Nintendo NX will be a handheld with detachable controllers says new rumour

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A new Nintendo NX (opens in new tab) report adds a few big wrinkles to the running handheld/home console rumors. Eurogamer (opens in new tab) cites multiple anonymous sources who have confirmed that NX will be a powerful handheld console with cartridge-based games and – here’s the weird part – two detachable controller segments, at least one of which you can plug into a TV base unit to play NX games on the big screen.

You may be having a bit of trouble fixing an image in your head of what a handheld system with a pair of detachable controller segments would actually look like. Maybe like a Wii U GamePad with unpluggable left and right sides? It’s tough to say, but Eurogamer’s sourcing seems pretty solid nonetheless. We may not have to rely on our mind’s eye for much longer; one of those sources says NX will finally be properly revealed in September, and the message will be squarely pointed at taking your games with you on the go and at home.

According to the report, the NX will play games off of cartridges rather than discs (think more along the lines of 3DS cards (opens in new tab) than GBA-style circuit boards in chunky plastic) and downloads are a pretty safe bet as well. Most of Eurogamer’s sources indicate the system’s current development kits are powered by an Nvidia Tegra X1, the mobile-focused system-on-a-chip which was first introduced with Nvidia Shield Android TV back in March 2015.

There’s also some speculation that the NX will get a brain transplant for Nvidia’s hush-hush Tegra X2 chip before the system launches in March 2017. Speaking in very simplified terms, this could be the difference between NX rendering games that look and perform a bit better than last-gen consoles or roughly equivalent to current-gen.

Before you get too excited about Nintendo re-entering the world of cutting-edge console graphics, remember that power consumption and heat generation are big concerns for mobile systems. If the mounting handheld/home console hybrid rumors are true, Nintendo won’t be able to go whole-hog for performance with NX. But as long as I can play The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (opens in new tab) on an airplane without smuggling a Wii U console in my carry-on, I don’t really care.

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