Nintendo NX Is Allegedly A Tegra-Powered Portable Console With Big Screen TV Aspirations

tegra x1
It seems these days that we’ve learned more about what Nintendo’s upcoming NX console can't do, rather than what it can do. Nintendo of America CEO Reggie Fils-Aime claimed in mid-June that virtual reality just isn’t ready for mainstream adoption, while Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto chimed in with a “think of the children” angle, stating that parents likely wouldn’t be happy about their children wearing VR headgear. Nintendo also made it clear that the NX won’t get into a horsepower battle with Sony and Microsoft, and will instead focus on the gaming content.

So we likely won’t see VR on the NX, and you can toss aside any notion that it will be a 6 TFLOP monster like Project Scorpio. But what else can we expect from the console? According to Eurogamer, it has received some insider information on some of the fundamental basics of the NX. In fact, the publication is reporting that the NX will first and foremost be a handheld console with its own display. You’ll also reportedly find two detachable controllers flanking the display.

But that’s not even the most interesting part; it’s reported that the portable console will be able to connect to your big screen HDTV via a docking station. This hybrid concept would allow you to have the best of both worlds — high quality single-player gaming when on the road and big screen fun with multiple players at home. It’s a bold move, and could be a promising endeavor for Nintendo if this rumor holds out to be true.

nintendo reggie

As for what’s powering the NX, Eurogamer is once again citing sources familiar with the console’s development, saying that the console will be powered by an NVIDIA Tegra X1 processor — the same SoC that you’ll find inside the potent NVIDIA SHIELD and SHIELD Pro Android TV consoles. It’s reported that development kits for the NX are at least using the Tegra X1, and it’s quite possible that the shipping version could use the yet unannounced Tegra X2 SoC.

Other notes of interest: NX will use a brand new Nintendo-developed operating system (instead of Android) and it won’t have backwards compatibility with Wii or Wii U games. The NX will also supposedly feature a cartridge system, with each cartridge being capable of storing up to 32GB of game data.

It’s possible that the NX will get an early unveil this fall with retail sales commencing next year.