Alright, so if you’ve been on Twitter today and you follow as many gamers, producers, studios, and journalists as I do, just about all of them are talking about these photos. Supposedly, the controller above is the super secretive NX controller. This has the investigative type into a frenzy, doing all sorts of zany alterations and cross referencing various parts of the image. People are using the tree in the reflection as a landmark, connecting it to a few different studios. Honestly, at this point its hard to filter the satire with the likely.
Either way, most are skeptic, but the excitement is real. The main reason for my disbelief is as such. This controller doesn’t have that Nintendo touch that it’s technology always has. Even if this is the final, it looks more like a hand mirror than a video game console. I also find it hard to believe that Nintendo, the ones who perfected the directional pad, is going with a buttonless interface. That goes against almost every type of game they’ve ever made. It could lead to innovation, but with the failing Wii U, it seems unlikely. Especially considering the Wii U is ceasing production at the end of this year.
Although, this device does seem to match up with the supposed concept image that also leaked a few months back. However, it’s also important to note that just because a patent is filed doesn’t mean that it’s going into production.
All of this news, and suspicion is pointing towards a release of a new Nintendo console at the end of this year or early next year. If the Wii U is rounding out production at the end of the year, those production factories probably won’t stay silent for long before a new run begins, assuming the same hardware manufacturers will be doing the next console.
This image was done up by Joe Gray, a fan. Personally, I would rather it have tactile buttons as oppose to touch ones. Also, those handles could be an optional frame.
It’s also likely that the next Nintendo console will be a handheld that’s merely half of the full console. Imagine that a handheld comes out at the end of the year, then in a few quarters of the year, the full console launches that enhances that handheld. It could get consumers used to that device before making it a staple in the living room.
All eyes are on Nintendo it seems, as usual during the fall of a console’s lifespan, especially since the big E3 is on the horizon this summer.
