Nintendo has denied claims that its upcoming NX console will run Android.
An earlier report out of Japan, citing sources familiar with Nintendo’s plans, promised that the NX would employ Android software in an effort to attract new users and developers. But unfortunately for those excited by that prospect, it’s not going to happen.
“There is no truth to the report saying that we are planning to adopt Android for NX,” a Nintendo spokesman told Wall Street Journal.
We still know very little about the NX at this point. Nintendo has confirmed it is working on the console, but it hasn’t revealed any features, specifications, or plans for it. Recent rumors have claimed, however, that it will be offered alongside the Wii U, rather than replace it.
Others have speculated that the NX will be a “hybrid” console that will be playable on the go, and at home hooked up to a TV.
Adopting Android may have given the NX the edge it needs to compete with the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One. A console that can run regular Android apps and games alongside full-scale Nintendo titles sounds like a very interesting idea indeed.
But security experts noted that an Android-based operating system could leave the NX vulnerable to hacking, making it easier to adopters to run “homebrew” titles and copyrighted games.
