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Report: Nintendo Begins Distributing NX Software Development Kits
There has been much speculation about what the NX would actually be and when it will arrive. We know we won’t have any official information until 2016, but a new report indicates software development kits have started arriving at some developers.
The Wall Street Journal suggests what we have heard before circulated as rumor, including that the console might arrive next year and be a two-part device for home and on-the-go gaming. The story also indicates that Nintendo could be approaching the NX differently, opting for relatively more powerful hardware.
The Wii and Wii U have been considered underpowered compared to competing consoles from Microsoft and Sony. With new leadership following the untimely passing of former president Satoru Iwata, it is possible that Nintendo could be shifting its approach to the market.
When Nintendo announced its partnership with DeNA for a series of original mobile titles earlier this year, the company also slipped in another major bit of news. In order to quell concern about a complete mobile transition, the House of Mario confirmed it is working on a new console. We’ve reached out to Nintendo and will update should we receive a response.
Update: Nintendo has responded to our request for comment. As expected, the publisher doesn't have anything to say about NX at this time. "“=As we previously announced, we will not comment further on NX until 2016,” a representative told us via email.
[Source: Wall Street Journal]
Our Take
The Wall Street Journal report indicates that the secondary piece of the NX could be a companion peripheral (like the Wii U gamepad) or a handheld. In other words, there’s still no definition about the NX will actually be or when it will arrive on store shelves. The most interesting piece to me is that SDKs could be in the wild now, which is a critical milestone for the hardware.
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