An image from a patent that emerged in late 2015

Just recently we saw speculation around the NX potentially being 'compatible' with the PS4 and PC - via a tweet from Takashi Mochizuki - and decided it was a stretch too far, at least without seeing the original report it's citing. That report in question is from Macquarie Capital Securities in Japan, and is the same document that was cited as a prompt for a major upturn in Nintendo's share value this week; those shares have since dropped again courtesy of worldwide economic chaos, but we can't win them all.

In any case, our buddies at Push Square dug up that report and, somewhat unsurprisingly, the section that references compatibility with PC and PS4 is based solely on conjecture. That same section raises the possibility of Nintendo NX being compatible with smart device games, and based on the patents being referenced - one of which is this one on cloud computing - we're highly dubious of the suggestion that Nintendo's system will 'work with' a PS4 beyond cross-platform play that developers potentially implement, which is a separate process and also extremely rare in this generation.

That section of the report is the most speculative, but there is some analysis that we think is both interesting and entirely feasible. Macquarie is bringing forward its estimated NX release date from November 2017 (yikes!) to November 2016, based on the same reports and rumours of dev kits and manufacturing that we've been following closely. Like many rumours - including fresh survey-based ones from today - and logical speculation, Macquarie is also of the belief that NX will comprise of both a portable and console element.

The report gets interesting with its assertion that the portable aspect of NX will come first, in that November window, and be competitively priced at around $200, with Nintendo having learnt from the error of its launch 3DS price in 2011. It then expects a 'console partner device' in 2017, and points to potential AR features based - again - on patents. We're unsure of the AR assertion, but talk of a split release and a competitively priced portable seem entirely logical, especially with manufacturing challenges, the importance of the portable market in Japan and a potential tight turnaround in mind.

In terms of what drove investor confidence from this report, Macquarie upgraded its status on Nintendo from Neutral to Outperform, based on the belief that the current share value reflects investor confidence minus the potential impact of smart device apps from Nintendo. The belief is that a reveal of subsequent apps after Miitomo that utilise major IP could spark an upturn in market confidence.

So, let's consider the feasible aspects of the report - portable NX this year in the $200 range, with a console element in 2017. Let us know what you think of those prospects in the comments.