• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Nikkei: Nintendo's NX platform will use an Android OS

Interfectum

Interfectum

Member
Seems like a good idea. Developers are comfortable with Android, it's a solid OS and the Nintendo name is behind it. Could be huge, IMO.
 
B

bomblord1

Banned
jeff_rigby said:
I think most game consoles have a front end OS that can be anything to support APPs and provide APIs to a stand alone Game OS. I.E. the Game OS is not necessarily the System OS.

TVs can now have an Android OS (Android L ) and the Nvidia Shield game console, the same Android L with TV features/support. The native libraries running on Linux to support Android have APIs very similar to WebMAF/Mozilla/ GTKwebkit2 APIs that can be used by games. This is a result of an effort for standards implemented by Khronos and adopted by the W3C.for HTML5. It makes it easier to support HTML5, Android and Java on multiple platforms.

Google to support advanced features includes closed source APIs...these are on top of the open source Khronos/webkit w3c standards. Cited in your link is an example:



Mentioned in the thread is that there is already a X-86 Google approved version of Android which can use the extended Google Services APIs. AMD stressed the importance of a Linux version with IOMMU2 support running on Kaveri. Several times AMD has mentioned two semi-custom wins in addition to the PS4 and XB1 with one a game console and the two wins are one ARM and one X-86.

IF NX is to be a game console connected to the mains then it should be AMD X-86 as that has a cheaper bigger bang for the buck and can still run an Android OS. If it's a handheld then ARM is more energy efficient for a battery operated device. A AMD X-86 SoC will include ARM IP...AMD uses Cadence IP (ARM) for everything except the GCN GPU and X-86 CPUs. Additionally ARM IP is needed to comply with EU and Energy Star power regulations which is why the PS4 and XB1 have ARM blocks, XB1 in the APU and PS4 in Southbridge because they used GDDR5 memory connected to the APU.
Click to expand...

You can use google maps api in any web browser that supports iframe/javascript. That includes windows, wiiU, android, iphone etc. I've played around with the web version of the api and it's pretty powerful but fairly complex.
 
K

Koozek

Member
Watch them call it Nintendroid.
The next few years will be incredibly exciting for Nintendo fans. Can't wait to see their next steps.

Using Android as a base could be a pretty future-proof move. The OS that's used says nothing about the actual games. Some of you should relax a bit with their fear of everything mobile. Times change, everybody has to adapt and Nintendo should try to be at the forefront to not get left behind. Even Disney once struggled and had to reinvent and expand in different areas to stay relevant. As much as we love Nintendo, they aren't magically immune to huge shifts in the entertainment industry and changing consumer tastes. If you want Nintendo to survive for the next decades you should be happy about moves like this. What matters is the games they create in the end, not the platform's OS. They might find a way to maintain their DNA for mobile games.
 
S

Scrawnton

Member
This is a very interesting concept and one that excites me. I bought my girlfriend an Amazon Fire TV and I was very impressed with how fast, snappy, and impressive the OS and some of the games were for a $70 box.

This might be a very good move by Nintendo. Making their own system that borrows from a more established ecosystem is fantastic. I'm tired of buying new systems that run custom OSes and waiting years for them to be updated to be just as good as their previous systems functionality...
 
V

Vanillalite

Ask me about the GAF Notebook
Just s thought but maybe using Linux as a code base could be part of the deal vs actually using Android. It wouldn't be the first time for something like that to happen either console wise. I could also see how in the current landscape for the non tech savvy that the info could be construed as using Android vs just using the Linux kernel.
 
Oppo

Oppo

Member
E-phonk said:
http://account.consoleos.com/magi/
download and run on your PC.

If you mean handheld device currently on the market, I assume it's still the Samsung S6 edge
CPU: Exynos 7420 Octa-core (2.1 GHz Quad + 1.5 GHz Quad)
GPU: Mali-T760 MP8
Memory: 3GB LPDDR4

Edit: or Nvidia shield's GPU
Click to expand...

None of the tablets are faster?
thanks for the answer...

I wonder why they simply wouldn't use a forked FreeBSD like Sony did. The choice of Android lends more credence to "games that run on both portable and home console" to me, if true.
 
Fox Mulder

Fox Mulder

Member
makes sense.

of course people would think this means a nintendo ouya, the ps4 or xb1 could have been built around android if they wanted to.
 
N

nynt9

Member
Android is just an operating system. You can have full fledged games on android. I don't get why people are freaking out. The Nvidia shield has ports of half life, portal, mount and blade, metal gear rising etc. on android. Why do people think this will lead to mobile games only on the platform?
 
E

evilromero

Member
Scrawnton said:
This is a very interesting concept and one that excites me. I bought my girlfriend an Amazon Fire TV and I was very impressed with how fast, snappy, and impressive the OS and some of the games were for a $70 box.

This might be a very good move by Nintendo. Making their own system that borrows from a more established ecosystem is fantastic. I'm tired of buying new systems that run custom OSes and waiting years for them to be updated to be just as good as their previous systems functionality...
Click to expand...
This is what I imagine is the direction. Convenience, adaptability, convergence with modern home TVs. I could see it being something that plugs into a USB port. Probably won't be significantly more powerful than the Wii U, which may disappoint people.
 
C

cleveridea

Member
A lot of people seem to think that Nintendo have to fork Android, that really isnt true.

Historically per unit fees for mobile to Google are $5-$15 per unit based on volume and suite of applications. Basic Android is free (which by itself would be fine for a games console) but Google charge for running their apps on top of it - Gmail, Youtube, Maps etc.

Since its a game console with its own interface, its not necessary for it to have games on Google Play - it can just have its own app store. Nintendo may prefer that anyway, eg they may not WANT the comments and reviews that are visible to google play apps.

Also, Google like to work with external partners. For example they dont have any VR solution apart from cardboard - so that right there could be a focus for Nintendo. That would be an amazing fit since the biggest (not necessarily best but biggest) source of VR compatible video content may end up being Youtube since they announced they are making VR/cardboard a supported video type on youtube. They announced at Google IO that they have 1 million cardboard viewers.
 
D

DieH@rd

Banned
IMO this is very good news, no matter if they are targeting NX to be portable or home console. With Android they could easily get great ease of use and compatibility between home and handheld systems [if they even want to create new home system].

And this opens the door for Nintendo to use advanced AMD designs. AMD can easily mix and match any module they have, which means they can create any combination of ARM/X86 CPU and Radeon GPU designs. If Nintendo wants it, they can get VERY nice modern and high-end design in their next consoles. Heck, they could take the same or better APU that PS4 has and just put Android on it. :D
 
B

Bots are better than you

Banned
Anyone thinks that they could go the Amazon way if the rumor is true? Using the bare minimum from a stock Android fork, which ensures the cross-platform-compatibility on multiple system (handheld/console) and developing custom APIs/services for the main chunk?
Although i have no idea if that would be a effective/efficient way ... zero knowledge in OS development on my side.
 
C

cleveridea

Member
nynt9 said:
Android is just an operating system. You can have full fledged games on android. I don't get why people are freaking out. The Nvidia shield has ports of half life, portal, mount and blade, metal gear rising etc. on android. Why do people think this will lead to mobile games only on the platform?
Click to expand...

Yeah worldwide, there are more Android devices than any other INCLUDING windows. Which, when you consider how long Windows has been available for Android is incredible.

Also Android is Linux, so worldwide Linux is the most popular OS type from that perspective.

Android is just an OS, it can be adapted from phones to tablets to game consoles to watches to cars. The performance is based on the hardware inside it - a high end Tegra paired with a 8+ core CPU can gave impressive performance that will only become expotentially greater with the years until NX launch.
 
Toadthemushroom

Toadthemushroom

Member
jeff_rigby said:
I think most game consoles have a front end OS that can be anything to support APPs and provide APIs to a stand alone Game OS. I.E. the Game OS is not necessarily the System OS.

TVs can now have an Android OS (Android L ) and the Nvidia Shield game console, the same Android L with TV features/support. The native libraries running on Linux to support Android have APIs very similar to WebMAF/Mozilla/ GTKwebkit2 APIs that can be used by games. This is a result of an effort for standards implemented by Khronos and adopted by the W3C.for HTML5. It makes it easier to support HTML5, Android and Java on multiple platforms.

Google to support advanced features includes closed source APIs...these are on top of the open source Khronos/webkit w3c standards. Cited in your link is an example:



Mentioned in the thread is that there is already a X-86 Google approved version of Android which can use the extended Google Services APIs. AMD stressed the importance of a Linux version with IOMMU2 support running on Kaveri. Several times AMD has mentioned two semi-custom wins in addition to the PS4 and XB1 with one a game console and the two wins are one ARM and one X-86.

IF NX is to be a game console connected to the mains then it should be AMD X-86 as that has a cheaper bigger bang for the buck and can still run an Android OS. If it's a handheld then ARM is more energy efficient for a battery operated device. A AMD X-86 SoC will include ARM IP...AMD uses Cadence IP (ARM) for everything except the GCN GPU and X-86 CPUs. Additionally ARM IP is needed to comply with EU and Energy Star power regulations which is why the PS4 and XB1 have ARM blocks, XB1 in the APU and PS4 in Southbridge because they used GDDR5 memory connected to the APU.
Click to expand...

You're quite right, but there's no chance Nintendo will want to have its platform run, and be dependent on, another company's platform. Shield and Android TV devices play ball with Google's rules, and both ship with the Play Store -- Nintendo isn't going to have a competing store on their platform.

nVidia and other OEMs are happy to have competing software stores because they are in the Android device market to sell hardware. Nintendo is in the business to not only sell hardware, but run a platform that it curates.
 
F

Fourth Storm

Member
Wow. Just wow. After the fiasco with Wii U's slow OS, I can understand, plus wanting to be dev friendly. But the amount of overhead is just going to kill performance on the anemic hardware they are sure to choose.
 
S

Skinpop

Member
Fourth Storm said:
Wow. Just wow. After the fiasco with Wii U's slow OS, I can understand, plus wanting to be dev friendly. But the amount of overhead is just going to kill performance on the anemic hardware they are sure to choose.
Click to expand...

so they take out all the "overhead". simple as that.
using android as a base doesn't mean they download it from google and put it into their new console, it just means they want to take advantage of the code base.
 
C

cleveridea

Member
So at Google IO they announced 1 million cardboard VR "devices" sold and a partnership with gopro for people to buy and make their own VR compatible recording of location around the world

They announced youtube will support such VR video content. (They also announced unlimited & free storage of photes and video at 1080p and 16MP) And youtube was recently valued at over $70 Billion dollars BTW.

I wondered if they would introduce their own VR platform since they may end up with the largest store of free VR content

Why didnt they introduce their own VR hardware considering this?

What if... DUN DUN DUN ... its because they are partnering with Nintendo for VR hardware
 
Oppo

Oppo

Member
bomblord1 said:
I wonder if it's possible the insider is confusing it with or if it's related in some way to the educational android tablet Nintendo was working on.
Click to expand...

Now that's interesting.

Nintendo could be going after something like a cross between their old systems and a LeapFrog. Which are pretty popular, with my friends' young kids anyways.

Maybe the 'new concept' is leaning harder into the educational space.

That would definitely curl some toes around here but it sort of makes sense for them.

edit - props, Eddz. You pretty much called it if this is true.
 
C

cleveridea

Member
Fourth Storm said:
Wow. Just wow. After the fiasco with Wii U's slow OS, I can understand, plus wanting to be dev friendly. But the amount of overhead is just going to kill performance on the anemic hardware they are sure to choose.
Click to expand...

Yeah Android is linux - and we all know what a resource hog linux is
 
F

Fourth Storm

Member
bomblord1 said:
Vanilla android is a fairly lightweight OS.
Click to expand...

Is that true? I've heard otherwise, but am open to being corrected. Either way, it is surely going to have more overhead than IOS (Wii OS) and Cafe OS (Wii U).

Honestly, while I didn't expect a version of Android (and I expect it to be a custom version like Kindle Fire), we should all have seen a thicker abstraction layer coming when Iwata implied Cross compatibility and BC from here on out regardless of the hardware. The days of "to the metal" are coming to an end.
 
T

topplehat

Member
I'm excited by this. Nintendo OSes so far have just been alright at best, using Android should give them a big headstart with NX.
 
P

Prine

Banned
I think this is good news, Nintendo have proven they have no idea about OS development (its not their fault they're game makers), using Andriod is a step in the right direction.

Eddz said:
I took so much shit for this when I proposed it back in March.

All of you guys in the original thread had better pay up by eating a hell of a lot of crow if it turns out to be true.

Original thread: Nintendo's next platform will run Android. Here's why.
Click to expand...

Well well now, good call!
 
W

Who

Banned
So why would this be bad? Say Nintendo finds a way to combat the piracy issue, android OS doesn't bottleneck hardware power or anything does it?
 
E

E-phonk

Banned
Fourth Storm said:
Is that true? I've heard otherwise, but am open to being corrected. Either way, it is surely going to have more overhead than IOS (Wii OS) and Cafe OS (Wii U).
Click to expand...
Every OS will - because when you run a game on Wii or Wii U the main OS gets completely disabled, it only runs a small footprint of the OS on a dedicated cpu.

Vanillalite said:
Posted above, but what I want to really know is if this is actual Android or just Nintendo using the Nix kernel as the base for their next OS.
Click to expand...

The linux kernel where android is based on has extra advantages (wakelocks) and specific functions for mobile arm/power/memory usage compared to normal linux.
 
M

monlo

Member
As an android custom ROM user since the galaxy s1, this is probably the best case for a quick OS get-up Nintendo could make. Not only would this help them by reducing the amount of internal resources used to maintain a proper device OS, they would immediately have tons of development support, if they allow it (in an open sense). Kudos if this is true
 
J

jeff_rigby

Banned
Toadthemushroom said:
You're quite right, but there's no chance Nintendo will want to have its platform run, and be dependent on, another company's platform. Shield and Android TV devices play ball with Google's rules, and both ship with the Play Store -- Nintendo isn't going to have a competing store on their platform.

nVidia and other OEMs are happy to have competing software stores because they are in the Android device market to sell hardware. Nintendo is in the business to not only sell hardware, but run a platform that it curates.
Click to expand...
As I said, the Game OS does not need to be the system OS. If you think of a game console as a front end Android OS providing APIs and a separate game OS, the tools necessary for the game to interface with a Android phone as second screen are already there...the social networking features are already there and identical to what a Android phone would use.

Game consoles are evolving to support services and multi-player/social with a yearly fee. The company that does a better job with the services wins more market share. You can have a Google Store for apps and a separate store for Games but the console services are key given nearly the same performance/price using the same hardware from AMD. Will Nintendo follow Sony and Microsoft's lead and have a console as media hub that also streams games to Phones, Tablets, TVs and STBs.
 
W

Who

Banned
Wasn't it confirmed that NX will absorb WiiUs architecture? Would this be possible with Android? I know nothing.
 
F

Fourth Storm

Member
E-phonk said:
Every OS will - because when you run a game on Wii or Wii U the main OS gets completely disabled, it only runs a small footprint of the OS on a dedicated cpu.
Click to expand...

I believe this is true for Wii (actually, the OS comes on the game disc and every game has a slightly different version according to the homebrew scene). For Wii U, the OS kernel runs across all 3 cores on the main CPU.
 
M

Mandoric

Banned
If you're going to make a new platform, it's probably going to run a modified existing OS at this point. Sony is in its second gen of BSD derivatives and MS in its third of customized Windows.

This doesn't really have significant implications either way in terms of resource usage or performance; in particular for Android, while Play Store distributes Java software, the OS itself is perfectly capable of running native binaries, and software almost definitely will ship as such for a closed platform which won't have to deal with the bewildering variety of phone CPUs.

It's interesting from a "Nintendo management finally cracking the shell and incorporating commodity resources" perspective, but don't read too much into its impact on the NX's design or featureset.
 
J

Justified

Member
UltraGunner said:
That poor console will be hacked to bits.
Click to expand...

Android based doesnt mean its going to be AOSP based.

Android is license under Apache (2.0), while AOSP is also, but the kernel is GPLv2, which leads to most of the rooting (then therefore piracy).

The NX being Android based (under the Apache license) means they can still lock it down, and not disclose their source. All that's required is to give attribute.
 
…

……forgetit

Member
I think this is a bad idea. If the console is updated every year then I could see it, or if the put out something that stomps all android devices I could see it.


But....if it's a handheld it'll definitely ape a ton of the indie market, especially if it can access the play store.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Shuntaro Furukawa Interview via Nikkei - Switch support until early March 2025 | Increase in in-house devs | Thought process behind acquisitions
News Business
17
2K
Jubenhimer replied
Full Q&A English Summary of Nintendo's Financial Results Briefing for Fiscal Year Ended March 2024
Business
0
545
Thick Thighs Save Lives replied
VGC’s Platform of the Year is Nintendo Switch
Analysis
41
2K
Ogbert replied
  • Locked
Apple's organic push towards AAA gaming jeopardizes PC gaming and benefits from this "need" where Xbox tried to reject. Exclusive Games.
Opinion 2
64
5K
Roxkis_ii replied
[Game File] Some of the world's biggest gaming storefronts still don't credit who made the game
Business Analysis
27
2K
GHG replied
Top Bottom