In the absence of any official word from Nintendo in regards to what the Nintendo NX will be, do or even look like, fans have taken it upon themselves to dig up any tiny morsels they can find in an effort to piece together as many details as possible on the mystery device.
Following on from previous rumors that the NX would play cartridge-based games rather than discs, several trademarks spotted by a NeoGAF user (via IGN) appear to heavily imply it to be true. See below for a trademark listing for Wii U game The Wonderful 101, which specifically mentions “video game discs” under Goods and Services.
Now, compare that to another trademark (below) for The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes for the 3DS. Video game discs has been replaced by video game cartridges – expected, considering the 3DS utilizes SD cards.
Finally, we come to the most intriguing listing. A trademark filed on June 14 for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of The Wild – a game which Nintendo has already confirmed will be releasing for the Wii U and NX – mentions both cartridges and discs under the same listing.
Despite looking like conclusive evidence that the Nintendo NX will use support cartridges over discs, IGN notes that a listing for 3DS exclusive Ever Oasis lists both the former and discs, so it could just be a case of Nintendo changing how they trademark their own products.
The Nintendo NX launches in March 2017, but you can probably expect to hear more news on the console later this year directly from the horse’s mouth.