As if Nintendo needed to cause any more confusion over just what in in God’s name the Nintendo NX actually is, the company’s president, Tatsumi Kimishima has added to the secrecy by stating that the hardware will “be a new way of playing games,” but won’t be a direct successor to the Wii U or the 3DS.
In an interview with Japanese website Asahi Shinbun (via IGN), Kimishima said:
The NX is neither the successor to the Wii U nor to the 3DS. It’s a new way of playing games, which I think will have a larger impact than the Wii U, but I don’t feel it’s a pure replacement for the Wii U.
At this point, we’re surprised that betting outlets haven’t started giving odds on what the hardware will ultimately end up being. They’d make a killing. As of now, the most popular rumor doing the rounds has pegged the NX as being some sort of console/handheld hybrid that can be used as either by way of a removable peripheral not dissimilar to how Wii U owners can use the GamePad’s on-board screen to play games.
How much longer can the Big N go on avoiding direct questions involving the Nintendo NX‘s specifications and features? Quite a long time, would be our guess. We already know the device won’t be making an appearance at next month’s E3 event, so we likely won’t get any additional concrete info until later in the year. The Tokyo Game Show, perhaps?