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NX rumors and updates: New console to use cartridges?

By Maureen Blas | Sep 04, 2016 11:16 AM EDT
The new Nintendo game console Wii U is displayed at the Nintendo booth during the Electronic Entertainment Expo on June 7, 2011 in Los Angeles, California.
(Photo : Getty Images/Kevork Djansezian) The new Nintendo game console Wii U is displayed at the Nintendo booth during the Electronic Entertainment Expo on June 7, 2011 in Los Angeles, California.

The new Nintendo NX is about to launch on 2017 and the gaming company is making haste to perfect the controller before it goes to market. Besides, the company doesn't want to make the same mistake it experienced with Wii U and is considering to make use of cartridges again.

According to Digitimes, the new console was already delayed half a year from its original wide-ranging production plan in the middle of 2016. It was postponed due to Nintendo's eagerness to improve the console's integrated gaming experience and its added virtual reality feature into the system to acquire benefits in the forthcoming video and mobile game competitions.

Nintendo plans to opt for cartridges for its new console, source said. The company prefers optical discs when physically disseminating game software since it can hoard huge amounts of information with low cost per unit. Other big game software that uses discs includes Microsoft Xbox One, Nintendo's Wii U and Sony PlayStation 4.

Satoru Iwata, Global President, Nintendo Co., Ltd., speaks during a news conference after the unveiling of the new game console Wii U at the Electronic Entertainment Expo on June 7, 2011 in Los Angeles, California.
(Photo : Getty Images/Kevork Djansezian) Satoru Iwata, Global President, Nintendo Co., Ltd., speaks during a news conference after the unveiling of the new game console Wii U at the Electronic Entertainment Expo on June 7, 2011 in Los Angeles, California.

The Wall Street Journal reported that chip-based cartridges are accumulating reinstating interest due to tight competition among semiconductor manufacturers like Samsung Electronics Co. and Toshiba Corporation. These companies produce flash memory than can store more information onto small chips which is inexpensive.

As per industry watchers, the use of cartridges would be a reasonable choice for Nintendo NX because the company is aiming for an expansive array of consumers than Microsoft or Sony. Cartridges promote faster loading of the games, harder to duplicate and can be mass-produced quicker than discs.

The main issue with cartridges is they actually carry less data compared to discs. PS4 and Xbox One game discs stores up to 50 GB of data and frequently need further installs on the hard drives. Presently, it's ambiguous how much information that the NX cartridge will hold, if true, GameSpot reported.

Nintendo's next-generation console, NX, will be manufactured by Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry); however no comments have been provided when it comes to matters where its clients or products are concerned.

Nintendo is keeping its finger crossed once NX is released into the market. The company needs to recover losses and patrons from the unsuccessful release of its Wii U. The new console is scheduled to release in March 2017.

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