Nintendo only mentions its next console occasionally and without many details, but gamers get excited about every bit of news about the theoretical NX. The rumor mill never stops, and the latest buzz points to return of the cartridge as the distribution format. Advances in solid-state memory, combined with the classic problems of optical discs (slowness and risk of damage) could tip the scales in favor of the "old" cartridge.
This is the rumor control, and here are the facts: Microsoft updated its Xbox One console, Sony is about to do the same with its PlayStation 4 Neo, and Nintendo... says nothing. I suppose there are other priorities at the moment, likely related to the success of Pokémon GO and the launch of Pokémon Sun and Moon in November... but we know the Wii U will be replaced by a new system, and all we have officially is its code name: NX. One of the first rumors was that the NX would have a hybrid mode, meaning it could work as both a home console and a portable. That detail emerged last October, around the time SDKs began reaching developers. What's next on the list? Cartridges. Did someone say "retro"?
According to information published by the Wall Street Journal (paywall), Nintendo plans to set aside optical storage media and return to a format it knows well: the cartridge. Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft today offer a combination of optical discs and online downloads for certain games, and the advantages have been evident for years. However, thanks to the new "arms race" in the world of flash memory, with names like Samsung and Toshiba on the battlefield, the return of the cartridge makes sense. We must also consider three additional factors: flash-based cartridges are much faster than optical discs and harder to copy (at least initially), and they will also become cheaper in the short term (for example, a 32GB SSD costs about 20 euros, and many stores already offer models with greater capacity).
2017 will be a critical year for Nintendo, and the NX console with games on cartridges could be an important part of what it needs. I say "a part" because without games there is no system, and what happened with EA, Ubisoft, and Bethesda on the Wii U cannot be repeated. At the same time, Nintendo will have to deploy all the power of its franchises. Without going further, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appeared dressed as Mario at the closing of the Rio Olympics. The bar is set very high. Can Nintendo make the leap?
