Nintendo NX will be ‘unique & different,’ ‘not the next version of Wii or Wii U’

Nintendo’s upcoming console, the Nintendo NX, will offer a “different” experience to that of its most recent hardware, president Tatsumi Kimishima has revealed, stating that it won’t simply be “the next version of Wii or Wii U”.

Speaking to Time, Kimishima explained that Nintendo needed to “move away from those platforms” to create a console that would “appeal to our consumer base”, describing the NX as “a new experience”.

“If you look back to the beginning of our conversation today, we talked about the transition from Wii hardware to the Wii U hardware and how difficult it is to explain to the consumer base what is different and new about the new hardware,” he said. “It’s difficult to convince them to switch from their current platform to the next platform.

“That being said, I can assure you we’re not building the next version of Wii or Wii U. It’s something unique and different. It’s something where we have to move away from those platforms in order to make it something that will appeal to our consumer base.”

Nintendo announced the NX earlier this year, with the first proper details set to arrive in 2016. The console is expected to be a successor to the Wii U, with rumours pointing towards a release later next year.

The NX codename doesn’t have any particular relevance to the console’s direction, though, Kimishima says.

“As for the codename NX, I don’t believe that there’s any real meaning behind it,” he told the site, “and to be perfectly honest, I don’t know where it came from. Or perhaps Mr. Iwata had meant to tell me and then never got the chance.”

Devkits for the console are already rumoured to be in the hands of developers, with rumours persisting that the console will include a main piece of hardware and “at least one mobile unit”.

Source: time.com