Major Nintendo NX Leak, Nintendo’s Next Console is Portable with Detachable Controllers

Nintendo’s next console, the NX, will be a portable handheld with detachable controllers, multiple unnamed sources have told Eurogamer.

The NX will have its own screen and be fully-functional on the go. The screen will be flanked on either side by “two controller sections”, which can be detached at will. The NX will also be able to connect to a TV, for big-screen gaming when home.

The NX will connect to a TV through a docking station, which presumably necessitates the detachable controllers.

Interestingly, Nintendo is actually going back to cartridges for the NX, which will not support discs, dashing hopes of backwards compatibility. The NX will also support digital downloads. The sources report that Nintendo will push 32 GB memory cards, which seems stunningly small given the size of most modern games. A single, big budget game can easily exceed 30 GB in size.

The NX will run on Nvidia’s mobile optimized processor, the Tegra. Nvidia’s Tegra line powers it’s own portable console, the Nvidia Shield.

As with their previous releases, Nintendo will not be pursuing graphical fidelity with the other main consoles, the PS4 and Xbox One. On the contrary, with the NX they have turned the complete opposite direction and will be debuting a substantially weaker console due to its mobile nature.

Eurogamer also reports that some Wii U titles, such as Super Smash Bros. and Splatoon, will be ported to the NX. The only confirmed launch titles so far are The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Just Dance 2017.

Nintendo’s official reveal of the NX will reportedly be coming in September, and is slated to launch in March 2017.

“Nintendo has not made any new official announcements regarding NX which is due to launch in March 2017. As such [we’re] unable to comment on the various rumours and speculations circulating,” a Nintendo rep told Eurogamer regarding the leak.

It will be interesting to see how both the public and the industry receive the NX. Nintendo’s consoles have frequently struggled due to a lack of support from developers, who focus on Sony and Microsoft. As their consoles have been less powerful, it has proven hard for developers to port the big releases. The NX doesn’t seem to solve this issue, but perhaps Nintendo will be able to support it the way they have with their popular 3DS console and its many excellent games.