Nintendo hasn’t Revealed the NX to Avoid ‘Imitators’

The Nintendo NX is set to launch in just under nine months. This is a bit surprising to say because, at this point, we still have no idea what the Nintendo NX even is. Sure, we know it is a dedicated gaming console, and that it will have its own version of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, but beyond that it is all speculation and rumor. This, apparently, is by design as Nintendo has said that they haven’t fully revealed the NX to avoid “imitators”.

During an investor Q&A session, as translated by Cheesemeister, the topic of the NX came up early and often. The particularly interesting quote came during a discussion of Nintendo’s development trouble when transitioning to HD with the Wii U. The investor asked if the same problem might occur with the shift to the NX.

Miyamoto responded to the question in a number of ways, including discussing The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and how it will get the series “out of its rut.” He then went on to say “Normally we would’ve shown the NX at E3, but we didn’t. We’re worried about imitators if we release info too early.”

This is actually a pretty valid concern if you look at past console cycles. Nintendo rocked the gaming world with the unveiling of the Wii. ITs motion controls were revolutionary, and many saw them as fresh ideas for the gaming space. Shortly afterward the PS3 was shown to have its own motion controls, with the Sixaxis controller being a major selling point early on.

The Wii U even saw some “imitators” as Miyamoto put it, with its tablet controller being copied, whether intentional or not, with the PS4 controller’s touchpad, and Xbox One’s second screen experience with the Xbox Smartglass app. Sure, few of these things were as integral and well implemented into the system’s architecture as the Wii Remote and Wii U Gamepad, but their presence still threatened the uniqueness of Nintendo’s consoles.

With both Sony and Microsoft pushing for new, upgraded consoles within the next year or two it’s not surprising to see Nintendo go into lock down mode. If they reveal whatever fresh ideas they’ve put into the Nintendo NX there is a chance that they will see them mirrored in some way with these new systems. Still, it sucks having to wait to see what this console will even be, but we shouldn’t have too much longer to wait as the Nintendo NX hits stores next March.