Is Nintendo looking to Android for its next video game console?
There is a possibility that the next video game console released by Nintendo is powered by Android. The upcoming hardware, known internally as NX, would take advantage of the third-party developers support that Google has cultivated with its operating system. Nintendo would also seek to bring together phones, tablets, and other form factors if Android becomes the backbone for its “dedicated gaming system.”
Gaming with Android devices has certainly evolved over time. Just take a look at what the NVIDIA SHIELD set-top box is capable of. It packs the powerful Tegra X1 processor to stream PC-level games to your television. Nintendo may see what NVIDIA is doing and feel that they can capture a new audience with a unique approach.
Nintendo has shipped around 10 million units of the Wii U since being released in late 2011. Two other consoles, from Microsoft and Sony, have managed to match or best that number despite being released an entire year after the Wii U. The Xbox One and PlayStation 4 also trounce the Wii U in terms of capabilities and content library. Consumers are looking to the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC for serious gaming machines. Now is the time for Nintendo to make changes.
We will see Nintendo’s first title for smartphones later this year with even more to follow by 2017.
The Nintendo NX will not be detailed until 2016, four years after the Wii U launch. The life cycle of a video game console is normally 6-8 years and that would set the NX’s arrival for late 2018 or later.
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