumption, and just ran with it, apparently to start an argument. This is especially odd since I said "also" indicating that there is clearly much more to a successful console than just those two things. Nintendo needs to stack the odds in their favor, and those two elements are part of that stack.

Again, even after all this, the GameCube is still a pathetic example because the Xbox had power and third party support, and outsold the GC. The SNES had power and third party support and outsold the Genesis. Clearly, there is much more to this than power and third party support alone. I'm not sure why you don't understand this, but that really is more of a "you" problem.

@Hikingguy You are right SteamOS is based in Debian 7. However our point holds even if NX works with Windows, Mac, Lubuntu or whatever OS Steam gaming app is compatible. It defeats the third party problem and gives on both Steam and Ninty a lot of options.

@Hikingguy While making Steam OS run on Power PC is possible, the games wouldn't run on it, so it needs to be a x86. And it doesn't even need to be Steam OS, as long as is a steam compatible version of Linux, Nintendo doesn't really need Valve's permission.

So its more about someone at Nintendo suggesting and the director board not be expecting another success like Wii (in which case they might want to get money from 3rd parties too), hopefully their greed doesn't blind them from how hard it would be another Wii in this smart phone era.

I had a feeling it was fake as soon as I heard it. Nintendo has done their own thing for almost 20 years now, for better or worse. I don't see them ever giving up on that and then producing a system that is basically on par with the current consoles of that time. Besides, even if the rumor was true, Nintendo would probably gimp and wreck the OS like Amazon did with their Fire tablets.

With SteamOS, does valve take a cut of revenue from games sold on it, even if they're not sold through the Steam storefront? Do they even allow stores that are not Steam on the OS?

I'm really not sure SteamOS is going to be viable if Nintendo is having to give up 30% of its revenue and 3rd parties 60% before tax

@outburst I own multiple devices and the apps are just better with Apple. Hardware & support us a different story. Really, if anything, Nintendo would adopt a mobile OS for the Apps, right?

Ohh thank God this is not true but....big key word there no truth. Big key word...

Thank god. Last thing we need is "in app purchasing" games flooding Nintendo platforms.

Oh good, i was hoping this wasn't true lol

I can't believe you guys actually believed this rumor.

Let's not forget Nintendo denied many Nikkei rumours that turned out to be true:
http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2012/06/05-1/nintendo-denies-rumors-of-a-larger-3ds
http://uk.ign.com/articles/2012/06/12/nintendo-working-on-future-handheld-generation
http://www.engadget.com/2014/01/28/nintendo-denies-smartphone-games/
http://gizmodo.com/5056168/nintendo-neither-confirms-nor-denies-new-ds

"zomg it will be filled with crappy mobile games, it will be literally the ouya!!!1" Running on Android doesn't mean it will run Android games/be easy to pirate. The Dreamcast ran on Windows CE, and it didn't run Windows games. The PS Vita runs on an Unix based OS, and it hasn't been hacked to this day. Sure, you can run some PSP homebrew on it, but it doesn't have native hacks like the 3DS does.

although i didnt think this was true im glad they confirmed its denied.

lol at the apple/ios fanboys.

Such simple minded beings

:> .

I knew this would turn out to be untrue seeing as Nintendo usually prefers to make their own OS. Doesn't bother me in the slightest.

@Quorthon If it meant I could enjoy Nintendo games with my friends again, then maybe the company going third party wouldn't be such a bad thing.I just don't want to see the big N end up like Sega.

I never expected the new system to be android based in the first place, though I do hope Nintendo makes further improvements on the ease of development for their next console. Could always use more games.

@Quorthon I feel I should point out that while there is a gradual decline for the home consoles, their handhelds are not on that same trend.

The Game Boy and Game Boy Color line sold over 100 million units because it combines the two and that accounts for 2 generations (the 4th and 5th gen, and hell the tail end of the 3rd as well). That's why it sold so much. The numbers are bloated.

The Game Boy Advance was only around for 1 generation and was cut at the knees by the announcement of the DS only 3 years into its lifespan, forcing it to peak early. It still sold over 80 million units by the time it was discontinued.

Then comes the DS, which everyone and their grandmother bought. A ton of non-gamers bought the DS for things like Brain Age. The thing sold 154 million units as a result.

Then comes the 3DS. This thing will sell about 55-60 million lifetime. The reduced numbers are due to an overall reduced market as the non-gamers brought in by the DS as well as an increasingly large chunk of the kid audience left for smart devices. The numbers are expected.

So there is no actual downward trend until the 3DS comes along, which is more of a downward trend of the handheld market than anything. If we wanted to get technical, we could say it was up and down as it went down for Game Boy Color, then down even further for Virtual Boy, then shot back up for the GBA, which again was cut at the knees early and still sold over 80 million units.

Just put a standard x86 based cpu in there and make the hardware as close to a PC as possible.

Wait for this to be a 'proprietary' android os...

Of course not! They are out of their minds......but not THAT out of their minds!!

What a surprise...

Nintendo said "We are not releasing a new 3DS" at E3 2012, one month later they announced the 3DS XL.

Nintendo said "We are not interested in making mobile games" What happened later?

Never listened to what Nintendo said about future products.

Nintendo NX should have its own OS, BUT they should also allow to run Android games and applications through a sandbox, so the Android stuff is always set apart from the Nintendo games (to be more clear, no android exploits should be possible in this way... at least in theory)

This is the same approach used by Blackberry first with their "Playbook" tablet, and then with their new line of mobile phones. All their new hardware has BBOS but they can still run android apps and games in a sandbox environment (and download new stuff via Amazon App Store).

@yuwarite "Just put a standard x86 based cpu in there and make the hardware as close to a PC as possible."

^ This.

Seriously, it needn't even be all that powerful, but having a PC-like architecture would make porting sooo much easier.