I am not very interested in AAA games and thought I will not need a console anymore. But the new Zelda looks so good I will either buy a Wii U or the NX. I was reading a bit about rumors about the upcoming Nintendo console?

What do you think what kind of gaming machine(s) it will be?

I think it is handheld powerful as the Wii U, but not using PowerPC architecture anymore. Instead it makes use of the ARM architecture and the OS is Android with Vulkan and Google Play Store support.

This machine can be used in different ways. The centre of the device is a smart device (maybe even with phone functions) but on each side nunchuck controllers can be attached. So their upcoming mobile Android games can be played with the touchscreen but also their higher priced games with the more conventional input method (analog stick, buttons, ...).

The device can be hooked up to a TV while the two Nunchuck controllers are removed. These are motion controllers similar to the ones introduced with the Wii. The controllers can also be used as a "normal" controller with the difference that you can move your arms.

In the future Nintendo could upgrade the smart device and make it more powerful for the use of VR. The motion controllers could be used for that too.

So they could get back the typical Wii users and keep their handheld users. And additionally make money through sales via the Play Store.

It's interesting that Microsoft and Sony are talking like this could be the last console generation. After each of them release their respective 4k iterations, that might be it. Nintendo could win the console war by default. It would be great to see Sony and Microsoft exclusives eventually migrate to the NX and PC.

I think there will not be proper console generations anymore. After the PS4Neo there will be an even more powerful console based on the same architecture (similar to the evolution of idevices). Xbox will not play a role anymore in the future for Microsoft and I think their games will be released on Windows only.
I can not imagine Sony or Microsoft will release games on a Nintendo console (except for Minecraft). Both have their own platforms (Playstation and Windows) and Nintendo will not focus on the homeconsole market anymore. Their future devices will be portable but can be connected to TV or VR headset.

I don't know what to expect... on one hand Nintendo stated quite a while back that this was a new thing and not a replacement for either 3DS or Wii U, which suggests something like a tablet or smartphone or something completely off the wall.
But then we've got the fact that apparently you will be able to play the new Zelda on it.. and I don't see that being possible on just a touch screen.
And Nintendo said the DS was not meant as a Gameboy replacement, but it was (or turned out to me).

I'm hoping it's a hybrid handheld / home console. Like the Wii U controller but without the box (kind of) so you can play handheld (untethered) but also stream to a TV to play like a home console.

Difficult to say really, but based on wild speculation, wishful thinking combined with the vague info in the wild:

* I assume that it will be a combined home gaming/handheld system. The home console will probably be slightly more powerful than a PS4. The handheld device will probably be in its own right about as powerful as a mid-tier Android device (so slightly more powerful than a PS Vita), but will also use the same low-latency streaming tech as the Wii U.

* The console will probably eschew optical media in favour of a cartridge or memory card-based storage medium. There will probably be a identical slot for these cartridges on both the main console and the handheld device, and the game is scaled accordingly depending on which device the game is played on (unless the game is of a scope unsuitable for a handheld device's specs, in which case the handheld version will probably be some kind of mini-game or spin-off). Patches will probably be downloaded directly to the memory card.

* It will probably adopt the x64 architecture that PS4 and Xbox One already use.

* Lacking an optical disc drive, it probably won't have Wii or Wii U backwards compatibility, although there might be support for previously purchased Wii U eShop and Virtual Console games.

* The controller itself will probably be a smaller and somewhat more ergonomically friendly version of the WIi U GamePad. It'll probably retain the four face buttons, Start/Select buttons, two analogue sticks and a d-pad, along with the two shoulder bumpers, but the triggers will be replaced by depressible analogue wheels.

* It won't be cheap - my bets are on $500.

Registered: Jul 2012

From Luxembourg

Did Nintendo already mention if the controllers have motion functionality and if the Go games are compatible with the Switch?

I hope Nintendo will release different versions of the Switch. A smaller mobile only without detachable Joycons and a normal home console with a Pro Controller (but Joycon support). Both cheaper but based on the same architecture.

The price is too high for me and even though I like the concept it seems to be too much of a compromise.