A new report suggests that Nintendo's NX goes into production early next year, with its sales expected to exceed the Wii U's in 12 months...
NewsSo what is the Nintendo NX? Will it be a true next-gen console that can compete on an equal footing with the Xbox One and PlayStation 4? Is it a handheld and conventional console hybrid, as some reports have suggested? Right now, we don't even know its official name. NX is just its working title, just as the Wii was once called the Nintendo Revolution.
If a new report from Digitimes is correct, however, we do know when it's going into production, roughly how many units are to be made for its initial launch, and by extension, approximately when the NX will appear in shops.
The outlet reveals that Nintendo's suppliers, Foxconn Electronics - the Chinese giant that builds everything from consoles to smartphones - is putting the NX into production in the first quarter of 2016. The electronics company was originally set to produce 20 million units for its original shipment, but according to Digitimes' story, that figure has been revised down to between 10 and 20 million units.
That revision seems to be because of a supply line of components rather than Nintendo's caution over sales. Indeed, if Nintendo manages to sell 10-12 million NXs in its first year, that's a good result - at least by the standards of the faltering Wii U. The latter system's lifetime sales are between 10 and 11 million, and it's now three years old.
With the NX going into production next spring, we're likely to see the console formerly unveiled fairly soon; that it'll be launched by the autumn of 2016 seems almost certain if the current schedule is correct.
More news on this as we get it.
