It’s time for another round of rumors related to Nintendo’s NX console, and this time they come from the business-minded Brits who run MCV. According to the report, which cites “sources close to Nintendo,” the consolemaker plans to release new entries in some of their biggest franchises during the NX’s launch window, including The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, a new Pokemon game from Game Freak, and the next Super Mario game:
Developer Game Freak will bring Pokémon to the platform, while Nintendo’s first party titles include the previously announced Zelda game – Breath of the Wild – and a new Mario game. All three products are scheduled to appear within the first six months of the machine’s life.
It’s interesting to note that Game Freak has never produced a Pokemon game for one of Nintendo’s home consoles, which means there’s a real possibility this rumored new entry in the series is a full-fledged Pokemon RPG, and not a spinoff. As for Mario’s next adventure, Producer Takashi Tezuka began brainstorming ideas for a new Mario game back in late 2015, so a 2017 release date seems reasonable.
MCV sources would go on to say that Nintendo is recruiting a large number of third-party publishers to produce games for the NX including Sega, Square Enix, Ubisoft, Activision, and Warner Bros. Both Sega (Project Sonic) and Ubisoft (Just Dance 2017) have previously announced they’ve got NX projects in the works, so it seems likely this list is accurate.
And speaking of accuracy, MCV’s sources also stated that the rumored console/handheld hybrid design of the NX is “100% accurate.”
Nintendo is expected to fully reveal the NX in September and will release the console in March 2017, so we won’t have to wait very long to find out exactly what shape it’ll take.