Rumor: Nintendo NX console runs on modified version Android

The Nintendo NX, a console that the Japanese manufacturer suddenly mentioned for the first time a few months ago, would run on Google’s mobile operating system Android. This is reported by the usually reliable Japanese business newspaper Nikkei, based on an anonymous source.

With the step to base the software of the NX on Android, Nintendo wants to make it easier for game developers to develop games, claims Nikkei. The Japanese manufacturer is willing to take that step, because many game developers have dropped out of development for the Wii U.

It is still unknown what exactly the NX is. It could be a console or handheld, but Nikkei won’t comment on that. Nintendo did want to mention NX in March that it was a ‘new concept in gaming’.

Because large parts of Android are open source, manufacturers other than Google can adjust and release the software themselves to their own taste. It is also possible that Nintendo has the NX approved by Google itself, after which it contains all Google services. Nintendo’s wording indicated that it could be about virtual reality.