Could Nintendo really switch to Android?
Japan’s most respected business newspaper, the Nikkei Shimbun, today raised the possibility that Nintendo’s mysterious upcoming system – codenamed NX – may be based on Google’s Android operating system. The report is curiously sourced to a single anonymous insider, and takes the form of a column, not a typical news story; moreover, the Nikkei has a spotty record with Nintendo in particular.
But that doesn’t make the proposition any less fascinating, and it’s one I’ve been considering myself for some time. Although it would be an unusual move for the Japanese giant, which is famously hesitant to cede control over any aspect of its products, there are a lot of reasons why it might make sense – and why it wouldn’t contradict Nintendo’s own philosophy.
Would you buy a handheld gaming device in this day and age? If it could also make phone calls and run proper Android applications, would you ditch your other Android device for it?
I doubt it.
I might buy one for my kids. Sure they have the DS, but if Nintento released something simpler, more like a single screened gameboy based on Android, but with proper game controls… Actually, I like the idea.
There’s a couple of reasons why:
1. The device will probably have two screens, like the DS. Kids love that.
2. Physical input controls is incredibly important for some games. Some games just don’t work well with touch controls.
I think we try to make devices do too much as it is. Smartphones make awesome PDAs already but below average phones, and a gaming device as a phone would probably be even worse. Come to think of it, didn’t Nokia try something like this with the S60-based N-Gage line?
or the playstation phone.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xperia_Play
I would have bought that if it were compatible with my carrier.
No. I already have a perfectly good phone and I can simply attach the gamepad I bought to it. Since the gamepad can be removed from the phone it’s a whole lot more manageable than a device where they’re inseparable from one-another.
Why someone buy a xbox or playstation or wiiu, when you can plug your pc to the tv and play all the games???
Edited 2015-06-02 11:18 UTC
… After all, xbox one have already windows in it…
Windows is the reason I don’t game on the PC or Xbox One.
Edited 2015-06-02 14:36 UTC
Linux is the reason why I play game on pc :p
There’s a lot of console exclusives that don’t make it to PC.
…and pc exclusive that don’t make on console, or very very late.
But I don’t see the point
My point is that you can’t play Uncharted on a PC. You can have both consoles and a PC. I do, and my head hasn’t exploded yet.
Ditto. Last I heard having options wasn’t a bad thing.
I like using my 3DS, but I would probably use a completely different device if Nintendo went ahead with an Android-based system that made phone calls, etc. My phone is well made, and I just don’t trust Nintendo to not screw it up. They are good at what they do, but they’ve also been incredibly out of touch with their user base for years. I believe that company should do some soul searching to see what made people fall in love with their products in the first place. They are dominating the handheld gaming market for AAA titles, but I just don’t feel like they could compete in the Android realm.
All while my Wii is collecting dust…
I think you are missing the point. NX isn’t a handheld.
Its the replacement for the Wii U. However its is also about bringing together their home and portable systems. Later NX derived devices would be portable. That would at least be the reasoning.
Nintendo still makes serious money off of the 3DS whether you use one or not. However the Wii U has not been a success and Nintendo can see that they need another unique feature if they want to sell another home system.
A unified architecture would be one. This is a great way to consolidate their markets. Japan has gone very portable heavy. You can see the focus in there releases for Home and Portable. Home generally being ‘westernised’ releases and Portable very much Japanese games for the Japanese.
Nintendo still has the Pokemon factor. Add on Monster Hunter and all the rest and making a game once and selling it everywhere is HUGE.
Also 3rd parties support Nintendo’s portables, because they sell. Making Home and Portable makes massive sense, considering the Wii U’s problems.
However this is all my conjecture based on more conjecture.
Exactly. Everyone is automatically making the jump to Android = handheld, that isn’t what was in the article (which to be fair is a bunch of conjecture anyway)…
Adding support for running Android games (at least their own) to the successor to Wii U would not be terribly surprising given the direction things are going in. Nintendo already said they planned on developing apps for existing mobile platforms (including Android)… Why wouldn’t they add the ability to run them to their home console? They already routinely emulate their older platforms, why not this? Blackberry managed it without a lot of trouble, BlueStacks does it for Windows. It seems to be fairly trivial to be honest. I would frankly be more surprised if their next console didn’t support it.
Edited 2015-06-02 17:06 UTC
Yes, I would, and my reasoning is three words:
Mario
Metroid
Zelda
No other system will have these (and yes, many other first party) titles. This would sell me good, as Nintendo would offer a gaming system first and foremost, adding calling and text would be a boon. But the other bottom line? If it’s Android, on a gaming system, with a controller….. (take a second to see where I’m going here)…….you can re-download all your currently purchased Android titles to that device as well! On top of that, it would inspire third party developers to finally release on Big N consoles!
I have to believe that it would also really encourage piracy.
If Nintendo makes a very good phone, that isn’t underpowered or bulky (like that horrible Android PSP sony made) and add gaming controls to it that works well, i’m totally in.
I’m surprised nobody mentioned OUYA.
It’s an Android-based TV Console. Because it’s not a handheld (although very compact!), it’s not competing with the general purposed mobiles, but rather XBOXes and Playstations.
And in this department it has a very clear competitive advantages:
– all games free to try; buy em if you love’em – this means there are games totally free, there are freemiums, there are time trials, unlocking additional modes, etc, but everything I’ve seen (and I own it since the first preorders) was very decent never and ad-based.
– free to tinker, open to developers, it’s Android! I mean the console menu has a developer option from the start
– types of games are sometimes different from what you would see from a typical game company and very often the games have a certain humour or quality that you wouldn’t see get passed ratings department elsewhere
With Nintendo, I agree, handhelds are perhaps pointless and running on nostalgia, but maybe we’re not seeing something.
With TV-consoles, Android is viable option and certainly OUYA is a great idea brought to life.
I just remembered there’s a game where you can pay to unlock additional modes and you can pay any amount you want. Plus, you can pay again if you want. If you feel extra positive after a month or something. Very nice and decent way.
No one has mentioned Ouya because it was an abject failure. They are already unable to restructure their debt and are immediately seeking a buyer.
http://fortune.com/2015/04/28/exclusive-gaming-startup-ouya-needs-t…
Oh, yes, I know, it’s a shame, especially as I own one and I’d like to be able to keep using it. If they go down miserably, they should at least release all software, services, APIs, software and hardware designs on permissive Creative Commons License. Perhaps the community could setup and maintain an indie ouya store. But I look at it two ways:
1. The idea was great and no wonder it got so much crowdfunding – perhaps it’s the business execution that failed or lack of a few decent blockbusters to make it global. Indie’s great, but reaching out to non-us, non-uk, indie developers would’ve made important connections to player bases around the world.
2. And if we ponder on failures. I guess both OUYA and Nintendo are prone to a similar failure – similar risks with a product looking for a market.
Looking for a market…
I have very mixed feelings about the Ouya. I bought into they hype on Kickstarter. I got one of the first units that had LOTS of hardware issues. After I found out that no, I could not properly root the device, I sold it and moved on.
There are better alternatives and I am interested in seeing if Nintendo will make one.
On the bright side, I’d already have a huge library of humble bundle games for android for it. On the down side, probably 90% of them wouldn’t be very playable with a controller.
I must be rare but I prefer it to a normal console. I prefer to look at a screen at 20 cm from me than to a TV 2 meter away. I like to play on the bed, the bath or even watching TV.
I have a PSP and a PS Vita. I also have a Moga controller and spent many hours playing Asphalt 8 or Crazy Taxy.
Shame on you, Sony!
Edited 2015-06-03 06:19 UTC
If the battery in my phone lasts for a single day or even less, I definitely do not want to do any heavy gaming on it.
Then comes the price: if my phone is an expensive one, I don’t want my daughter to trash it playing games, for that she needs something more expendable.
Then comes the ergonomics, the phone size and shape is not an ideal one for playing games. Neither it touch screen as an input device.
Then comes the connectivity. My phone does not have HDMI output. To link it with the TV, I need either a new smart one or a wireless dongle attached to it.
On the other hand, no, I won’t buy a handheld gaming device, never needed one. My real gaming happens on the PC and the phone is for really casual stuff. Update: still, I may buy one for my daughter, when she grows big enough. We’ll see.
Edited 2015-06-03 07:34 UTC
If Nintendo Did do this they would want/need to reimplement a large number of the google android services. Multiplayer, leaderboards, that kind of thing.
They would want to maintain the parental security that has held them in such good stead from miiverse but also catch up with Live Gold. Using Google’s services wouldnt give them that level of control.
I personally see the NX concept as a continuation of the Wii U. For those that dont know, the Wii U is a console that connects to your TV but also has a gamepad with controls and a touch screen display. Many games allow you to play direct on the gamepad (via the Wii U console). I think the NX will reverse that.
In my view the console’s gamepad will be more akin to the 3DS where you can take it around with you and play, but can connect it to your tv via a secondary box that upscales the graphics when you want multiplayer on a large tv.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-DGB-42026
Move along, nothing to see here
Now that everyone has “standardised” on the boring “touchscreen slab” for phones, it would be nice for companies to start experimenting with form factors again.
If a company like Nintendo came out with something like the Sony Xperia Play that supported some kind of game cartridge/memory card with nicer joysticks, I think it would sell well. Use it like a phone when it’s closed. use it like a Gameboy when it’s opened.
I’m actually quite surprised at the total and complete lack of innovation in the area of form factors these days. When bending the screen (LG G Flex) and wrapping it around the sides (Samsung Galaxy Edge) are considered the pinnacle of design innovation, you know the industry has stagnated.
2011 truly was the pinnacle, IMO. There were vertical and horizontal sliders, there were flip phones, there were varying sizes of slabs, a bunch of different button layouts, etc. Now? It’s all just rectangles with touchscreens and nothing else.