Nintendo Switch - Happy Switchmas Everyone!

[Emasher]

I guess it's time to update my predictions.

 

First of all I was previously predicting a 2016 launch, but I think 2017 is a bit more likely now considering we have almost no information at all at this point. I'm not ruling out a 2016 launch though as I think Nintendo are aware that information travels a lot more quickly these days, so leaving a huge window to get the word out--as they've done in the past--probably isn't as necessary as it used to be.

 

The first big question to start is Power vs x86 architecture. The pros of Power is that it makes for relatively easy backwards compatibility with GameCube, Wii, and Wii U games. If they went x86, such backwards compatibility would be fairly unlikely at all, and it's likely that the existing virtual console emulators would need to be re-written.

 

 

There are 3 ways that backwards compatibility can be achieved. The most obvious one is just putting the hardware for the old machine inside the new one (eg. how the very early PS3s played PS2 games). The other options are virtualization (eg. Wii games on the Wii U) and emulation (eg. N64 games on the Wii and Wii U).

 

Every CPU (the part of the computer that does most of the processing, aside from graphics), is based on a particular architecture. Part of the architecture is a set of instructions that the CPU can execute. These are very basic things like "move this data to this location", or "add these two numbers", but when put together in particular orders, they're used to form any program your computer can run. These instructions can be represented either as a binary string called machine code, or in an assembly language (each architecture has a different assembly language). Assembly languages exist to be human readable, but there's a one-to-one correspondence between every possible assembly command and the associated line of machine code.

 

If you want to run games developed for a certain platform on a different platform, and the architectures on the two platforms are the same, you can do something called virtualization. Since the architectures are the same, you can simply run the program on the CPU of the newer console, and it will be able to understand the machine code. You will of course have to implement any other dependencies the game has in order to run it though. Every console has something called an API, which is a bunch of computer code that will always be available on that console and enables the game to interact with the console's features. For instance, the Wii's API probably has a function to get the coordinates a certain player's Wii Remote is pointing at on the screen. Even with the CPUs being the same architecture, to do virtualization you still need to implement this API on the new console and make it available to any of the older console's games being run. Essentially, the game needs to think it's being run on the older console.

 

It's worth noting that older consoles don't necessarily have APIs, and the game program interacts directly with the hardware. APIs can also be quite complicated, which is why even though the PS4 and Xbox One both use the x86 architecture which is used by almost all PCs, it will be very difficult to virtualize a PS4 due to not being able to easily replicated the functionality of the API. Implementing the API can often be as complicated as running the entire operating system (if there is one) of the old console through virtualization or emulation.

 

Emulation is required when the new console uses a different architecture from the old one. The instructions will not be the same, so not only do you need to re-create the API or fake direct access to the hardware, you also need to translate the instructions from the architecture used by the old console, to that of the new console. There are two ways this is done. The first way is called interpretation and is essentially simulating the CPU of the older console through software. The other way is to actually translate the machine code of the game into machine code that the new console can understand, and simply run that. In most cases, both of these techniques mean a specific emulator can only be run on a processor with the same architecture as the machine it was designed to run on. For instance, the NES emulator that runs NES virtual console games on the Wii U is probably the same as the one on the Wii, because they both have the same architecture, but that emulator wouldn't be easy to port to the PC, since PCs use a different architecture.

 

 

 

 

For that reason, I think it's likely that if Nintendo wants to continue to push the virtual console, and wants to have any sort of backwards compatibility with the past few consoles, they'll likely stick with the power architecture. This will make it a little bit more difficult to port games and game engines to the platform, but not prohibitively so. Keep in mind that the Xbox 360 and PS3 both used the Power architecture, yet most multiplatform 7th generation games were also ported to Windows, which runs on x86 based processors. Game engines today are mostly written in C and C++ which are quite portable between different architectures. With the next Xbox and Playstation likely sticking with x86, Nintendo sticking with Power might be a bit of an annoyance to developers, but if the NX is able to gain a large enough user base, it will be profitable to port engines and games over. It's worth noting that the Unity Engine is already compatible with the Wii U (Nintendo actually encourages it's use for independent developers who they don't trust with the official development kits), and Armature Studio (founded by a few ex-Retro employees) is currently in the process of porting Unreal Engine 4 to the Wii U, and will be making it available to other licensed Wii U developers once it's done.

 

The next question is the hybrid console rumor that's been floating around. I still don't think this will be the case. At least not in the way some people seem to think it will be. It is very much possible to carry out a computation using separate computers to speed up the process. This is called distributed computing, and it's becoming fairly common for things like scientific research. The different rumors I've heard about the NX are that the handheld will be the main console, and it will plug into a base station when at home which contains faster hardware, which it will either use exclusively when docked, or the hardware on both devices will be used. The first I think is unlikely simply because someone else won't be able to play on the home console when the handheld isn't there (unless multiple handhelds are owned), you'd have expensive hardware just sitting there (and we're talking about the most expensive parts of a more traditional console), not being usable because some of the cheaper parts (mainly just data storage) aren't there. I think the processing being offset between the different devices when home is even more unlikely. Most programmers today have trouble wrapping their heads around how to work with multiple threads running on a single multi-core processor, let alone sharing the load between a few different processors on different machines, probably connected either through a network, or some proprietary hardware and protocol. Nintendo's been terrible at working with 3rd party developers historically, but I think something like that is a step too far. I think what's far more likely is a home console and a handheld, which can both function independently of each other, but both run the same operating system, have the same architecture, and can play the same games. Anyone who's configured a PC game before knows that game engines these days are often made incredibly scalable. Grand Theft Auto V for Windows for instance allows the player to turn on certain visual effects that even the most powerful graphics cards available today struggle with. But you can also turn everything down to the very minimum, allowing it to run on graphics cards from nearly 8 years ago. With modern game engines, you can easily ship games that are scalable like this to run on pieces of hardware with varying amounts of power. Different settings could be shipped with the game for both the handheld and home console, and applied opaquely depending on the platform the game was running on. Combine this with extremely good syncing of save data and things like that over the network, and you could have a handheld and home console that function like the described hybrids from the perspective of the user, but are much more traditional under the hood, and easier for programmers to deal with (making development cheaper and faster).

 

In terms of processing power, if it comes out this year, I'd expect the home console portion (if there is one) to be roughly equivalent to a PS4 (since the PS4 is already profitable), and if it comes out next year, a little better than that.

 

I expect optical media will still be around, but we'll see a new iteration of the Nintendo Optical Disk format which can store at least 50GB. Games are getting larger and larger, and there are many people who simply don't have fast enough internet connections to download 50GB games in a reasonable amount of time.

 

I've already made my thoughts on the controller pretty clear. Pro controller with analog triggers, and maybe with the face laid out slightly differently. Supporting older controllers is fairly easy since they use standard hardware (and protocols for the most part) to connect.

 

In terms of software, I expect things like the virtual console will stick around. It'll probably be a much smoother transition from the Wii U/3DS to the NX than the Wii to the Wii U was. I think Nintendo Network in general will likely become a much more refined experience on the NX as Nintendo has had time now to study how well different aspects of the service work and will be able to refine it a bit more. Hopefully the NX sees the end of downloaded games being locked to specific hardware rather than your account.

[Dcubed]

Agreed wholeheartedly @Emasher. Great explanation of the how BC works as well! : peace:

 

That being said, I wonder if they might actually be planning on moving away from discs and instead plan on using an enhanced version of the 3DS Game Card as the method of storage for retail games...

 

That patent from a while's back did sort of hint at it... and no doubt that many of the games released for the NX console and handheld will be cross compatible (like Monster Hunter 5 or Smash Bros for NX and likely Mario Kart 9 as well), so that's a dead easy way of making retail games crossbuy; you just release the one game card with both sets of assets on it (the game just scales up on the console with higher res assets). Both consoles accept the same cards for cross compatible games and games that are exclusive to either machine use different shaped/coloured carts that don't fit in the wrong device.

 

Cuts down significantly on loading times as well, which is always a particular bug bear that Nintendo always steadfastly focus on tackling with their consoles. 3DS Game Cards can go up to 8GB, so it's not hard to believe that a potential NX Game Card could go up to 32GB or 64GB (that's about the same jump that Nintendo handheld carts/cards usually go up by during each generational leap) and even then, most Nintendo console games are tiny as they are (1st party games typically average at around 4-6GB on Wii U; and even huge exceptions like Smash Bros Wii U and Xenoblade X are still well below 25GB), so most probably won't need to use the higher capacity cards.

 

Otherwise they'll have to require people to install their games if they want to cut down loading and that's something that Nintendo will likely deem unacceptable for their audience; something that's too much of a hassle.

 

Wii U and Wii backwards compatibility will of course be digital only if they go down this route though...

Edited January 8, 2016 by Dcubed

[Ronnie]

Great post @Dcubed, very interesting idea could easily see it happen and would be a big improvement over PS4/XBO disks.

[V. Amoleo]

Assuming we're talking about their next home console (which I still don't think their next hardware release will be!):

 

Cartridges are still significantly more expensive than discs. So we'd be seeing a jump in RRP of games. This could result in having the same game in NX packaging and PS4 packaging sitting on the shelf with the NX one being priced a fiver more. Definitely not what Nintendo needs at the moment.

 

Now putting a hdd in there by default and installing games from discs (as per the Xbox One and PS4) will have much speedier loading than straight from disc. Though it is massively annoying how long you have to wait for both of those before you can even play a damn game.

 

In terms of backwards compatiblity, Microsoft managed to do what most people thought would be impossible by creating a virtualised Xbox 360 that can run on the Xbox One. Do I think Nintendo will be able to do something similar? No, probably not. Microsoft have been doing x86 and virtualisation for a long long time so this is an advantage of not just being a gaming company. But it shows it's possible to do, so there's always a chance.

[Serebii]

Thing is, HDDs are so slow and antiquated technology. Plus the price of them go up over time, not down, so Nintendo would have to do what Sony and MS do and have to keep releasing new SKUs for it with different HDD sizes in order to keep the base price level or lower, and if they end up with too much stock, they're screwed.

 

What Nintendo need to do is include either large flash memory or an SSD, but both would not be cheap.

In terms of backwards compatiblity, Microsoft managed to do what most people thought would be impossible by creating a virtualised Xbox 360 that can run on the Xbox One. Do I think Nintendo will be able to do something similar? No, probably not. Microsoft have been doing x86 and virtualisation for a long long time so this is an advantage of not just being a gaming company. But it shows it's possible to do, so there's always a chance.

 

To be fair, Iwata did say that the NX is intended to absorb Wii U architecture and as such, backwards compatibility is all but guaranteed.

[Dcubed]

Assuming we're talking about their next home console (which I still don't think their next hardware release will be!):

 

Cartridges are still significantly more expensive than discs. So we'd be seeing a jump in RRP of games. This could result in having the same game in NX packaging and PS4 packaging sitting on the shelf with the NX one being priced a fiver more. Definitely not what Nintendo needs at the moment.

 

True, it does raise the manufacturing costs a fair bit (nowhere near as high as the NES/SNES/N64 carts though - as 3DS games use the same kind of flash storage as SD cards) but the costs will go down significantly for those games that don't use the higher capacity cards.

 

It also cuts the price and the size of the console down significantly (especially if they eschew a built-in HDD again in favour of Flash storage - something that last patent also hinted at), so there's significant savings to be made there...

 

Speaking of savings, it also cuts the costs down for games that get released on both consoles since the publisher only needs to print the one Game Card that works on both handheld and console (instead of two different copies on two different formats); so it may well balance out

[V. Amoleo]

Thing is, HDDs are so slow and antiquated technology. Plus the price of them go up over time, not down, so Nintendo would have to do what Sony and MS do and have to keep releasing new SKUs for it with different HDD sizes in order to keep the base price level or lower, and if they end up with too much stock, they're screwed.

 

What Nintendo need to do is include either large flash memory or an SSD, but both would not be cheap.

 

Having larger flash memory or a big SSD would be ideal but, like you said, not cheap. HDDs are slow but they're faster than reading from the optical disc. I don't think Nintendo are blind to this, after all Xenoblade Chronicles X including the ability to download a portion of the game. The size of those meant they wouldn't fit onto the internal flash memory so they know people would be using HDDs for it.

 

To be fair, Iwata did say that the NX is intended to absorb Wii U architecture and as such, backwards compatibility is all but guaranteed.

 

And I hope that it is, but not at the expense of the games they plan to release. So I'm still hoping they go x86 (which I know we have differing opinions on ).

[Dcubed]

Having larger flash memory or a big SSD would be ideal but, like you said, not cheap. HDDs are slow but they're faster than reading from the optical disc. I don't think Nintendo are blind to this, after all Xenoblade Chronicles X including the ability to download a portion of the game. The size of those meant they wouldn't fit onto the internal flash memory so they know people would be using HDDs for it.

 

Do note that unlike HDDs, flash storage prices drop steadily over time. That's part of why Nintendo always choose to use flash storage in their consoles (the other is durability - HDDs tend to be fragile, while flash storage devices are far more durable; and you know how much Nintendo focus on making their hardware rugged and durable)

[Nolan]

Flash memory is volatile and fails after so many reads and writes. A large number of them, but it happens.

[V. Amoleo]

True, it does raise the manufacturing costs a fair bit (nowhere near as high as the NES/SNES/N64 carts though - as 3DS games use the same kind of flash storage as SD cards) but the costs will go down significantly for those games that don't use the higher capacity cards.

 

It also cuts the price and the size of the console down significantly (especially if they eschew a built-in HDD again in favour of Flash storage - something that last patent also hinted at), so there's significant savings to be made there...

 

Do note that unlike HDDs, flash storage prices drop steadily over time. That's part of why Nintendo always choose to use flash storage in their consoles (the other is durability - HDDs tend to be fragile, while flash storage devices are far more durable; and you know how much Nintendo focus on making their hardware rugged and durable)

 

I agree that going back to cartridges would be excellent for games but I don't think the price trade off vs discs would be worth it.

 

I would also worry that we'd get publishers saying "if you made this game a little smaller we could fit it onto a cheaper cartridge and make more profit". But that's just me being cynical!

 

The only reason I said about including a HDD in their next console because at the minute we have to buy a HDD separately. It's impossible to exist just on the 32GB of flash memory they include in the Wii U. At retail prices a 960GB SSD costs about £180, that's as much as a Wii cost at launch.

[Serebii]

Flash memory is volatile and fails after so many reads and writes. A large number of them, but it happens.

 

A very large number in this day and age though. It's more likely for a standard hard drive to fail before flash memory of devices started on the same day nowadays

[Sheikah]

Flash memory is volatile and fails after so many reads and writes. A large number of them, but it happens.

While true, they're reliable enough that most people building a decent PC use one to store the OS and many commonly used applications.

 

Flash storage has also dropped crazily in price in recent years. When Guild Wars 2 came out it cost me £80 for a 120GB SSD. Recently I bought a 240GB SSD for my sister's new laptop for £40.

[Emasher]

Regarding the use of Nintendo Optical Disks vs Nintendo Game Cards. The cards do cost more, but they're also not about to put an optical drive in a handheld. If we do see the rumored console and handheld that play the same games, selling the games on optical media alone probably won't work. However, let's not forget that the handheld will likely be less powerful than the console, and therefore will be using smaller textures, models with fewer polygons, etc. There's no reason that the higher quality assets that bump the size of some games to upwards of 60GB would need to be downloaded to the handheld, as they'd never be used, so it may actually be feasible for Nintendo to go to download only for handheld games. They could do something like selling a physical package that has a Nintendo Optical Disk with the game for the home console, and a download code for the handheld. Switching exclusively to Nintendo Game Cards for physical copies for both handheld on console is probably still acceptable too though. You might even just see disks for the home console and cards for the handheld without any way of transferring between the two, as we are talking about a company that makes you buy even a NES game multiple times if you want it on different devices.

 

In terms of backwards compatiblity, Microsoft managed to do what most people thought would be impossible by creating a virtualised Xbox 360 that can run on the Xbox One. Do I think Nintendo will be able to do something similar? No, probably not. Microsoft have been doing x86 and virtualisation for a long long time so this is an advantage of not just being a gaming company. But it shows it's possible to do, so there's always a chance.

 

What's even more impressive is that it isn't virtualization, but emulation since the Xbox 360 used the Power architecture while the Xbox One uses x86. Getting that sort of thing to work is a pretty significant undertaking though, so I kind of doubt Nintendo would create such an emulator at this point. But let's not forget that such an emulator already exists, although, I'm not sure I can talk about it without breaking forum rule number 5.

 

Thing is, HDDs are so slow and antiquated technology. Plus the price of them go up over time, not down, so Nintendo would have to do what Sony and MS do and have to keep releasing new SKUs for it with different HDD sizes in order to keep the base price level or lower, and if they end up with too much stock, they're screwed.

 

What Nintendo need to do is include either large flash memory or an SSD, but both would not be cheap.

 

To be fair, Iwata did say that the NX is intended to absorb Wii U architecture and as such, backwards compatibility is all but guaranteed.

 

Considering the cost of HDDs vs SSDs (a 1TB HDD is about 60 USD, whereas a 1TB SSD is about 250 USD (minimum, but obviously Nintendo would be able to get either a bit cheaper), and even smaller SSDs are still prohibitively expensive for a games console at this point), I think it's much more likely that they'll do the same thing they did for the Wii U. Small internal flash memory that can store a few games (probably 64GB or 128GB), and then the option of plugging in external USB storage devices (probably even USB 3 compatible). This will allow them to keep the unit cost cheaper. I don't think HDDs are too slow for games at all though. I still use them to store games in my PC due to the high cost of SSDs. Mind you, I do have higher speed server HDDs.

 

Also, I'm not doubting it, but do you have a source for Iwata saying that? I'd be interested in reading about the context.

[Serebii]

Considering the cost of HDDs vs SSDs (a 1TB HDD is about 60 USD, whereas a 1TB SSD is about 250 USD (minimum, but obviously Nintendo would be able to get either a bit cheaper), and even smaller SSDs are still prohibitively expensive for a games console at this point), I think it's much more likely that they'll do the same thing they did for the Wii U. Small internal flash memory that can store a few games (probably 64GB or 128GB), and then the option of plugging in external USB storage devices (probably even USB 3 compatible). This will allow them to keep the unit cost cheaper. I don't think HDDs are too slow for games at all though. I still use them to store games in my PC due to the high cost of SSDs. Mind you, I do have higher speed server HDDs.

 

Also, I'm not doubting it, but do you have a source for Iwata saying that? I'd be interested in reading about the context.

 

https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/library/events/140130qa/02.html

In this perspective, while we are only going to be able to start this with the next system, it will become important for us to accurately take advantage of what we have done with the Wii U architecture. It of course does not mean that we are going to use exactly the same architecture as Wii U, but we are going to create a system that can absorb the Wii U architecture adequately. When this happens, home consoles and handheld devices will no longer be completely different, and they will become like brothers in a family of systems.

 

That answer discusses both the absorption of Wii U architecture and the NX handheld and console be brothers

[V. Amoleo]

What's even more impressive is that it isn't virtualization, but emulation since the Xbox 360 used the Power architecture while the Xbox One uses x86. Getting that sort of thing to work is a pretty significant undertaking though, so I kind of doubt Nintendo would create such an emulator at this point. But let's not forget that such an emulator already exists, although, I'm not sure I can talk about it without breaking forum rule number 5.

 

Sorry, by virtualisation I meant that it runs as a virtual machine on the Xbox One. If they wanted to they could release it for Windows, but they never will.

[Goron_3]

Just to be clear (as @Serebii has correctly states several times), we are NOT getting a hybrid console. We are not getting one system (i.e. a handheld) that can the dock into a separate device and become a home console. It's just not happening.

 

What we are getting is a brother of systems. If anything, we are likely going to get MORE systems, not less. For example, they could release a home console at say £249 and then a more expensive version that effectively runs the same games better (ie. 720p to 1080, bigger hard drive, more ram...similar to the difference between the iPad Air and iPad Mini). Future Nintendo games will scale significantly better than Wii U/3DS games do and the relationship between devices will be similar to the relationship between iPhones and iPads.

 

Whilst that doesn't mean we will get more devices, we will certainly not be losing any. Handhelds are hugely popular in Japan and home consoles are huge in the West. We are getting two, both of which will use the same OS.

[killthenet]

I agree with you that there will be a handheld and a home console that run on the same architecture or OS, but where do you think this leaves the patent that discusses the 'supplementary computing device'? Of course some patents end up just existing to cover concepts so Nintendo might not end up using it, but I think it's interesting to think about.

 

The concept would obviously lend itself particularly well if Nintendo were developing a hybrid console, but do you think that even if the systems are only 'brothers' there would be an opportunity to utilise, for example, the handheld's processing power to deal with community/chat features when playing online with the home console.

 

How do you see them being connected? Will the operating systems be identical like iOS or will there just be a connection between them through the Nintendo Network and the eShops.

 

Have you seen the rumours posted on GAF and reddit from a supposed programmer enlisted to test the NX OS for homebrew exploits? It mentions that there are two builds of the OS, one that works for an ARM processor and the other that works for PowerPC and apparently uses Google's Material design heavily for the aesthetics.

[Ashley]

Thing is, HDDs are so slow and antiquated technology.

 

Perfect for Nintendo then.

 

 

Just to be clear (as @Serebii has correctly states several times), we are NOT getting a hybrid console. We are not getting one system (i.e. a handheld) that can the dock into a separate device and become a home console. It's just not happening.

 

What we are getting is a brother of systems. If anything, we are likely going to get MORE systems, not less. For example, they could release a home console at say £249 and then a more expensive version that effectively runs the same games better (ie. 720p to 1080, bigger hard drive, more ram...similar to the difference between the iPad Air and iPad Mini). Future Nintendo games will scale significantly better than Wii U/3DS games do and the relationship between devices will be similar to the relationship between iPhones and iPads.

 

Whilst that doesn't mean we will get more devices, we will certainly not be losing any. Handhelds are hugely popular in Japan and home consoles are huge in the West. We are getting two, both of which will use the same OS.

 

Reminds me of the old days of "third pillar" talk.

[Emasher]

I agree with you that there will be a handheld and a home console that run on the same architecture or OS, but where do you think this leaves the patent that discusses the 'supplementary computing device'? Of course some patents end up just existing to cover concepts so Nintendo might not end up using it, but I think it's interesting to think about.

 

The concept would obviously lend itself particularly well if Nintendo were developing a hybrid console, but do you think that even if the systems are only 'brothers' there would be an opportunity to utilise, for example, the handheld's processing power to deal with community/chat features when playing online with the home console.

 

How do you see them being connected? Will the operating systems be identical like iOS or will there just be a connection between them through the Nintendo Network and the eShops.

 

Have you seen the rumours posted on GAF and reddit from a supposed programmer enlisted to test the NX OS for homebrew exploits? It mentions that there are two builds of the OS, one that works for an ARM processor and the other that works for PowerPC and apparently uses Google's Material design heavily for the aesthetics.

 

Regarding the patent, sometimes a patent is just a patent. Nintendo applies for patents all the time. Using a completely separate device as a co-processor would likely complicate things immensely for developers, and because of the time it takes to move the data between devices, it will almost certainly end up being slower. Using the handheld as a controller or extra display? Well, they've been doing that since the GameCube.

 

As far as the other rumor goes, the "I work at/know someone who works at Nintendo" thing has been around as long as the internet. I wouldn't give it a second thought as it's almost certainly just someone seeking attention.

Edited January 9, 2016 by Emasher

[Serebii]

Just to be clear (as @Serebii has correctly states several times), we are NOT getting a hybrid console. We are not getting one system (i.e. a handheld) that can the dock into a separate device and become a home console. It's just not happening.

 

What we are getting is a brother of systems. If anything, we are likely going to get MORE systems, not less. For example, they could release a home console at say £249 and then a more expensive version that effectively runs the same games better (ie. 720p to 1080, bigger hard drive, more ram...similar to the difference between the iPad Air and iPad Mini). Future Nintendo games will scale significantly better than Wii U/3DS games do and the relationship between devices will be similar to the relationship between iPhones and iPads.

 

Whilst that doesn't mean we will get more devices, we will certainly not be losing any. Handhelds are hugely popular in Japan and home consoles are huge in the West. We are getting two, both of which will use the same OS.

I wouldn't be surprised if both NX Handheld and NX Console are revealed this year, with the handheld coming to Japan this year and the console coming to the west this year, then vice-versa early next year. Europe gets nothing because our industry is somehow the bastardchild of both :p

[Kav]

I wouldn't be surprised if both NX Handheld and NX Console are revealed this year, with the handheld coming to Japan this year and the console coming to the west this year, then vice-versa early next year...

 

This sounds like a good bet to be honest, it'd not surprise me if it was the case. If you could cross-play between the two systems online it'd be a perfect fit for the east/west markets.

[david.dakota]

I've little more to go on than the Smash Bros controller app for 3DS but I am convinced that NX handheld will be able to function as a controller for NX home console; i expect both would be entirely indendent machines but you'd be able to easily hop into your freinds NX home console and play using your own handheld. You could, with a looser definition of 'hybrid' see people referring to it as a hybrid console.

 

That leads me on to what I feel the concept, or at least part of it, could be: Your Nintendo Everywhere. Mobile easily fits into this theme, and from what they've discussed so far with My Nintendo/NNID/Nintendo Account that also seems to fit with the idea that you'd be taking your Nintendo services with you (being rewarded for theme park visits, concerts). So, i'm imagining a world where a handheld could become your 'portable ID' so, for example, if you're playing at a mates house your save data is available to your freinds home NX via your handheld with new data written to it will sync across your account to your home NX. And after you've finished playing and on the way home your handheld simply acts as a normal handheld device. I'd also argue that this personalises the portable console, so there's a bit more encouragement for families to buy handhelds for each member (not that my household needs any further encouragement in this area :p) and could go some way to explaining some of Nintendo's sales projections. It also fits with some of the rumours of a home console and handheld budled together (no body has said the handeld component won't be available seperately).

 

Of course, the initial bundle of both handheld and home console raises the issue of price (especially when you consider some of the rumours of 'industry-leading chips', etc)... But you'd be getting a decent spec home console and portable console, the value is there and pricing a handheld console for £100-150 seems reasonably successful.

[Hero-of-Time]

I see IdeaMan has returned to Gaf and mentioned a couple of things regarding the NX. The most interesting is that one of the major western 3rd parties doesn't have a development kit yet. At a guess I would probably say that it's EA. Of course it's all rumours and speculation but it will be another blow if EA don't develop for the system.

[Nolan]

Sadly at this point it's basically status quo. When was the last game EA pushed out on the Wii U?

[nekunando]

Sadly at this point it's basically status quo. When was the last game EA pushed out on the Wii U?

 

While it's important to have EA on board, I personally don't find any of their games to be particularly special. I'd certainly like a decent football game on NX but Pro Evo is much better..