The day is finally here! There were rumors that Nintendo would unveil their next console, codenamed NX, tomorrow, but we don’t even have to wait another day! They’re pulling back the curtain today at 10AM ET, so let’s take a quick look at what we can expect to learn from this announcement. (We’ll embed it above when it’s live.)
Nintendo’s brief release about the impending announcement states that, “This preview trailer will serve as Nintendo’s preliminary announcement of information regarding the platform.” We’ll by no means learn everything about the NX from just this short trailer, which is slated to be about three minutes long. Instead, we’ll probably get confirmation on a lot of the speculation so far—plus a whole lot more to speculate about.
The name: This is an easy one, but today will probably see the “NX” name disappear in place of the system’s proper title. As far as what that name will be, we can’t really say, other than that it won’t be a continuation of the Wii/Wii U naming structure. We’ll have to wait and see whether or not it’s still compatible with rampant toilet humor.
The handheld/console hybrid thing: This is all but a given at this point, but we’ll actually see what the NX looks like and get confirmation on the reports that it’s a fully portable system with a similar look to the Wii U gamepad, but one that can also plug into your TV. We’ll find out about how the supposedly detachable control sections on the sides work. We’ll also probably learn whether the rumors of the NX using cartridges instead of discs are true. Expect there to be just as many questions about hardware specifics after seeing it as before, though. We’ll likely all be taking screenshots of the trailer and wondering what unexplained, out-of-focus parts of the console do.
Games: We’ll likely see the NX play at least one currently unknown game, which we have to imagine will be a Mario title at this point. We may also see another one or even a few new ones, each specifically geared to demonstrate different functionality of the hardware. It’s possible that some gameplay used to show off the system will just be tech demos, but with the hardware nearing its supposed launch in March, they hopefully have plenty of complete or nearly complete games to use instead. With things being quiet on the Wii U software front for a long time, we could be in for some unexpected new game announcements.
Launch: The launch date will probably be confirmed—at vaguest, I’d expect a launch window to be reaffirmed. It’s possible that it will be later than the March 2017 window currently anticipated, but we should have a firmer idea after today.
Price: The system’s pricing could be announced alongside the launch window, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Nintendo hold off on announcing it until later.
Specs: Don’t expect Nintendo to reveal anything concrete about where the hardware falls in terms of sheer graphical power. They’ll probably let whatever games they use as a demo do the talking on this front without giving any actual data.
(image via Nintendo)
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