Nintendo Denies Rumors Next Console Will Run Android

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Nintendo does not usually see fit to respond to rumors, but this time it has denied the reports.

Earlier this week ValueWalk covered a report from Japanese financial newspaper Nikkei which claimed that Nintendo would adopt the Android operating system for its next generation home console. The company has now moved to deny the rumors.

Spokesman puts rumors to bed

A Nintendo spokesman told the Wall Street Journal that “there is no truth to the report saying that we are planning to adopt Android for NX.” Rumors spread quickly this Monday, causing enough of a stir for the company to deny the reports.

Such a move would have been a huge departure for Nintendo, and it always seemed unlikely. Disappointing sales figure for the Wii U only helped to drive the rumor mill.

Nintendo previously confirmed that it will start to develop games for mobile devices this year, giving the rumor even more credibility. A move into the mobile arena would make a move to an Android OS a further development in the same direction. However it now appears that the reports were fabricated.

Nintendo needs to regain trust of developers

The Wii U’s lack of power and strange controller led to Nintendo being abandoned by important developers and publishers, and the company needs to find some way of getting them back on side. It is thought that Android support would be one way of doing so, but now it appears that Nintendo will not take the NX away from a proprietary OS.

A large group of developers already produce games for the Android platform, and the OS is used across a wide range of devices. It is thought that despite some potential positives, possible security issues with the platform might turn away some of Nintendo’s target audiences like children, women and families.

Its video game business has been a difficult area for Nintendo of late, and the company has been trying to turn things around using a variety of different initiatives. The move into mobile games is an important one for the company, and it has also partnered with Universal Studios to make its iconic characters a presence in their amusement parks.

Very little is known about the NX at this point in time, but Nintendo is thought to have pushed its development forward.

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