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Nikkei: Nintendo's NX platform will use an Android OS

T

Theanine3D

Member
Uncle BAZINGA said:
I wonder if it's true if Android is capable of displaying proper graphics? I mean, I don't play mobile games, but those I see from time to time can't even compare to Wii U graphics.

I can imagine that they use android for the next handheld while using a dedicated os for the home console, but both with x86 hardware since their already were reports about Nintendo using AMD CPUs next time, no?
Click to expand...

I can play more 1080p 3D games on my FireTV (a living room Android machine smaller than a Wii U) than I can on my Wii U. With a USB gamepad, even.

There is nothing about Android that prevents "Proper graphics." Seems to be a common misconception.
 
R

Regulus Tera

Romanes Eunt Domus
Piracy actually helps sells hardware. It doesn't help software, but it boosts the numbers of consoles, particularly in countries where the devices gets imposed big tariffs.

edit: piracy is bad though and nobody should pirate video games
 
P

Pooya

Member
billeh said:
From an OS perspective, this is fantastic. Nintendo needs to stick do what they do best, GAMES. If using Android allows them to better focus on their core competencies, then I'm all in.

My main concern would be that most Android applications are ARM-based, and I'm not sure how well graphically it can compete with the x86 world on the XBO/PS4. Judging from what I've seen the Nvidia Shield put out, I think it might need a little more time in the over.
Click to expand...

android applications are now architecture independent since ART run time.

ARM is a CPU architecture...

Nividia Denver is more powerful than Jaguars.
 
C

Coldnoodle

Member
EmCeeGramr said:
piracy won't be that big of a deal once all the games are F2P anyway
Click to expand...

deGasdR.gif
 
N

Naked Prime

Member
If, and more than likely, the NX is their next hand held. The unit will likely have internal memory and no SD card or usb support. And considering where the r4 is today, piracy may not be an issue.

Also, having an Android based OS doesn't mean that the games, if ripped would be compatible with other Android devices, does it?
 
B

Bulbasaur

Banned
dafuq?


I don’t know man. That's quite a large departure. They've been haemorrhaging third parties since time immemorial - Did they really expect things to be so different for the Wii U that they are now giving up?
 
N

Nightbird

Member
Crayolan said:
WELL SHIT
Click to expand...

well as long as its safe i'll happily eat that crow since ir was my only concern

The Abominable Snowman said:
Yes, we saw how badly piracy killed the Wii, GBA and DS. As we all know, those three platforms were Nintendo's least profitable, rite?
Click to expand...

Not talking about Console Sales, but Software. Android piracy is in a whole different League compared to those Consoles.


I really hope that theres some very very heavy DRM-Stuff in there, because ither than that i have no issues with Android+Nintendo, since it would mean that all those Japanese Companies can come back
 
E

EmCeeGramr

Member
Bulbasaur said:
dafuq?


I don’t know man. That's quite a large departure. They've been haemorrhaging third parties since time immemorial - Did they really expect things to be so different for the Wii U that they are now giving up?
Click to expand...

I mean, they probably weren't expecting things to get so bad with the Wii U that third parties are openly laughing about the system on Twitter and at industry events
 
X

Xellos

Member
Nintendo made their own OS with Wii U and look how well that went. I had seemingly random hard-locks for the first year where the only solution was to unplug the console from the wall. Nintendo didn't add in the ability to reset the console by holding the power button until like a year, year-and-a-half later. Improvements have been made, but it's still pretty slow. Customizing an existing, widely used OS seems like a smart move. We might even get folders at launch.
 
F

Faustek

Member
I'm assuming that the piracy talks are from UsTwo saying that only 5% of Android installs(and 40% of iOS) where paid for.

Well if you missed it they did a follow up where they admitted to have fibbed some.
The paid ratio was correct but since they only tracked installs which also featured multiple downloads from the same accounts(multiple devices) and they didn't account for the multiple "free download" campaigns they had run in the past everything kinda fell in the toilet but no one really called them out for their previous bullshit. Which to me seemed as a PR cup to try and milk some money out of oafs like who felt sorry for them and bought it even though I will probably never play it.

This has always been the problem with iOS and Android. They see the downloads but not how many are from the same account and they have to manually keep tabs on how many downloads actually occurred during these free periods if anyone is to report it.

Source

One more thing. I Pirate f2p games every time I want to play anything Japanese since it takes forever to be released here in Sweden. I'm Geo blocked but that only counts for when I want to install it. They have no fucking problem at all to use my Swedish Visa/Mastercard when I tried it out.


EDIT: Ohhh and one more thing.

People that started that fusion rumor have some more meat to their bones now.
Normal Android apps scale decently depending on where you are at the moment.
And adding real gaming hardware to it and with a heavily modified Android OS Nintendo have really eased that path if they are actually going for it.
 
T

Trago

Member
Bulbasaur said:
dafuq?


I don’t know man. That's quite a large departure. They've been haemorrhaging third parties since time immemorial - Did they really expect things to be so different for the Wii U that they are now giving up?
Click to expand...

There hasn't been a worse situation with Nintendo and third parties now. A shift in focus is definitely believable.
 
M

MisterSamMan

Member
Nirolak said:
Okay so people don't seem to understand what Android is.

Android is:
-An operating system
-An operating system you can customize how you like
-An operating system with the ability to call down to the hardware at a low level

Android is not:
-A hardware architecture
-A mandate to be a phone
-A mandate to not be a walled garden
Click to expand...

Thank you so much :D

Haha, could we just place this in the OP?
 
V

VariantX

Member
Uncle BAZINGA said:
I wonder if it's true if Android is capable of displaying proper graphics? I mean, I don't play mobile games, but those I see from time to time can't even compare to Wii U graphics.

I can imagine that they use android for the next handheld while using a dedicated os for the home console, but both with x86 hardware since their already were reports about Nintendo using AMD CPUs next time, no?
Click to expand...

Android is not hardware. Graphical fidelity is determined by the hardware. Android just an OS. If sony, MS or Nintendo wanted to, the current consoles out now could be running android and they would have the same graphical fidelity as far as I know.
 
P

Polari

Member
Not really surprising at all. Potentially a big win for Android though if it attracts more developers to the platform.
 
E

Earthpainting

Member
Seems sensible. Maybe now they'll have a mature OS as a foundation to build on, so we hopefully won't have another WiiU on our hands in terms of inexplicable OS sluggishness. Iwata mentioned they were looking at Android as an example of consoles that do not seem to have software droughts, so maybe it was going to be more straight-forward than expected.

I don't see them adding a Playstore on their next console, but porting games should be relatively easy from a Playstore game to whatever NX certification requires. Adapt to some hardware and input standards, and you're golden in theory. I am kind of curious to hear how they'll deal with the latter though. The vast majority of Android-based games are made around touch controls, and a significant portion of them may have trouble translating the touch into buttons. One way around it is to incorporate touch as well, otherwise the ease of porting is a bit nullified.
 
D

drizzle

Axel Hertz
Ponn01 said:
And that was a pretty big deal back then too. This more so because of Nintendo's attitude towards a closed system and their approach to third parties. The implications something like this would mean could be a huge shift for them and the way they operate.

Honestly though thats why i'm taking it with a megaton of salt. I just don't see Nintendo going this route, its really unbelievable to me.
Click to expand...

GamerSoul said:
Really? Wow. I wrote a research paper on Windows CE for a class and i never came across this. But then again i was surprised to learn just how many embedded systems ran CE.
Click to expand...

To be completely honest, i'm being facetious: The Dreamcast indeed had support for Windows CE, but the OS was not embeded on the console itself. Most developers chose the Katana development tools created by Sega instead. However, some 50 games, including Sega Rally were made using whatever the implementation of it is. The Half-Life homebrew port to the system also did.

From what I understood from the translation of the article, however, is that the platform will use Android OS as it's main OS. That doesn't necessarily mean that it's a good or a bad thing. The way I see it, Nintendo is just trying their damnest to grab the Third Party support back and create a platform that can either span different hardware (like the Apple and Android quote from Iwata) or be both a mobile device and a device you plug into a TV.
 
S

SatoAilDarko

Member
Will this be there only console though?

I mean if it's Android with how easily hackable it is I wonder how they're going to combat that?
 
F

Foffy

Banned
Faustek said:
I'm assuming that the piracy talks are from UsTwo saying that only 5% of Android installs(and 40% of iOS) where paid for.

Well if you missed it they did a follow up where they admitted to have fibbed some.
The paid ratio was correct but since they only tracked installs which also featured multiple downloads from the same accounts(multiple devices) and they didn't account for the multiple "free download" campaigns they had run in the past everything kinda fell in the toilet but no one really called them out for their previous bullshit. Which to me seemed as a PR cup to try and milk some money out of oafs like who felt sorry for them and bought it even though I will probably never play it.

This has always been the problem with iOS and Android. They see the downloads but not how many are from the same account and they have to manually keep tabs on how many downloads actually occurred during these free periods if anyone is to report it.

Source

One more thing. I Pirate f2p games every time I want to play anything Japanese since it takes forever to be released here in Sweden. I'm Geo blocked but that only counts for when I want to install it. They have no fucking problem at all to use my Swedish Visa/Mastercard when I tried it out.


EDIT: Ohhh and one more thing.

People that started that fusion rumor have some more meat to their bones now.
Normal Android apps scale decently depending on where you are at the moment.
And adding real gaming hardware to it and with a heavily modified Android OS Nintendo have really eased that path if they are actually going for it.
Click to expand...

Your example of piracy doesn't really seem like piracy. It's copyright infringement.
 
C

cw_sasuke

If all DLC came tied to $13 figurines, I'd consider all DLC to be free
Makes sense, every of their mobile titles will be on My as well and so a bunch of other popular mobile title. NX will likely aim to be a more core gamer focused Android/iOS marketplace/software environment.

Example would be what Amazon is doing with their Appstore. Porting and making mobile titles available for NX will be done in a couple of days instead of the weeks or months it takes now depending on the Engine used.

A system that offers tradition controls as well as the latest mobile hotness would be great.
 
V

Vena

Member
This seems reasonable.

Their R&D will probably turn the base building blocks of the OS inside out, and leave it simply compatible with other droid development tools.
 
Neff

Neff

Member
GustyGardens said:
Did we all forget that the NX is not a mobile platform? Android based is not the same as Android Powered. As it stands Nintendo are fantastic when it comes to making games, but their OS offerings have been fragmented and not very well done. If they do plan on continued support for two hardware platforms they need to marry them with a familiar OS.

Android based OS also would mean that a lot of the features we've been clamoring for would be easier to implement.

Mobile and NX are not the and thing, which is why Iwata brought it up during that meeting.
Click to expand...

What I took away from Iwata's NX comment was an affirmation for anyone who might not understand how Nintendo works that they were most definitely not leaving behind their hardware business. I'd always assumed that they'd want their mobile titles to be cross-compatible with their own hardware, and presumably having mobile OS on their systems, whether primary or secondary (probably secondary), is a good method of not only enabling Nintendo's mobile titles to be played on Nintendo hardware without the necessity of porting, but third party titles as well.
 
G

GulAtiCa

Member
This could be interesting if true. Would help make future hardware's tie togethor instead of being different-ish each time.
 
I

InsaneZero

Member
crinale said:
Actually that is exactly what the article is saying.
Click to expand...

thatsthejoke.jpg

Nintendo forking off a mature, easily-available and familiar OS would save them the effort of building yet another one themselves while reaping the benefits. This is a great idea.
 
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