As reported yesterday, Eurogamer has come forward with what it believes to be solid details on Nintendo NX - it reports on a portable device with detachable controllers and a 'base' for playing on the TV, while Nvidia's Tegra technology is powering the system's graphics through the GPU. As sets of rumours go it's the most solid batch we've seen, and having spoken to Eurogamer colleagues and a couple of other sources we believe that the reports are, at the very least, largely accurate of what's being said by confidential and relevant sources.
As these reports are the most solid and verifiable we've seen, we're certainly inclined to treat them more seriously than the gaggle of bits-and-pieces rumours that have followed NX for months on end; we recently considered some important factors and angles around the idea. One aspect causing a lot of chatter is around the apparent Tegra GPU, with many wondering what it'll be able to deliver, especially in terms of confirmed games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Project Sonic 2017.
Digital Foundry, part of the Eurogamer group that broke the story, has produced a very handy video breakdown of the NX details, and particularly the Tegra technology. It's well worth a watch if you're interested in what the NX could potentially do on a graphical and technical level.
Comments (53)
"Wow, no comments yet... why not be the first?"
It's been half an hour, you all need to HURRY.
So the system battle comes down to what it should always come down to- games and support from both first and third party developers utilizing the technology and system capabilities to succeed. Good luck with your NX, Nintendo. I hope it succeeds.
I'm so perfectly okay with a handheld that's basically a PS3 on steroids, especially if past rumors of external add-ons that boost the power while connected to the TV are true which I suspect they are. Nintendo's handhelds have always been more my jam so I don't care as much about home console shortcomings, really it just means it'll be sooner that I can emulate them in 4K (or 8K by then?) and VR.
Sounds legit and hopefully is, as an old gamer using carriages would be good but think trying to convince new gamers would be hard as they'll see it for children. Just hope that developers find it easy to develop for as with the wiiu the said it was hard due to the fact that xbox and playstation used the same chip and nintendo didn't hopefully that's not going to be an issue otherwise sounds very promising think it'll do well as long as they get 3rd party games on it and (even tho I don't play them) the typical best sellers COD, battlefield, FIFA etc, people want a nintendo wiiu I've spoken to but they don't want just nintendo games
I'm so conflicted with all of this potentially true NX information. On one hand, the idea of a portable that can play console-quality games on the go sounds like a dream come true. On the other hand, I'm worried about the cost of the system and the possible lack of third-party support. Sonic 2017 and Dragon Quest XI are coming to the platform, so I'm hoping that means the NX is close to power with the XBOX One (which would probably mean it's using Nvidea's Tegra X2).
The NX's success will come from three factors: the power of the system and whether it will be able to handle third-party releases, the marketing approach Nintendo takes with it and how the team prices it, and the first-party games that get announced.
I honestly love the concept of this system, but the execution might not be too great. I'm hoping the system is no more than $280 and comes with a free game, as well as be able to handle every third-party game that gets announced (imagine playing a game like Overwatch or Tomb Raider in HD on a portable)... but I may be expecting to much.
I'm still not totally convinced by this lot of information. The concept behind the 2-player portable unit seems rather clunky, and I'm pretty sure I heard somewhere (not entirely sure where) that Nvidia isn't contributing to consoles anymore, which would leave the chips with AMD.
I do like the idea of a handheld component though that can connect with a "hub" station that allows it to output to a higher quality. But the way the hand held is described, and the controller separating for some strange reason, seems odd to me.
If this is true, I'm a little worried about having some sort of upscaling-hub device. Even though it lets you play on a portable device, every game released for that system has to be able to run on the handheld by itself. And if it's around the PS3 in terms of power, some games just won't be able to run on it, even if a hub device would provide the additional power. A hub device would be necessary to play on the TV and have multiplayer, sure, but I'm worried that if the handheld itself is only as powerful as the Tetra X1, porting would be harder, and we'd have third parties skipping the console again.
I kinda love/hate what this potential NX could be at the moment. Feels kinda like the Vita without the ps4. I have both systems.
Don't know what I'm saying here but I won't be a day one buyer, I'll be watching to see how things go in March for 6 months or so first.
I can see two benefits of a separating controller/tablet screen:
1. The two controller sides could click together (with the screen section removed and placed in a base station) to form a more traditional controller for playing on the sofa in front of the TV.
2. The screen could function as a small tablet by itself allowing the watching of media and web surfing etc. Whilst this doesn't hugely interest me there is clearly a massive market right now for tablet computers and people pay crazy money for them. This might be where some developers have said that it will also bring in a more casual audience - some people will buy it as it is a tablet with some extra bolt on features and will buy a handful of games to go with it as well (whilst mainly using it to watch TV and surf the web/email).
Well, their reasoning is pretty sound. And we can only hope that Nintendo is going for the enhanced GPU right there.
Maybe even a more meaty partnership with nVidia to promote their newer hardware.
Both would benefit greatly from it, seeing how bad the Shield is actually underperforming in terms of sales.
Nintendo hardware with nVidia PC streaming maybe ? This would place this handheld in pretty much every available market right now. As a handheld where it could dominate as usual, as a home console for not-quite hardware enthusiasts and as a streaming box which are getting more and more popular.
My biggest issue is still the hardware power though.
No matter how you look at it, it has been the thing that broke the WiiUs neck.
Games would have to be made specifically for the NX, ports are out of the question. So you basically have to attract everyone who wanted to make handheld games.
The question here is: Are they willing to produce these games now that they aren't "cheap 3DS SD games anymore" ?
Devs are now confronted with PS3 levels of development investments for a handheld console. that has to perform well in both formats, on the "tiny" handheld screen and on the TV.
Nintendo themselves will have a much easier time with it for sure. No more worry about "leaving one device in the dust", no more "why not on X ?" and no more "Version X is delayed because of version Y". So their "having to solely support their own system(s)" is much easier achieved.
Its now down to the fact if they can secure the same level of support the 3DS had for the NX. If the same level of unique and colorful library entries can be achieved, the system is set.
Plus, if these rumors are true, the system has streamlined, easy to develop for hardware, another factor that broke the WiiUs neck.
So yeah, its down to its games alone (like it should be honestly).
I think the removable controllers could be cool, if they are relatively cheap to make, games could come with there own bespoke controller add ons or custom designs, if your game needs extra face buttons to play just make a right hand side controller piece with more buttons. Also another thing that this enables is removing the controller parts and putting the screen part into a cardboard VR type headset and you have a cheap wireless VR console.
There are a lot of options open with this modular type design if true.
This article reminds all the Unreal engine demos, made by fans, presented in this very Nintendo site and all the talk of how impressive this works were!!
I wonder: Have the Nintendo Life team been predicting the future???
I jest!!
If it is really less powerful than the PS4 and XBone, then bye-bye third-party support once their successors release : / unless the NX will be another massive fad like the Wii was, but I doubt that will be the case
Finally MH will be on TV again!
A somewhat reassuring point about the power:
"The GPU [on Tegra X1] easily outperforms the equivalent chip in Wii U, so we should expect to see an excellent version of [Zelda: BotW] on the new platform. And I'd certainly hope to see improved performance and maybe higher resolution and detail." (starting 4:22)
@Tlink7 Well, certainly it wouldn't see many exact ports from the big consoles, but that was never an issue with the 3DS! If we think of the NX as a Nintendo portable, and consider the ability to use it on a telly as a bonus, then the prospect of it is much brighter. A direct comparison to PS4/X1 is impossible.
All sounds good based on speculation. Still waiting for Nintendo's confirmation.
GameFreak better step it up. If they can't get their Pokemon games to run smoothly on the 3DS, how are they going to handle something more powerful in HD?
I'll just wait for Nintendo to Confirm or reveal the Platform.
I will buy this console from day one with Zelda Botw.
I also hope Final fantasy 7 will be on the NX.
@Ibberson
Your using carriages!?! Just how old are you? 😄😉
If this is true they are Nintendoomed.
@Thanos_ReXXX I'm torn, seems like X1 they wouldn't bother competing with PS4, X2 they could. So I'm voting for X1.5. Don't consoles always have specifically made dedicated chips? Maybe it will be more like 1.8.
Of course, no matter how many times that guy said "confirm" I still consider this a rumour, and as a home gamer I wouldn't mind a dedicated home console with X2 and the handheld get X1. Assuming easy porting, but that's tech stuff I leave to you.
@JaxonH Guy said what you said last night about graphical power being enough, but everything does sound more official with a British accent.
Tegra is the entire SoC, not just the GPU. If you're talking about GPU, then you should refer to it as the Kepler (K1), Maxwell (X1), or Pascal (possibly Parker) GPU depending on which Tegra will be in use here. Please.
Hopefully the Ninvidia Shield's presumably custom Tegra will be using an octacore Denver CPU with 8 GB of LPDDR4 RAM and a Pascal GPU with at least 512 CUDA cores, as this is only way they'll be competitive with the by-then 4 year old Xbox One. Even if these are the Ninvidia Shield's specs, expectations should be kept in check, as NVIDIA has a long track record of making their Tegra chips seem way more powerful than they actually. They're actually very similar to Nintendo in this regard...maybe this partnership makes a lot of sense.
Fun fact; Ouya also ran on Tegra technology!
Instead of luring back the Triple-A developers with a powerful enough and simple enough console Nintendo is going the other route.
It will eliminate the ongoing relationships with the 3DS developers that will not suddenly start producing upscaled HD-versions of their games.
And thus NX will feature 4 games each year that will all receive very high marks and ratings. Retro will still be working on a new unannounced title that will release on the "next console cycle".
Hoping for X2! The hybrid idea is actually something I'm pretty excited for - I always play more 3DS than Wii U. A really powerful handheld with TV out, possible base for upscaling and more power? Yes, please!
A supplementary console that doesn't compete directly with PS4/Xbone? Maybe, Nintendo think that they cannot compete directly. I don't know. I'd love a really powerful Nintendo home console too to play the few third party games I like and also the third party games other gamers like - big install base required.
So, a little selfishly hoping NX will be perfect for me, but also wanting it to be great for others too. I want my cake and it eat and also want cake for everyone else. I'd pay more and wait longer for X2.
@Timppis I think Nintendo will actually be able to support this unit on their own, given that they merged their portable and console software departments. It's not ideal but imagine if every 3DS and Wii U game from the last 3 years released on one system... that would be a pretty robust library.
I'll pay $500 right now if it's a handheld with a eGPU dock.
the x1 is tried, tested, and CHEAP. the x2 is leading edge, the very latest, and top of the line. knowing nintendo, they would go with the weaker x1. it's also not fair to say that it's not as powerful as the ps4 and xb1.
by the looks of it, it's competition is more the 3ds, vita, smart devices, and the gaming components of apple tv, and android tv. if it's going to bring in mainstream people into the gaming fold, apple tv and android tv looks more likely as targets.
@The-Snarfer Of the 3DS games more than 80% are developed and published by other than Nintendo. Most of those developers aren't going to jump into building whole new games to a whole different kind of system.
Also considering how long Ninty takes with it's HD-games I am wondering if Codename S.T.E.A.M. would still be in development if it was Wii U game along with 3DS.
So yeah I have very little faith at the moment if these rumors hold out to be true.
Well i thought it would be weaker than ps4. Or they would have showed it on E3. So they decided to show it later. If its little stronger than ps3 then i dont know how many thirdparties they will get. The new games that coming to ps4 or xbox 1 they can forget on Nx.
I read that X1 needs active cooling, fans, if you want performance like in those videos. This is why I think the X1 may perform even below Wii U levels in the NX if that's what they're using. X2 uses less power produces less heat and probably performs much better (will for certain against a fanless X1) so here's hoping.
@AcidGhost
Awesome catch on the VR potential of the device in this configuration. Another reason it fits in with previous rumors and why holding out for X2 would be worthwhile. It's all making too much sense
The Tegra X2 sounds very interesting and Nintendo did say it was using leading chips which this fits the bill.
Sounds like a sweet console, but Wii u sounded good at first too. I will gladly wait for NX because two things are key to it's success. The X2 isn't a necessity but the graphics in general are key. Also, a strong launch like up and key third parties need to jump on board. With these factors, I think that NX will be unique, yet on par to Xbox one and PS4. But it has to have third parties, good advertising and be cheap possibly $150-$250. I think we could have Nintendo's best idea for a console in a long time as long as they have the games and graphics to go along with it.
@aaronsullivan Perhaps we will see an NX Plus or Pro as it goes deeper into the NX life they may add the X2 or X3 for even more improvements. However, it may never be up to par on the PS4 or Xbox One's power, but that's not really the goal of the NX.
I am very skeptical, but still open minded, however, if I do not see the new doom on NX or some of the other third party games that I really want to play like dirt and some other good racing games comma I will bypass the NX and get a PS4 or Xbox One or their new variants.
I am tired of feeling like I am an afterthought to Nintendo comma does anyone noticed that after all that my Nintendo stuff and all the surveys were used to fill out with all the games, but they never once asked us what we actually want?
It was basically why did you buy this game and would you share this with your friends, and other meaningless metrics. Not once did Nintendo reach out to anyone to find out what people actually want to play.
@Clownshoes actually it will be the most powerful portable dedicate gaming console on the market with zero competition. You do realize this is a portable you can connect to your tv right? We also know they are working on a new Mario and a new pikmin. As far as wiiu ports go the system only sold 13 million units so a lot of people have not played these games. Now they will have the benefit of being portable. Nothing is confusing about this.
I read the Eurogamer articles. Basically, the chip is designed for mobile devices, it won't be able to compete with Xbox One/Scorpio and PS4/Neo and it would make impossible backwards compatibility via hardware. If what has been said is true, NX will be the successor of Nintendo 3DS, not only because it will be a portable device with the only particularity that it can be linked to the TV, but also regarding power specifications. If you consider the mobile phone apps that Nintendo is preparing, the final conclusion is that Nintendo is going 100% mobile this time. I would prefer that Nintendo focused on home consoles instead, though.
@Clownshoes they will also be able to increase their output do to not having to split their teams up while supporting two completely different consoles. It will also be cheaper do to using carts instead of blue ray or other opticle media. Less moving parts = cheaper production. They could realistically sell it for 200 to 250 and break even/ turn a profit. This thing is going to sell like hot cakes and when it does it will get exclusive third party titles.
Sounds interesting. But I'll wait for Nintendo's confirmation before jumping to conclusions.
Considering Nintendo's history I find expecting Nintendo to aim for the newest, most powerful technology in their console to be extremely optimistic.
While these are all roumors, I like the sound of them. A handheld like console with greater power than Wii U sounds like a good thing to me.
I bet there are other stuff that'll make the NX more than just the hybrid we've been hearing about. It's Nintendo, I'm sure they'll surprise us with something else.
@DarkKirby Yep, Eurogamer speculates with Tegra X1 (old) and X2 (new) chips but ultimately admits that X1 is more likely so we're talking about a 2 years old technology here. Eurogamer says that that technology would be fine if Nintendo chooses a 720p resolution, which looks good on a handheld screen, but not on a TV.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2016-nintendo-nx-mobile-games-machine-powered-by-nvidia-tegra
@MetaRyan The main thing there is all the power could be in the handheld part of it, while the base just gives it extra juice to pump out quality needed for a tv. If all the major guts are in the handheld, it shouldn't be much of a problem. Basically the base would just be used to output a tv sized picture without quality loss. But who knows.
So, they know... for a FACT... that it uses cartridges? Wonder if that's actually true and who spilled the beans?
The early dev kit descriptions from a year or so back describe the base unit as being roughly comparable to the Xbox1/PS4 so perhaps the base unit will add enough power to have decent games on TV? I think the main thing that will save NX is having all their dev teams working for one platform instead of the best ones pumping out amazing handheld games while the others struggle to get a game out within a year of its scheduled release.
In summary, all this is meaningless unless they have Mario Kart X ready for launch
@BiasedSonyFan Exactly, some people have always wanted Nintendo to make console's like Sony and Microsoft, but that's what makes Nintendo special. A way to play games that no one else can. It's low price, portable factor, and a strong title library will over the new alternative to traditional console gaming that everyone is craving. This world is about "what's next" and what's NX't (no pun intended) is unique and incredible
I wish Nintendo the best of luck in being a third-party software developer when the finally bury their hardware division in 2019/2020. Perhaps they'll do what they should've done years ago and absorbed SEGA whilst they're at it.
in all seriousness, I will not buy another piece of Nintendo hardware that has rubbish third-party support. Absolutely shall not do.
@BiasedSonyFan @PK_Boss11
If the NX in this configuration is a runaway success like the Wii, the upgrade hardware in increments over time thing may very well come to pass as XB1 and PS4 are already leading the way there.
Much more flexibility and risk taking can come with success.
@aaronsullivan Yeah, Nintendo never been about out matching other consoles in power, but offering a unique and different way to play video games
"confirmed" no offical word about the NX. Nice vid -.-
@Jamotello I totally agree with you. Considering Nintendo's history to go with old and cheap technology, but exploit it to the fullest (both in power for the development and the revenue of sales) the x1 would be their choice. But also, competing with smartphones and tablets, giants like Apple or Android with the massive play store doesnt seem like a good idea either. Better compete with just Sony and Microsoft. I don´t know, I think that if this will be their stellar console for at least two years (thats considering that a desktop console might be coming in the future) they need to have the third party support that in someway helped to doom the Wii U...
@FreakFerrett yeah even if at first it looks like intentional self-sabotage again in the arms race, it's portability is the ultimate party trick. while ps4 and xb1 may argue whether final fantasy xv looks or plays better on either, the nx will be the only one that lets you play it on the road, short of a much larger, heavier, more expensive, and power hungry gaming laptop.
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