Ubisoft CEO says Nintendo's NX is looking 'really great'

From what he's seen and what he knows, Yves Guillemot believes the mysterious NX console will advance the industry and attract casual gamers.

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Nintendo distributed development kits for its codenamed "NX" console back in October 2015, and Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot thinks it has potential.

During an earnings call regarding the company's fourth-quarter FY 2016 results (via GameSpot), Guillemot gave impressions of Nintendo's forthcoming console ahead of its planned March 2017 launch. "On the NX, what we have seen is really great. We think having a new machine coming is going to help the industry to continue to grow and to take a lot more casual players back to the industry."

Nintendo seems to be casting a wide net with the NX. While it's rumored to be less powerful than PS4's Neo and Xbox One's Scorpio hardware refreshes, other sources indicate some cutting-edge hardware such as speedy and beefy cartridges and a mysterious hardware hook that the company prefers to keep in its back pocket for the time being.

NX will be suitable for more traditional games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, due to launch for the Wii U and NX next March, too.

Nintendo has promised to divulge NX details later this year. We might get insight sooner rather than later: the Big N is scheduled to share earnings from Q4 of its 2016 fiscal year on July 27. The last time Nintendo talked to investors, we learned that it was targeting a Q1 2017 release window for launch.

Long Reads Editor

David L. Craddock writes fiction, nonfiction, and grocery lists. He is the author of the Stay Awhile and Listen series, and the Gairden Chronicles series of fantasy novels for young adults. Outside of writing, he enjoys playing Mario, Zelda, and Dark Souls games, and will be happy to discuss at length the myriad reasons why Dark Souls 2 is the best in the series. Follow him online at davidlcraddock.com and @davidlcraddock.

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  • reply
    July 19, 2016 3:04 PM

    David Craddock posted a new article, Ubisoft CEO says Nintendo's NX is looking 'really great'

    • reply
      July 19, 2016 3:29 PM

      Well, if ubi thinks it's looking great, then it must be doomed.

    • reply
      July 19, 2016 5:18 PM

      They need to tie in pokeman go to it somehow and the fucker will fly off the shelves.

    • reply
      July 19, 2016 5:58 PM

      Didn't they say the same thing about the Wii U and then they suddenly started talking shit about it later?

    • Zek legacy 10 years legacy 20 years
      reply
      July 19, 2016 10:09 PM

      Ubisoft has always been something of a fair weather friend to Nintendo systems. They put out a handful of mediocre games in thelaunch window and then quickly move on.

      • reply
        July 20, 2016 7:25 AM

        On Wii U. They milked the regular Wii hard though with piles of games that collectively sold shit loads for a while .

    • reply
      July 20, 2016 6:51 AM

      "We think having a new machine coming is going to help the industry to continue to grow and to take a lot more casual players back to the industry."

      Not exactly a glowing endorsement. He's also not saying that the system itself is anything, just having something "new" it what should help drive sales. That's true, but not in that it would help the company financially; similar to the Wii U I mean. What he didn't say was the hardware itself was exciting. That omission could be telling.

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      July 20, 2016 6:52 AM

      Also, I still think it'll be the Tokyo Game Show where they'll announce the details. Unless they do a full separate press briefing; which isn't unprecedented either.

    • reply
      July 20, 2016 7:05 AM

      stopped reading after Ubisoft

    • reply
      July 20, 2016 7:24 AM

      I hope they keep the name. They won't, but NX sounds way better than anything they picked recently, and it's similar to their approach with DS.

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