More NX rumours!

Another day and yet another fist fall of NX rumours and 'details' this times coming from a reliable source and a Nintendo hardware partner.

Namco Bandai!
Lets start of with the most "fun" rumour, Todays fresh heap comes from Dr Serkan Toto an analyst from Japan who has very strong ties across the industry there. He has been pretty reliable on these things, such as outing Nintendo's mobile plans. Now the good doctor brings news from "solid sources" that Namco Bandai is working on several NX titles including a "Super Smash Bros for launch" and Dr Toto was quick to add his source didn't say if this was smash 5 or a remaster of 4 but given how much works go into Smash an "master" version of Smash 4 (an combination of the content found in Smash 3DS, Smash Wii U and their DLC) seems to be more likely.

It's also worth noting that Namco Bandai have an Free to Play action game launching for Wii U in the near future; seems foolish to keep that on Wii U. Namco Bandai is all so preparing for the launch of Tekken 7 and seeing as Tag Tournament 2 hit Wii U as well its certainly possible.

Macronix!I know exactly what your thinking "who the hell?" well Macronix is not a brand new mecha Sonic but is actually a specialist in " non-volatile" memory chips such as ROM and flash. Marconix actually have a long history with Nintendo and is behind the memory in the DS and 3DS game cartridges. During a quarterly earning review the company's president Cy Lu announced that are partnering with Nintendo for the NX, here is the translated (from Taiwanese) announcement.

Prestigious Japanese videogame console maker Nintendo will launch a new console called NX this year. General Manager of Macronix, CY Lu, said Macronix will provide products for NX and that Macronix has considerable expectations to NX.

In the afternoon, Macronix had held an online conference for investors. As Nintendo is going to launch new console NX this year, investors concern about if Macronix, which have a long-term cooperative relationship with Nintendo, is still part of NX's supply chain.

CY Lu said Macronix will supply memory slots for NX, and that the company has considerable expectation to NX.

Even though CY Lu declined to comment whether the supplied products are ROM, he said he expects ROM sales this year will be exceptional.

So it seems that will be some kind of NX release this year, whilst all still not knowing what it is yet but a lot of surveys and analysts claim an "NX Handheld" this year.

Abe Take
its hard to take rumour's seriously but these are some pretty heavy ones. They say the more people involved in a Conspiracy the quicker its uncovered. With Nintendo its always as more third parties (as in people not Nintendo and not game publishers) are involved the less leak proof they become.

The involvement of the DS/3DS card makers dose give me cause for concern IF the upcoming console is some hybrid as it implies the two devices having different mediums. This implies that the two devices wont have a unified games list but be like the PS3/Vita where only certain games got a port.

A new Conan game... and its not what you'd expect.

Yep an all new Conan the Barbarian game is on its way, the franchise is just perfect for video game adaptation, yet there has not been a great one. Sure theres been some solid attempts such Age as Conan but so far Conan has his "Shadows of Mordor" moment. Now this turn is unlikely to be that moment but sounds interesting enough.

Now if there is one genre that's come to dominate the PC early access scene its the survival sim (personally I blame Minecraft for this) and outside a couple of themed games (DayZ and ARK) these games are a little... generic. So here's one that throwing Conan's blend of hard fantasy and gritty mystical elements. Check out the rather uninformative but effective tone setting trailer.

        

Fortunately here's the official rundown of the game from the site which is much more helpful and sounds very Conan-like. Keep an eye out for "sacrifices" and "bone-crushing".

You are an exile, one of thousands cast out to fend for themselves in a barbaric wasteland swept by terrible sandstorms and besieged on every side by enemies. Here you must fight to survive, build and dominate.

Hungry, thirsty and alone, your very first battle is that against the harsh environment. Grow crops or hunt animals for food. Harvest resources to build weapons and tools. Build a shelter to survive. Ride across a vast world and explore alone, or band together with other players to build entire settlements and strongholds to withstand fierce invasions.

When strong enough, march forth into battle and wage war against your enemies as you fight to dominate the exiled lands. Sacrifice enemy players on the altars of the gods and shift the balance of power your way. Unleash your fury in savage, fast-paced combat and execute bloody and bone-crushing attacks that will see heads rolling and limbs flying.

Conan will be launching early access on PC in the summer with "full launch" on both PC and consoles afterwards. Hopefully we'll get more useful information soon.

Abe's Take
I'm an fan of these survival games and the Conan twist could be awesome. I do worry about how well this will do on PC as the format is just chock full of these games. However on console this could do very well, the Dinosaur infused survival game Ark: Survival Evolved is currently doing better on Xbox One than PC due to a lack of competition. If Conan Exiles can launch on consoles in a solid and polished state it can be hit, the problem is more are coming both Rust and DayZ are on the way.

We're back with NX rumours

Better grab some a fistful of Valium or a pinch of salt. We're back with a nice new look and this time we've brought with us some tasty NX rumours with us. Today's info comes and Nintendo affiliated survey, the Wall Street Journal and fresh news from an Nindie developer.

Bernd Geilblinger, A name you probably don't know but you may however know his studio Bplus or its games "Puzzle Box". Today he announced that a new version of his game for Steam, A loyal fan asked (via FACEBOOK) if this would be available as an update for the 3DS game "puzzlebox setup" an his answer was an surprise "No as this was developed for the NX"... Interesting here's the rest

Not possible cause this game is made for NX but modified to be released on Steam earlier cause sadly I'm not able to wait til NX and need to release this game soon. But the Steam-Version will see some Updates and grow, grow and grow AND you can create Levels to use in several modes and share them with NX players too!!NX Version will be different in many kinds - and cause of the controls you will be able to use 8 different colors instead of 4! ... which opens possibilities to completely different pictures and modes for NX Version.Puzzle Box Setup was an game play experiment on Nintendo 3DS and it was a big success. It will grow with time and player input to become a great Puzzle Box smile emoticon

Cannot talk about something specific before Nintendo announces a the new platform - you know

Others have commented on the colour number (2nd paragraph) being in relation to the number of "wheels" a PC mouse has vs the NX. Hmmm two wheels, that's familiar?

Yep that's the one! The dev seems to confirm not only this Nintendo patent for "scrollable shoulder buttons" imagine the normal LB/RB replaced with the mouse wheel. (Just a heads up this does not mean the NX pad looks like the above. The patent images only features details relevant to the technology involved.). But the dev also seems to confirm another leak (from the Wall Street Journal) that the NX will interact with tablets, mobiles, PC's and even rival systems such as the PS4.

Earlier another leak this time from GFK a client of Nintendo who handles surveys seems to let slip some more NX details. They do actual raise some important questions.

• Exclusive game franchises featuring Mario, Zelda, Donkey Kong and more
• Connect with other Nintendo players around the world via the Nintendo Network
• Gameplay flows between Nintendo NX console and Nintendo NX handheld device
• Earn and share gaming achievements, triumphs, and defeats with your gaming friends and the Nintendo gaming community
• Surf the Web or make video calls on your TV
• Support 4K/60fps streaming
• Gameplay graphics at 900p/60fps

Namely what is 900p/60FPS mean? is that the performance for the NX console or is it referring to a screen on the controller/handheld. The survey also mentions the device having a sensor bar and suggest the NX will play both Wii U retail and digital games. The survey goes on to say that the Nintendo Network will off a rotating list of 150 games for free with a subscription (from block busters to Indie titles) and even mentions gameplay 'flowing between' the console and the handheld

Another piece of info claims that Nintendo will unveil the NX's concept (not the machine) before E3 with the full reveal at the convention. They continue to say the NX's handheld component would launch this Christmas and the home unit will become available early 2016.

Update: Its now flying around that the brilliant Xenoblade Chronicles X will be getting a more story focused sequel on the NX complete with save transfer! However there appears to be no source so grab a fist full of salt.

Abe's TakeAll that info and we know one thing for certain... we know nothing! Whilst it's true we're starting to get an idea of what Nintendo's new machine is but important details like WHAT IT ACTUALLY IS still alludes us.

I'm hopefuly Nintendo is moving away from the Wii name, that caused so many issues during that important first year which seems to be the case as Nintendo's in store marketing has seen an transition from the grey logo of the Wii era and back to the classic red.