When Will The NX Be Announced Anyway?

The NX has been an absolute mystery. Iwata announced the NX in March of 2015 during the announcement of a capital partnership between the company and DeNA. Since then, the company has been mum on any details on the system, even when they are going to formally announce it. If anything, it seems Nintendo is more interested in saying when they will not announce the NX than when they will discuss it. With the release of the system coming in March of 2017, Nintendo will have to release details soon. Naturally, Source Gaming is on the case, and today, we’re going to try and pin down some possible reveal dates and talk about some other theories.

Tegra X Next Chip Announcement

Eurogame reported that the NX, in addition to being a handheld/console hybrid, would use Nvidia’s Tegra processor. This has lead to many to speculate that the system will use the next generation of Tegra chips. Turns out, Nvidia will unveil their newest chips on August 22nd. If the NX is one of the systems to use this chip, then the system could be shown before this.

Of course, that was before this article released. August 22nd has come and gone with not a word about the NX. It is still possible that the NX will use an Nvidia chip. Nevertheless, some has speculated that the NX will use another chips. One report suggests that Nintendo could go with AMD, who also provided the processors for the 3DS and Wii U.

PAX West

Another possibility fans have surmised is that the NX will be shown off at PAX West. While not a major trade show, developers and publishers have begin using PAX another means to show off new video games. An interesting proposition, but it may not be likely. Nintendo has already announced their line-up for PAX West and the NX is no where in sight.

Tokyo Game Show and the Fall

For whatever reason, Nintendo does not attend the Tokyo Game Show. And once again, Nintendo will not be attending the Tokyo Game Show this year either. Nevertheless, Nintendo has historically held events in the fall to showcase their upcoming games. Nintendo use to do their own trade show called “‘Spaceworld”, and held other events after ending Space World in 2001. Nintendo hasn’t done major press events in a while, with the last major event being Nintendo Worlds in 2011 to showcase the Nintendo 3DS. Instead, Nintendo has instead done Nintendo Directs (Direct) towards the end of the year. Based on a list of Nintendo Directs, there is always one in November. On the other hand, Nintendo had a Direct in 2012 which was dedicated to the Wii U (which you can see the European one here). So there is a strong possibility that the NX could be shown during a Nintendo Direct

Of course, there is another rumor that could support the idea of Nintendo showing the NX off in the fall…

Gamesblog Rumor

A French blog, Gamesblog, reported that the NX will be announced the week of September 12 and that the PS4 Neo would be announced on September 7th (website in French). While the website has been considered to be less than credible in the past, Sony has sent out invitations for a Press Conference on September 7th to unveil the PS4 Neo as the blog reported. This also corresponds with the Eurogamer rumor which indicated the system would be announced in September.

Besides the rumor, the date makes sense. With the system releasing in March 2017, September would only be 6 to 7 months until the launch of the system. That’s not a lot of time, and it may be the the last moment Nintendo can remain quiet about the system. Also, September is often when Nintendo announces details about their upcoming games. In an interview, CEO for Nintendo Canada, Pierre-Paul Trepanier confirmed that the company would finally talk about the NX in the fall, which supports the possibility of a September unveil.

The Verdict

It’s anyone’s guess when Nintendo will finally blow the lid off the NX. Given the rumors and reports, it’s this writer’s opinion that September is the month that Nintendo will finally announce the system. Of course, many also thought the system would come out in 2016 and would be unveiled at E3. The moral of the story is you never really know with Nintendo.