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jroc74 · Jun 2, 2015

Ninja Scooter said:
Is it possible they could be doing so much building on and skinning of android that by the time it's done they don't consider it android? I mean whenever this thing is announced I'm not expecting them to come out there with an android logo plastered all over the place.

Just like the Nokia X. They dont even refer to it as Android....like its already been mentioned Amazon also calls theirs FireOS.

I dont think Amazon minds it being considered Android. MS and Nokia dont want any parts of the Android connection...lol.

Bottom line: its gonna be interesting to see what software and hardware they choose going forward.

Condom · Jun 2, 2015

bomblord1 said:
Which version of android are you comparing it too? Almost every major manufacturer has their own skin on it each with their own myriad of performance problems. Vanilla android has been nothing but speedy in my testing though.

Talking about Android at core, the Java usage etc.

Kreed · Jun 2, 2015

jhmtehgamr20xx said:
The problem is Nintendo just isn't very good at developing an OS compared to Microsoft or Sony, and especially compared to Google. They got into that game too late and are paying the price. They should put away their pride and utilize an OS that has lots of features and been proven time and again on the market, customizing it for their particular needs.

That way they can focus more on what they're actually good at: making games.

Unrelated to consoles at this point, but Sony is switching a lot of their product Operating Systems to Android too (Smart TVs, phones, etc...).

jroc74 · Jun 2, 2015

Kreed said:
Unrelated to consoles at this point, but Sony is switching a lot of their product Operating Systems to Android too (Smart TVs, phones, etc...).

And you know what? If Sony was to one day switch the PS to a forked version of Android....so be it. PS is my main console right now. Last gen it was split 3 ways early on.

Maggots · Jun 2, 2015

Someone correct me if I'm wrong... But Just because an OS is on a system doesn't mean games must be made for that OS right?

I mean it could be any OS but the development kit for games could be completely based on the hardware couldn't it...

Would it be possible that games development could have nothing to do with the OS? Or rather, applications could be created for the OS part of the system but games could be developed in a more "traditional" console manor?

would we lose OS functionality if games bypassed the OS?

I guess my point is... Just because the device is android based doesnt mean the games will be.

Pokemaniac · Jun 2, 2015

Maggots said:
Someone correct me if I'm wrong... But Just because an OS is on a system doesn't mean games must be made for that OS right?

I mean it could be any OS but the development kit for games could be completely based on the hardware couldn't it...

Would it be possible that games development could have nothing to do with the OS? Or rather, applications could be created for the OS part of the system but games could be developed in a more "traditional" console manor?

would we lose OS functionality if games bypassed the OS?

I guess my point is... Just because the device is android based doesnt mean the games will be.

You... don't really know what you're talking about. I mean, sure, it is possible for Nintendo to add a firmware mode that allows games to run on bare metal, but if they do, it will only be used for backwards compatibility.

Maggots · Jun 2, 2015

Pokemaniac said:
You... don't really know what you're talking about. I mean, sure, it is possible for Nintendo to add a firmware mode that allows games to run on bare metal, but if they do, it will only be used for backwards compatibility.

I wasn't suggesting bare metal but rather the traditional open GL model... but I mean wii Practically shuts down its OS... Wii U suspends it... Wii U games and PS4 games aren't made for the OS are they? Sure there's a certain amount of interfacing that the games do with the OS but as far as being programmed specifically for (running natively in) that OS ...

enlighten me then.

Mavromatis · Jun 2, 2015

I hope they deal with intel and get an x86 based android on that machine. But looking at their past they'll probably stick to ARM.
Also keeping android under lock is as easy as keeping 3ds locked. And after ensuring the lock and integrating eshop as the market Nintendo's software departments can work on more useful stuff, like a proper internet social services and such.

But somehow I fear and feel that this will be a streaming stick/machine in competition with shield and steambox in other words a gimmick in a non market.

10k · Jun 2, 2015

Intel and Nvidia combo, please Nintendo!

Pokemaniac · Jun 2, 2015

Maggots said:
I wasn't suggesting bare metal but rather the traditional open GL model... but I mean wii Practically shuts down its OS... Wii U suspends it... Wii U games and PS4 games aren't made for the OS are they? Sure there's a certain amount of interfacing that the games do with the OS but as far as being programmed specifically for (running natively in) that OS ...

enlighten me then.

Wii doesn't really even have an OS. Wii games effectively run on bare metal. All Wii does have is IOS, which runs on a completely separate CPU. IOS does do some things that an OS would traditionally do, but it is really more of a black box that software can issue requests to.

Wii U and PS4 games all run on an OS. I think your issue is that you're conflating the system UI with the entire OS. The OS does lots of things in the background, like managing access to hardware and running services. It even provides some level of hardware abstraction. When you start a game, the OS just spawns a new process, and the game executes in that.

Fourth Storm · Jun 2, 2015

10k said:
Intel and Nvidia combo, please Nintendo!

Don't do that to yourself.

Pokemaniac · Jun 2, 2015

10k said:
Intel and Nvidia combo, please Nintendo!

Nvidia burned that bridge during the 3DS dev cycle, and I don't think Intel licences their chips the way Nintendo would want.

Maggots · Jun 2, 2015

Pokemaniac said:
Wii doesn't really even have an OS. Wii games effectively run on bare metal. All Wii does have is IOS, which runs on a completely separate CPU. IOS does do some things that an OS would traditionally do, but it is really more of a black box that software can issue requests to.

Wii U and PS4 games all run on an OS. I think your issue is that you're conflating the system UI with the entire OS. The OS does lots of things in the background, like managing access to hardware and running services. It even provides some level of hardware abstraction. When you start a game, the OS just spawns a new process, and the game executes in that.

so modern consoles are more similar to a computer setup then... with a fully fledged (so to speak) OS running in the background and the game running within the OS environment

Pokemaniac said:
Nvidia burned that bridge during the 3DS dev cycle, and I don't think Intel licences their chips the way Nintendo would want.

more than that I think cost is an issue AMD is cheaper... also its both GPU and CPU from the same vendor... no need to cut separate deals with both Nvidia and Intel... AMD is a one stop shop.

synce · Jun 2, 2015

Okay so I guess next gen will be just gimped PCs. Yeah I don't see consoles lasting much longer.

crooked spin · Jun 2, 2015

synce said:
Okay so I guess next gen will be just gimped PCs. Yeah I don't see consoles lasting much longer.

Haven't the last 2-3 generations of consoles just been gimped PCs anyhow? I feel like it's a semantic trifle at this point.

KojiKnight · Jun 2, 2015

crooked spin said:
Haven't the last 2-3 generations of consoles just been gimped PCs anyhow? I feel like it's a semantic trifle at this point.

This... They may have been PowerPC based, but they were still essentially gimped PCs (which is why there were multiple flavors of Linux available for PS3 before Sony cut the feature).

v1oz · Jun 2, 2015

bomblord1 said:
Which version of android are you comparing it too? Almost every major manufacturer has their own skin on it each with their own myriad of performance problems. Vanilla android has been nothing but speedy in my testing though.

Yeah but you're only looking at the end user experience and UI.

Under the hood you don't know how hard developers are having to work to get acceptable performance compared to other platforms. I know audio developers have complained that Android is crap for real time low latency audio - its no where near as efficient a core audio. Nintendo still use a lot of midi and real time audio for their games.

RecursiveFault · Jun 2, 2015

As long as the store is curated, everything is daijoubu

Triplicates · Jun 3, 2015

I can't access the whole article in the OP but I assume this article from the Nikkei English magazine is more or less a straight translation.

There's not much that hasn't been discussed but it's a good read. It's interesting that some investors tried to replace Iwata with Minoru Arakawa.

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