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Nikkei have had wrong insiders before. I don't buy this

 

They've also had insiders who were right as well.

 

Still, I don't think this will turn out to be true. Surely there would be a massive risk of piracy if they went with an android based OS?

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I was thinking it too, having Android-based OS will likely result in lots of piracy. They have to tweak it greatly in order for it to work for their use.

 

Still, this is interesting news for better or for worse. I personally don't really like how it sounds, but if they can tackle the piracy problem and create a working OS, then fine. Time will tell, but I think this one's not true.

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I can see it. I also don't think they would consider it if they weren't confident about their security capabilities. I'm really not knowledgeable on the subject but I don't think 'bad security' is an inherent thing in open-source or anything.

 

But yeah. I suppose it would be 'significant' inasmuch that Nintendo have always built their own OS from scratch, but making further strides towards developer-friendliness would certainly fit in with their strategies lately.

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The piracy thing is an issue which not sure how they would get around.

 

I do think Nintendo letting someone else deal with the OS is a good thing. Nintendo are not great at that so why not let someone else do it for them?

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While Nikkei have been wrong before, I can see this NX handheld making use of Android. Perhaps they might be running two separate OS', not unlike what MS do on Xbox One, with Android running in a virtual sandbox (or on a seperate CPU maybe) and Nintendo's own games running separate from everything else.

 

That would be one way of getting around the piracy issue at least; so that if the Android part gets hacked into, Nintendo's own games would still be safe.

 

No way would they use it as their "main" OS though. Performance is poor, the security is terrible and it's riddled with all sorts of issues (like an inherent audio delay of about 100-200ms for starters...)

Edited by Dcubed

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Exactly what I was thinking @Dcubed.

I'd welcome a front menu that was a customisable Android OS with a 'Nintendo' tile that launched their OS/software. Even VC tiles would be awesome that launched into VC services that were secure.

This would allow me to have all web services in the console at launch, a ton of mobile games ready to go and Nintendo software to bring the system it's uniquenes/added value.

 

An exciting time to be a Nintendo gamer as they identify their new srirecrion of travel. Even if it takes them small steps, partnerships (something they have sometimes been stubborn toward) is a key consideration as to their growth potential.

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'when third parties abandoned Nintendo's WiiU one by one, it caused turning point in the company'.

 

That part has me dubious. Nintendo learning from mistakes? Hmmmmm.

 

:heh:

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'when third parties abandoned Nintendo's WiiU one by one, it caused turning point in the company'.

 

That part has me dubious. Nintendo learning from mistakes? Hmmmmm.

 

:heh:

 

Yup. This part is a big red flag for me. To me it seems that they're looking to become more self sufficient, rather than anything else.

 

But leaving a part of the system there to run Android seems like a viable way of tapping into the vast array of 3rd party games without having to compromise on their own games. Even if it is an expensive way of going about things in terms of hardware cost...

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'when third parties abandoned Nintendo's WiiU one by one, it caused turning point in the company'.

 

That part has me dubious. Nintendo learning from mistakes? Hmmmmm.

 

:heh:

 

article-2535709-1A7D371000000578-703_964x531.jpg

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If they go android, will they tailor their system to become some kind of mobile app compatible device? Worrying news indeed.

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If they go android, will they tailor their system to become some kind of mobile app compatible device? Worrying news indeed.

 

what. no

 

big conflation between 'mobile' and 'Android OS' at play there. one doesn't have any bearing on the other. Android-compatibility is at the heart of big players in the console business as much as it is mobile developers. Unreal, Unity, CryEngine - all these engines make it a priority to run on Android, but they're hardly synonymous with 'mobile type games'. It would be more about broad compatibility for everyone by providing a very familiar and well-documented software environment. hope that helps.

 

__

 

Eurogamer points out a nuance in the original Nikkei report. Apparently it's only being considered "a possibility".

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Ahh... Well if it's only rumoured to be a possibility, then there's a decent chance that the whole thing is bunk since Nikkei's source are effectively hedging their bets here.

 

Though it's not an absurd possibility. If they did go down this road, I do think it would be via the method that I outlined.

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what. no

 

big conflation between 'mobile' and 'Android OS' at play there. one doesn't have any bearing on the other. Android-compatibility is at the heart of big players in the console business as much as it is mobile developers. Unreal, Unity, CryEngine - all these engines make it a priority to run on Android, but they're hardly synonymous with 'mobile type games'. It would be more about broad compatibility for everyone by providing a very familiar and well-documented software environment. hope that helps.

 

__

 

Eurogamer points out a nuance in the original Nikkei report. Apparently it's only being considered "a possibility".

 

Correct me if I'm wrong though but considering Android as your OS is not the same as making game engines compatible with Android, is it?

 

If Nintendo went with Android then it seems like they could bring a lot of popular Android app games to it for next to no effort. And if they started doing the business then it would be tempting for them to focus on that (both output and hardware...).

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Correct me if I'm wrong though but considering Android as your OS is not the same as making game engines compatible with Android, is it?

 

If Nintendo went with Android then it seems like they could bring a lot of popular Android app games to it for next to no effort. And if they started doing the business then it would be tempting for them to focus on that (both output and hardware...).

 

oh, you're not wrong about that - of course it would remove barriers when it comes to porting across current Android-compatible software. That would obviously be one of the main benefits now that pretty much every third party is migrating to that ecosystem. I just thought you were making completely different leap entirely in suggesting it would have any bearing on the type of the software or hardware Nintendo themselves make.

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oh, you're not wrong about that - of course it would remove barriers when it comes to porting across current Android-compatible software. That would obviously be one of the main benefits now that pretty much every third party is migrating to that ecosystem. I just thought you were making completely different leap entirely in suggesting it would have any bearing on the type of the software or hardware Nintendo themselves make.

 

No I think it could mean more of a "we don't need traditional third party games now we have all these app type games" situation which would be a real shame.

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again, I don't think it removes the barriers specifically for developers of what you call 'app type games' any more than it removes the barriers simply for everyone - i.e. your Capcoms, your Konamis, your Segas. But I sense we're at an impasse here.

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Are we sure that the source didn't hear that developers are getting a hang of Android OS and forget that they're doing smartphones now? :p

 

I don't know what to think about this, anyway. I'm sceptical

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again, I don't think it removes the barriers specifically for developers of what you call 'app type games' any more than it removes the barriers simply for everyone - i.e. your Capcoms, your Konamis, your Segas. But I sense we're at an impasse here.

 

Nah, it only removes the barriers for app games really.

 

Nearly all the barriers for traditional games still exist - hardware requirement, online infrastructure, existing fanbase with accounts, big budget requirement, Nintendo's image. None of those are going away any time soon.

 

App games would be cheap to push out since they're already out there and run on nearly all devices, so getting them out could help plug the holes. The only problem is that if they did that and found success, I doubt they'd really bother pushing for proper third party support.

 

Again, this is all speculative and based on whether they adopt an Android OS.

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Are we sure that the source didn't hear that developers are getting a hang of Android OS and forget that they're doing smartphones now? :p

 

I don't know what to think about this, anyway. I'm sceptical

 

Casual copy/paste ;)

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Casual copy/paste ;)

Same discussion, two different places, and my point still stands :p

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Its an understatement to say Nintendo has struggles with its OS, they're slow, clunky and cumbersome. Using Android OSP immediately fixes a massive problem for them - that they're crap at OS. This way they gain a snappy and robust OS and one that is scaleable. As for piracy, sure its a concern but lets face it people have cracked their current OSs. Nintendo's security isn't just OS based, they use a range of features to protect their content. I'm sure if they're working with Android they'll be working on locking it right down too.

 

It's a great idea.. But.. I'm not totally convinced it's right. I still cant make that leap , that Nintendo will not use a proprietary OS... Its a big leap to make. I've wondered if the rumours are mixed and Nintendo are, perhaps, working on a standalone (mobile games) eShop store for Android in the same way Amazon have their App Store on Android. At least on Android it'll help them avoid 30% fees to Google on revenues - and that is something that doesn't take a huge leap of faith.

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Nintendo have a great UI, but technically it's pisspoor. The sped to check messages and seven what friends are online is painful.... I don't care how they do it, whether android or whatever, but they still do the UI, but someone nails the speed then that'd be amazing

 

It's crazy with Nintendo at the minute, with qol, theme parks, amiibo, likely films/tv and whatever the NX ends up being!

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Now that it's clear Nintendo are focused on the new console, I'm trying to think how exactly they'll win anyone over with it, let alone Wii U owners.

 

If they go for a basic console that matches the PS4/XB1 for power then they've got 3+ years of catching up to do and so many Nintendo fans already have a PS4 or Xbox One.

 

Will they gamble on another gimmick?

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Now that it's clear Nintendo are focused on the new console, I'm trying to think how exactly they'll win anyone over with it, let alone Wii U owners.

 

If they go for a basic console that matches the PS4/XB1 for power then they've got 3+ years of catching up to do and so many Nintendo fans already have a PS4 or Xbox One.

 

Will they gamble on another gimmick?

 

Maybe go similar to the New3DS. A more powerful console with similar aspects to the other two, but essentially the same and with full support for the older games.

 

Only thing is it just splinters the userbase and gets confusing as to who can play what. Or gets largely ignored like the New 3DS...how many games require it so far?

 

I think backwards compatibility will be in, but just on a bullshit guess of the current hardware is basically a SoC CPU GPU and eDRAM share one small PCB. Otherwise they run into the same issue of architecture...

 

Eh who knows. I'm too old to care anymore, when it comes if I like it I'll buy it.

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I hope the NX reveal is like the 3DS, where they showed Ocarina of Time, Kid Icarus, Animal Crossing etc. All the games looked good and didn't take too long to be released. It just seemed like they had a plan.

 

Assuming it'll be fairly expensive, I really think they need to get the proper fans on board straight away, and should ideally have all these games well in the works for it:

 

Metroid Prime 4

Twilight Princess HD

F-Zero

Animal Crossing

Zelda

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