Nintendo Denies NX Will Run Android OS

A report emerged yesterday, courtesy of Japanese business site Nikkei, that Nintendo was considering using an Android operating system with its new console, codenamed NX. However, a Nintendo spokesperson has categorically denied that Nintendo’s in-development hardware will sport the Google-made OS. “There is no truth to the report saying that we are planning to adopt Android for NX,” the Nintendo spokesperson’s curt statement reads.

The original report from Nikkei suggested that Nintendo’s reasons for considering Android as a viable operating system for the NX were to take advantage of the sheer volume of software available for Android systems, while giving “developers more flexibility in making content that can also be on smartphones and tablets.”

Android has certainly grown from its humble beginnings as an operating system for mobile phones, since spreading to tablets, televisions, wearable tech, and even game consoles, so adoption by Nintendo would not have come as a great surprise, especially since both the Wii and Wii U have been criticised for their ungainly user interfaces.

Nintendo is keen to launch a new game console after the Wii U failed to meet sales expectations, despite strong demand following the release of Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, and is pinning its hopes on the NX, described as a “dedicated game platform with a brand-new concept.”

Thank you Wall Street Journal for providing us with this information.

Image courtesy of Wired.