Rumor: Nintendo NX will be hybrid with powerful chips

Nintendo’s upcoming console, tentatively called NX, will consist of a console and a mobile device. The two parts can be used together or separately and Nintendo will use ‘leading chips’, claims the Wall Street Journal.

The American newspaper, which has good sources within the tech industry, writes that the mobile part of the NX can be used on the go, unlike the GamePad of the Wii U. Nintendo’s goal is to use industry-leading chips. This could also indicate economical chips, but the newspaper explicitly writes that the company wants to opt for leading chips because of the criticism that the Wii U is not powerful enough compared to the PS4 and Xbox One.

The WSJ will not provide details about the NX, but it does seem that Nintendo is on track to release the system in 2016. The company is said to have already started distributing the SDK for the NX. This is a sign that the hardware probably won’t change much anymore. Game developers can now start creating or porting games to the console so that they are ready when the device is released.

The provision of the SDK is in line with earlier rumors that production of the console will start in the fall of 2015. Nintendo may be in a hurry with the release, as sales of the Wii U have been disappointing since its launch.