Because it is home to what is arguably some the greatest games they've ever made.
So that's a reason to spend more on R&D, and increase the price of the console?
That makes sense to you?
Because it is home to what is arguably some the greatest games they've ever made.
Android-based? I wonder if Nintendo will be able to prevent widespread piracy which I imagine would be a very serious problem for them (unless all their new content is F2P).
This is bad. Android has a huge Piracy Problem, and I think the last thing Nintendo wants is bad sales because of that. They better have a Solution for that
Hope this just means Android apps and games will work on this device. Otherwise, piracy of Nintendo games will probably increase greatly.
I think there's more to the story since there are some issues here right off the bat (mainly piracy), but it's going to be interesting to see how it turns out. This isn't necessarily a bad thing depending on how they handle it.
Keep in mind Iwata already said it's a dedicated game platform.
If this is true I see widespread piracy in Nintendo next consoles future.
I have mixed feelings about this announcement.
On one hand, it means it will finally have a decent account but also that Nintendo is taking forward thinking decisions.
On the other hand... I can see leading this easy piracy and a terrible direction in term of philosophy for their machine.
Wouldn't this create a ton of potential for piracy? And emulations on Android devices?
NX is going to be a OS. Not a phone, but a gaming device.
So basically a tablet/ipod touch but it's a independent gaming system?
This sounds more and more like a Handheld/Console hybrid.... Very interesting to say the least, but I don't think it will be successful.
Piracy actually helps sells hardware. It doesn't help software, but it boosts the numbers of consoles, particularly in countries where the devices gets imposed big tariffs.
edit: piracy is bad though and nobody should pirate video games
I don't think that this is a bad idea, so long as it's heavily customized.
But, while I understand that it's just an OS, isn't it a highly-exploitable one that could devolve into piracy relatively quickly as it was with PSP? Or has that somehow become an invalid concern now?
My #1 hope with this, though, is that it will put an end to Nintendo's use of HTML in eShop and Miiverse and just generally make things work a lot more smoothly. Wii U definitely showed that they don't have the chops to write an OS themselves from scratch, nor any idea how to integrate services into it without using the slowest means possible to do so.
If true, that's the biggest crow I've had to eat yet. I just hope it doesn't lead to rampant piracy.
This is basically my only concern about this.
Hacks/mods and piracy.
I'm having trouble believing this considering how anti piracy Nintendo is. We'll see
It could theoretically happen, but would it really matter if this system is put in place so it's easier to port stuff around? Similar to how interest in homebrew (excluding 3DS) sort of died down for a while after app stores and digital store regulations lessened.
It could matter quite a bit.
If the functionality is ported, there would be no reason to buy the console.
I admit that I understand very little of how this stuff works beneath the surface... But it seems like anything that's on Android is eventually ripped, which leads me to believe that it's a relatively uniform experience regardless of platform.
Define "normal". Whatever is releasing probably isn't releasing next year, and we don't even know what it is. 5 years (2012-2017) seems pretty normal to me. I don't think Iwata's words were mere PR - it's not really in their best interest to betray the consumer confidence they still have if they want their next thing to be successful.
So that's a reason to spend more on R&D, and increase the price of the console?
That makes sense to you?
For one, they could only allow signed code on the device and not use the .apk format but a proprietary, encrypted format to run software.
I admit that I understand very little of how this stuff works beneath the surface... But it seems like anything that's on Android is eventually ripped, which leads me to believe that it's a relatively uniform experience regardless of platform.
Android is much more that an OS.
Its true in its most wide use case its easy to be "ripped", but its design that why to allow you and manufactures to personalized your experience.
However Android can be locked down (see Apache 2.0 license), any propriety pieces that Nintendo adds can be locked down, the only thing the has to disclose is any modification to the underlying linux kernel (per GPLv2)
this will be the smartest decision nintendo has made since the Wii.
I don't know why you quoted me then since the intent of my post is that Android OS can only be beneficial to Nintendo.I had to stop at 8 pages because it was just getting ridiculous. Windows is the most pirated platform and yet Xbox is based on it. To insinuate that Nintendo won't take Android and transform it into their own bespoke OS, because you know it is free, is just silly.
i was just curious how plausible it would be. It would be a nice selling point to the console being able to play MK8, Smash 4, Splatoon etc. day one.
If the console takes off, a lot of the WiiU gems would be completely new experiences for NX buyers.
Android OS?
Lol pirates everywhere gonna be like
Good thing it wont be
I suppose I agree with the bolded but I really hope off-TV play or something akin to it is an option for NX.Seems like too much of a headache. Adding Gamepad support and the like. If people want to experience Wii U games they should go and buy a Wii U. I'm sure they'll be dirt cheap by then.
I think NX should and will be Nintendo's change to wipe the slate clean.
Android OS?
Lol pirates everywhere gonna be like
Considering Wii U basically has the same security features as Wii (Nintendo didn't bother changing much), I don't see there being much of a difference. The only reason Wii U hasn't been fully hacked is that nobody cares enough to do it (outside of getting the Gamepad to work w/ PC).
Good thing it won't use the Android OS?
I have to agree. This is where Nintendo's forward thinking will reward them, because having an OS like this means they can have many devices with many form factors and prices that can serve the many factions of their fan base.this will be the smartest decision nintendo has made since the Wii.
It's worth remembering that Nintendo talked in vague detail about their future platforms earlier than they ever have before here, coinciding with their announcement that they would be releasing games for mobiles.
Is there precedence for another Android-based OS where this is the case?
It's a long time ago, but if I remember correctly the reason the WII got hacked so early on was because the key that encoded the Wii software discs was hardcoded into the wii's dvd hardware bios. Since they couldn't update that key, they were unable to stop the piracy later on without locking out all of the earlier produced wii systems.Considering Wii U basically has the same security features as Wii (Nintendo didn't bother changing much), I don't see there being much of a difference. The only reason Wii U hasn't been fully hacked is that nobody cares enough to do it (outside of getting the Gamepad to work w/ PC).
Possibly, but that's not really piracy is it. Piracy is being able to run downloaded versions of Mario 3D world and that hasn't happened yet.Wait, not to derail, but have hackers figured out how to get PC games to stream to the gamepad?!?
Wait, not to derail, but have hackers figured out how to get PC games to stream to the gamepad?!?
I don't know why you quoted me then since the intent of my post is that Android OS can only be beneficial to Nintendo.
Great news. Seems really unlikely that Nintendo would allow full access to Google Play on their device but I could end up eating crow there.
Yes Im would almost bet anything Nintendo will use their own Rom (OS), Bootloader (similar to KNOX), modified kernel, and software api
Considering Wii U basically has the same security features as Wii (Nintendo didn't bother changing much), I don't see there being much of a difference. The only reason Wii U hasn't been fully hacked is that nobody cares enough to do it (outside of getting the Gamepad to work w/ PC).
Android is Nix. Well it's Linux which is not 100% general UNIX compliant.Wait! Wait! Wait! NX Don't you all get it?!
NX=NIX=
UNIX
Its so obv man, Nintendo is gonna roll their own!
:-/
I had to stop at 8 pages because it was just getting ridiculous. Windows is the most pirated platform and yet Xbox is based on it. To insinuate that Nintendo won't take Android and transform it into their own bespoke OS, because you know it is free, is just silly.
Yes, but if Nintendo ends up doing what they usually do and have a system-specific gimmick, then the ripped game might just end up being useless elsewhere.
Only real way I can see this being doom and gloom, is if Nintendo do a Valve, 10,000 meme runs and angry bird clones sell really good thanks to easy porting (blackberry style) on NX android OS.
Suddenly no reason to release premium content as much.
For one, they could only allow signed code on the device and not use the .apk format but a proprietary, encrypted format to run software. On top of that they could encrypt the filesystem, obfuscate generated code, use hashes to check if the software is unaltered and do server side verification.
Android OS?
Lol pirates everywhere gonna be like
Android is Nix. Well it's Linux which is not 100% general UNIX compliant.
So assuming this is true, would that make WiiU backwards compatibility impossible? Orr....
It's a long time ago, but if I remember correctly the reason the WII got hacked so early on was because the key that encoded the Wii software discs was hardcoded into the wii's dvd hardware bios. Since they couldn't update that key, they were unable to stop the piracy later on without locking out all of the earlier produced wii systems.
Wii U doesn't use the same security as Wii afaik, and is better protected
On the Wii, the Broadway CPU had no built-in security: games ran on the bare metal and the Starlet handled all security. The Starlet was responsible for kickstarting the Broadway and feeding it code to run. The Wii U extends this architecture by putting some extra security inside the Espresso CPU: now, the Espresso has its own secure boot ROM, like the Starbuck, and will only boot a signed and encrypted code package. This package (which we call an ancast image) is delivered by the Starbuck and verified and decrypted when the Espresso is reset.
Thankfully, even though the Espresso has ROM security now, unlike the Starlet/Starbuck, it has no memory firewall or similar protection (i.e. AHBPROT). This means that we are free to mess with the contents of memory while the Espresso boots.
Wait, not to derail, but have hackers figured out how to get PC games to stream to the gamepad?!?
No he's saying Android has never been adopted to ps360-level hardware which is not really true, we have ps360-level games running on Android.
Anybody and everybody is free to quote me, 'cos I always mean what I say and I always stick by what I say. If the Wii U doesn't get a FULL 5 years I will never again buy anything whatsoever from Nintendo - EVER.