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Nintendo NX won't use Android. Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.

Nintendo: It's not true

Everyone: So it MUST be true.

I swear...I don't even care if its true or not, it's just funny how reverse psychology you guys all are on how badly you seem to want this to be true.

How Nintendo handles most rumors is to ignore them. When Nintendo comments on a rumor with a public statement whether for or against, it generally means they have something actually at stake in said rumor.
 

thefro

Member
There's a whole range of possibilities here so we're not going to know who was truthful until people dig into the NX's OS (barring Nintendo announcing a partnership with Google).

They could be doing something totally new that isn't Android, using a Linux kernel similar to it, making a new OS using pieces of Android code, making a new Android fork, etc.
 

tuffy

Member
Either way, I don't think it's going to matter to me directly as an end user. Even if Nintendo uses some version of Android as a base OS, they're still going to modify the hell out of it for their own needs along with providing a custom UI. Like how the Dreamcast used WinCE for some titles (and even had a "Powered by Windows CE" on the console) but nobody really knew or cared which ones those were.
 
What evidence. There is clearly two examples show cased in this topic on the very first page alone of Nintendo denying rumors from Japanese press in this case Asahi Shimbun about the DS successor, which Nintendo denied, only for them to reverse the denial and confirm on their own terms.

And borrow a quote from Kotaku.

In Oct. 2009, the Nikkei reported that Nintendo was releasing a larger DSi, with two four inch screens. Shortly thereafter, Nintendo replied that the Nikkei article was "speculative".

On Oct. 29, Nintendo revealed the DSi XL, a larger version of the DSi with two 4.2-inch screens. Likewise, the Nikkei story was correct.


Just because Nintendo denies a rumor doesn't mean it's been outright shutdown. Being so close to E3, Nintendo will naturally want control the news flow and again, confirm any information on their own terms. Even if that means outright claiming rumors and speculation as false when it could very well be true.

As is case when a precedent for this already exists and shown in above two examples.

You don't see the important wording difference between "that article is speculative" and “There is no truth to the report saying that we are planning to adopt Android for NX?”

An article can be speculative and still end up true. If "there is no truth" to the report, then there's really no other way that can be interpreted.

Honestly, look up past Nintendo denials that have proved true. They all leave Nintendo an out. Not this one.
 
It's weird that Nintendo denies it so quickly.
This only means that it'll be true.

They did the same with the 3DS XL, right before E3.
This is what I'm also thinking. But if anyone can turn around the negative perception of game consoles "powered by Android", it's likely gonna be Nintendo.
 

Heartfyre

Member
Is it just as ludicrous to hold the position they wont use it when ppl have already posted examples of them saying one thing and doing another? Its a two way street.

XL and mobile gaming are 2 huge ones IMO.

So Nintendo is in a position where it can't deny anything because they can't be trusted. Sucks for them. Is silence better, then?

I would look at the language of both statements. They didn't deny the XL existed: they called it speculative. Which it was, yet correct speculation. They said they had no plans to release games on mobile. That was true for a long time. Now they're going to release games, but not mainline titles. Instead, there'll be games that better fit the style of games made for mobile, yet using existing IP. It's not the same scenario that they were denying initially, but undoubtedly, some plans did change.

In this case, it's much firmer language. There's "no truth" to it, rather than being mere speculation. Interpret that how you please, but I've chosen mine.

You can make the argument that they're framing things to their advantage, but seeing swathes of posts simply interpreting the opposite of what Nintendo is saying is obstinate, and is just setting oneself up for likely disappointment.
 
So Nintendo is in a position where it can't deny anything because they can't be trusted. Sucks for them. Is silence better, then?

I would look at the language of both statements. They didn't deny the XL existed: they called it speculative. Which it was, yet correct speculation. They said they had no plans to release games on mobile. That was true for a long time. Now they're going to release games, but not mainline titles. Instead, there'll be games that better fit the style of games made for mobile, yet using existing IP. It's not the same scenario that they were denying initially, but undoubtedly, some plans did change.

In this case, it's much firmer language. There's "no truth" to it, rather than being mere speculation. Interpret that how you please, but I've chosen mine.

You can make the argument that they're framing things to their advantage, but seeing swathes of posts simply interpreting the opposite of what Nintendo is saying is obstinate, and is just setting oneself up for likely disappointment.

There is plenty of room for Nintendo to wiggle in their statement... All they said is that they weren't adopting Android. I'd say this is 100% true... Nintendo isn't going to release a system with a pure Android operating system... but as many have pointed out, Nintendo would likely modify the OS heavily if they used it... As Linux is the base for Android, Android could be the base for the next OS while still being something unique.
 
I would look at the language of both statements. They didn't deny the XL existed: they called it speculative. Which it was, yet correct speculation. They said they had no plans to release games on mobile. That was true for a long time. Now they're going to release games, but not mainline titles. Instead, there'll be games that better fit the style of games made for mobile, yet using existing IP. It's not the same scenario that they were denying initially, but undoubtedly, some plans did change.


Nintendo did specifically deny plans to make mini-games, not full fledged titles, for mobile devices after Nikkei reported it. Say what you will about semantics but Nikkei has a very good track record.
 

Who

Banned
As a lifelong Nintendo fanboy and a close follower of all things Nintendo over the years, my Nintuition™(Trademark pending) is telling that they are indeed using android in some form or fashion for their next OS.

I for one think this will be a good thing based off what I've read. Someone care to persuade me otherwise to why this is bad?
 

FiggyCal

Banned
As a lifelong Nintendo fanboy and a close follower of all things Nintendo over the years, my Nintuition™(Trademark pending) is telling that they are indeed using android in some form or fashion for their next OS.

I for one think this will be a good thing based off what I've read. Someone care to persuade me otherwise to why this is bad?

Surely it'll be too easy to develop for, maybe even receive too much support from indie devs who are already developing for mobile platforms.
 
As a lifelong Nintendo fanboy and a close follower of all things Nintendo over the years, my Nintuition™(Trademark pending) is telling that they are indeed using android in some form or fashion for their next OS.

I for one think this will be a good thing based off what I've read. Someone care to persuade me otherwise to why this is bad?

The obvious concern would be security, as its pretty easy to root the Android OS. Both Nokia's and Amazon's forks were rooted very quickly, so it really depends on what precautions they take.
 

FiggyCal

Banned
The obvious concern would be security, as its pretty easy to root the Android OS. Both Nokia's and Amazon's forks were rooted very quickly, so it really depends on what precautions they take.

Do you mean security as in for your private information? Or for Nintendo's sake that people might try to mess with the OS? Because if it's only the latter, I wouldn't consider that an issue for myself or any other owner of the console.
 
Do you mean security as in for your private information? Or for Nintendo's sake that people might try to mess with the OS? Because if it's only the latter, I wouldn't consider that an issue for myself or any other owner of the console.

The latter. The risk of piracy is the obvious concern but there's no way of knowing until/if more information is released about what sort of Android fork they are using/developing.
 

NolbertoS

Member
I'm willing to bet the velocity of Nintendo dismissing the rumour means that the Android OS on NX has legs or at the very least Nintendo is tinkering with the OS. Don't be so quick to shut down Nikkei, GAF. They have a better track record than most "insiders" on GAF on what Nintendo is working on. I'm sure at E3 more rumours will abound or Nintendo will give us a quick teaser on things related to the NX.
 
It just makes sense to at least build off of a version of Linux. For Nintendo to design and support their own modern OS from scratch just seems a monumental task and waste of resources. Iwata has recently emphasized how Nintendo should focus on their strengths while using other companies to cover their weaknesses. Well, their OS has been a huge weakness this gen.
 

Carlisle

Member
The latter. The risk of piracy is the obvious concern but there's no way of knowing until/if more information is released about what sort of Android fork they are using/developing.

Yeah, this is why the rumor made no sense to me. After the Wii and DS being cracked wide open, and the Wii U and 3DS being relatively far more secure, why would they then backtrack and use one of the most easily (and often) exploitable operating systems there is?
 

Ridley327

Member
Yeah, this is why the rumor made no sense to me. After the Wii and DS being cracked wide open, and the Wii U and 3DS being relatively far more secure, why would they then backtrack and use one of the most easily (and often) exploitable operating systems there is?

I would think they'd be focusing on locking it down for their own purposes. I doubt they'd be sticking to stock Android and calling it a day.
 
I wasn't really convinced by the news but do people still believe that Android is a sub par OS?

Android can be really different from what you have on your Nexus you know.

In fact, Nintendo denying it this quick and the NX Platform being used a lot by Nintendo makes me think that even if it's not Android they are going for this sort of approach so maybe a more dedicated OS but with Android platform compatibility?

I guess we'll see next year, I'm here to play games and I don't really care what is in the console since it's delivering fun all over my face.
 
IIRC, they 3DS XL rumors were inaccurate. I think the battery life and the screen size weren't the same as it turned out to be
As for whether or not Nintendo should use android comes down to piracy. Android is afflicted greatly by it, has been for awhile, not sure if that makes the NX more hackable/pirate able than if it didn't use android.
Other than that, I guess it makes some sense. A lot of people are experienced with developing for android.
Unless I'm misunderstanding what "using android" means
 
I would think they'd be focusing on locking it down for their own purposes. I doubt they'd be sticking to stock Android and calling it a day.

The thing is history has shown that it doesn't matter. Amazon developed a heavily modified fork of Android when creating the Fire OS, but that was also rooted fairly quickly.
 
I think most people who were scared don't know what Android actually is.

This is what i get reading the old thread and this one.
One of the only negatives of android based could be the piracy rampant on that OS (and that can be ahuge disadvantage that would be aperfect motive to not want android OS). But is like some people here are confusing OS with the type of power the hardware could have.

There are windows 7s installed on shitty hardware and in supercomputers right now, so why is one thing have to do with the other?

Doesnt matter either way. Exciting times are ahead.
 

D_prOdigy

Member
There's obviously a motivation to flat-out deny a new hardware model even if one is coming.

I can't see the motivation to deny this if it's true.

Can anyone else?

A shame because it sounded quite forward-thinking.
 

Ridley327

Member
Is anything root-proof?

That's what it comes down to for me, really. Regardless of what Nintendo adopts, there will be guys doing everything they can to get their foot in the backdoor. And even with wide-open systems like the DS and Wii, they still managed to sell a crapload of software.
 
I don't understand why some Nintendo fans are scared to death of the mere idea that it could use an android based OS. You think Nintendo is going to give you access to the play store or something? Start making all their games F2P? It will probably be so heavily modified that you would have no idea it was even android unless you were told. And whatever the NX is, whether it's a tablet, some sort of hybrid, a ouya set top box or even a fucking watch it probably would have been that with or without android. You guys are working yourselves up and getting overly defensive over nothing.
 
There's obviously a motivation to flat-out deny a new hardware model even if one is coming.

I can't see the motivation to deny this if it's true.

Can anyone else?

A shame because it sounded quite forward-thinking.

The single biggest motivation that I can think of is that Nintendo would not want someone else to describe the features of their next product before they could. Typically, a company wants to make sure that they set the expectations first so that the public doesn't have the wrong impression of what the product is actually going to be like.

In this case, if Nintendo was actually working on an Android-based platform (which I still believe they are), they would not be actually describing it as such. Using the word "Android" makes people think of their phones and tablets (see the other thread for some great examples), and gives people the impression that the NX is a mobile platform. Nintendo has been very adamant about portraying the NX as a dedicated game system (by the fact that we even know about it right now), so this kind of rumor had to be quashed in order to maintain that expectation regardless of whether it was true or not.

In the case that Nintendo does use an Android fork, they would probably want to reveal it after they demonstrate the basic capabilities of the NX so that people don't ask about mobile. I don't actually see Nintendo highlighting Android at all quite honestly, since they would probably put in enough work from the base that it doesn't resemble anything that the public would know about Android.
 

Ridley327

Member
There's obviously a motivation to flat-out deny a new hardware model even if one is coming.

I can't see the motivation to deny this if it's true.

Can anyone else?

A shame because it sounded quite forward-thinking.

That's an easy one: they're focused right now on their current business, and they want to discuss NX on their own terms and away from having to be gung-ho about trying to sell more Wii Us and 3DSs.
 
People are still in denial, huh? Based random Nintendo spokesman. Love the title change, by the way.

Nintendo denies EVERY rumor, even the ones that turn out to be true... like this one will. Nikkei has a near perfect track record when it comes to Nintendo rumors.
 
What's wrong with them using Android, anyway?


I'm not sure there is anything really wrong with it.

I just don't care to see Nintendo's next generation turn into something resembling Google Play, where there is no ethic or quality control. I get enough of a whiff of that with some of the shovelware padding Nintendo's eShop now.
 

E-phonk

Banned
Are there any devices using modified Android that are root-proof?

According to this:
http://forums.androidcentral.com/sa...04959-can-verizon-s5-5-0-lollipop-rooted.html
The verizon S5 can only be rooted by replacing it's rom with a similar samsung rom that is rootable. In nintendo's case it would make your device useless.

I don't actually see Nintendo highlighting Android at all quite honestly, since they would probably put in enough work from the base that it doesn't resemble anything that the public would know about Android.

Agree - they won't make android a feature, they'll make easy portability a feature towards devs.
 

Ridley327

Member
I'm not sure there is anything really wrong with it.

I just don't care to see Nintendo's next generation turn into something resembling Google Play.

It's not like an entirely closed system has stopped utter shit like Meme Run from releasing on the eShop.
 

DieH@rd

Banned
Sad news. Android would give them ease of game development and easy access to scalable modern hardware architectures.

But no, they will use some exotic and poorly documented stuff again...
 

Berordn

Member
You're right, but I hope it doesn't go much farther than that.

Shovelware's gonna happen regardless of what OS they use as their base. It won't turn into Google Play, but it'll still have garbage popping up on whatever the equivalent for Warawara plaza is. It's just the nature of the beast.
 

Bioshocker

Member
Of course they'll deny it at this early stage. If they announce it at E3 next year no one will hold it against them anyway. Better keep all the cards close to the chest.
 
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