When is an answer not an answer? When it's Nintendo president Satoru Iwata answering shareholders questions about the upcoming (and highly top secret) new console, the Nintendo NX. Nintendo's end of financial year shareholder's Q&A has now been translated into English and brings with it a few slight teases about what may be in store for the company's latest piece of hardware, spurred on by a cunning shareholder asking a few leading questions about the NX, particularly if "should we abandon the current notion of thinking about home consoles and handheld devices separately?" (see our run down of the Fusion rumour that the NX will be both a home console and a portable handheld hybrid).
Iwata's response did not give away too much but did state "we do not intend it to become a simple "replacement" for Nintendo 3DS or Wii U". Perhaps it's the "or" that's the key there, as if the rumours of it being a home console/handheld hybrid are true, it could well be that the NX is a replacement for the 3DS and Wii U. Although he answered at length, Iwata gave nothing more away except that there will be no new information given about the NX until 2016.
Intriguingly, when asked for an update on whether or not they were going to lift the region locks on the 3DS, and let fans play games from around the world, rather than only letting them play games from the region in which they live (Nintendo's previous handhelds had all been region free), he said it was "not realistic" but that they were currently pondering about whether or not to region lock the NX. Given that region locking (a block on playing imported games from abroad) for home consoles has always been standard practice but that the 3DS is unusual among handhelds for having region locking, this statement about the NX is the strongest hint yet the NX is either a new handheld or the rumoured home console/portable device Fusion. Given Nintendo's promise of a "brand-new concept", the Fusion rumours are not going to go away any time soon.
There's nothing quite like a Nintendo console launch. We remember how excited we were for the Wii U!
The idea of being able to continue playing a game from home while on the move is not actually a new one. The game Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate set a precedent when it was simultaneously released on 3DS and Wii U and allowed users to transfer their save file from one console to the other. Whilst the game has a growing cult following in the West, in Japan the series has entered mainstream popular culture with blockbuster sales. Is this the future of gaming?
Here is Iwata's full response:
"We will not announce any details about NX until 2016. I used the name "NX" during our joint press conference with DeNA on March 17 because we thought that our announcing the business alliance with DeNA to start a smart device business could result in such misunderstanding as "Nintendo is making a transfer to smart devices because it is pessimistic about the future for dedicated video game systems." I intentionally chose to announce the development of NX so early because I wanted to confirm the fact that we are developing a new dedicated video game platform, that we have never lost passion regarding the future for dedicated video game systems and that we have bright prospects for them. Though I cannot confirm when it will be launched or any other details of the system, since I have confirmed that it will be "a dedicated video game platform with a brand new concept," it should mean that we do not intend it to become a simple "replacement" for Nintendo 3DS or Wii U. Your question also included the "current notion of thinking about home consoles and handheld devices."
When it comes to how dedicated game systems are being played, the situations have become rather different, especially between Japan and overseas. Since we are always thinking about how to create a new platform that will be accepted by as many people around the world as possible, we would like to offer to them "a dedicated video game platform with a brand new concept" by taking into consideration various factors, including the playing environments that differ by country. This is all that I can confirm today. Taking this opportunity, because we were often asked if we will make any new announcements about NX, smart device applications or QOL [quality of life] at this year's E3 show, let me confirm that we will not discuss anything about our smart device business or QOL there because, to us, E3 is an event mainly for dedicated video game systems. Also, because we have confirmed that any new information about NX will be announced in 2016, I hope you will understand that if you expect us to discuss NX during the upcoming E3 show, you will just end up being disappointed."
With such a long wait for any concrete information, all we can do is guess what comes next from Nintendo. What do you think? Are you expecting a Fusion or something different?
