Nintendo stated they wouldn’t talk about the Nintendo NX until 2016. If I had to forge a guess I would say we could start hearing something during the March Nintendo investor meeting.
Earlier this year Iwata claimed the NX would, to put it simply, do something different. According to an insider source to Nikkei, Nintendo has plans to make the NX OS Android based.
Right now the Wii U and the 3DS are plagued with a slow OS. Using an Android based OS should help in creating a unified interaction. Also, Android is already a heavily developed platform making third party development easier which, according to the source, is a big concern for Nintendo.
It’s all rumors, but exciting ones.
Update: Nintendo released a statement about said rumor that strongly rebukes it.
“There is no truth to the report saying that we are planning to adopt Android for NX.”
The Author
June 1, 2015
if this rumor is true then nintendo is shooting it’s self …. by making piracy easier than ever
June 1, 2015
if this rumor is true then nintendo is shooting it’s self …. by making piracy easier than ever
June 1, 2015
Well I hope not. I like that Nintendo works the time into make their OS operate as close to the metal as they can. With Android it opens the floodgates for people the access it too easily. One of the larger problems with non-Nintendo systems is their OSs. Most taking up far more RAM than a gaming OS really should.
June 1, 2015
At this point it is still a rumor, but I think people are getting hung up on the word ‘Android’ too quickly. I’m not a big fan of Google’s mobile platform by any means, but the rumor says it will be ‘based off of Android’. I think people are rushing to conclusions thinking Nintendo is going to run the latest version of the Android OS and that’s it. I don’t think that’s the case. If there is any truth in this rumor, Nintendo would only leverage what it needs to from the Android platform.
Take one of the recent Google I/O announcements, Project Brillo (https://developers.google.com/brillo/). It is ‘based on Android’ but is very low level and meant only for embedded applications in products like smart ovens, Nest thermostat, etc. to be controlled via smartphones.
Not saying there is any truth to these rumors, but if there is, I don’t think people need to worry about piracy or the fact Android is swiss cheese when it comes to security. Nintendo will leverage only what it needs to from the Android platform to achieve its end goals. If those goals mean providing a low energy bluetooth connection to smartphones from the NX (console/handheld/whatever) than I’m cool with that.
Also, Nintendo has partnered with many companies in the past on technology that you, as the consumer, never saw in the implementation. In the final product, I don’t think anyone will know there’s a few core level Android APIs in the NX OS. Nor do I think Nintendo would even acknowledge it was using Android in any way. If it allows for some cool cross platform play with the NX, 3DS, Wii U, and Nintendo’s smartphone games, I’m all for it.
Sorry, was not trying to rant :) Just my thoughts on it.
June 1, 2015
Personally. I don’t buy it. Since the days of the NES Nintendo has always been about control of content on its platforms and it would be a massive ideological leap tantamount to Disney deciding to put casinos in their theme parks.
June 2, 2015
So it isnt true then?
June 2, 2015
So it isnt true then?
June 2, 2015
So it isnt true then?
June 2, 2015
So it isnt true then?