New Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima has been talking up the Nintendo NX, its next generation successor to the floundering Wii U. Kimishima says the new console will be a massive departure from what we’ve seen with the Wii and the Wii U, in an effort to both appeal to its core fan base and appeal to new consumers.
"I can assure you we're not building the next version of Wii or Wii U," Kimishima explained in an interview with Time. "It's something unique and different. It's something where we have to move away from those platforms.” Which begs the question, how? What we’re hearing so far is that Nintendo is working on some sort of hybridized device, combining both a handheld and home console. It’s a nice idea, but it’s tremendously difficult to imagine how Nintendo could pull this off and make it a commercial success.
Reports continue to bubble up about the Nintendo NX as we hurtle towards its expected 2016 launch. A recent report from Japanese publication Digitimes claims that Nintendo expects to sell 10-12 million Nintendo NX’s by the end of 2016. That’s no mean feat considering the Wii U has only just broken 10 million in three years. It indicates Nintendo’s console must be coming very soon indeed, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a reveal early next year.
At the moment it’s extremely difficult to see the open-world The Legend of Zelda Wii U launching on Wii U, no matter how much Nintendo protests. With its new console less than 12 months away, it’s got to be thinking of a strong launch line-up. If it can get Zelda, the new Metroid from Retro, and possibly port over something like Smash Bros Wii U, then it could be onto a winner right out of the gate. As for the codename NX itself, well, that’s still a mystery. "I don't know where it came from," said Kiwishimi. "Or perhaps Mr. Iwata had meant to tell me and then never got the chance," he said, talking of late Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, who passed away earlier this year.
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