Don’t let that partnership with DeNA fool you; Nintendo’s not out of the gaming hardware, er, game. The company revealed the existence of a “brand new concept” for its gaming hardware business, codenamed “NX,” at the same press conference announcing the DeNA deal.
There’s very little to share at this point beyond that. Nintendo president and CEO Satoru Iwata described the machine as a “brand new concept,” adding that more details aren’t going to be revealed until 2016. The partial reveal was timed with the DeNA announcement to remind fans (and investors) that Nintendo remains committed to the core gaming business it’s been nurturing since the NES launched in the ’80s.
Here’s Iwata’s statement on the “NX,” as translated by Nintendo:
As proof that Nintendo maintains strong enthusiasm for the dedicated game system business, let me confirm that Nintendo is currently developing a dedicated game platform with a brand-new concept under the development codename “NX.” It is too early to elaborate on the details of this project, but we hope to share more information with you next year.