Nintendo is reportedly planning to use retro cartridges for its new console codenamed NX. This is based on various sources that report the Japanese company is returning to the physical format for home gaming systems. The Nintendo NX is set to launch in March 2017 and is expected to be a hybrid system that works with TVs like Wii U, and as a portable console like 3DS.
This news was verified by The Wall Street Journal. ROM cartridges were phased out after the glory days of the NES, SNES, and Game Boy systems when the storage capacity of optical media started to skyrocket.
In recent years flash storage has become super-fast while the prices have dropped sharply. Nintendo also uses cartridges for handheld systems such as the 3DS. Their benefits include not scratching like CDs, faster load times, and harder to pirate.
The NX will reportedly include a mobile unit that can be used with the console or separately when owners are away from home, according to The Verge. Cartridges would be a better choice since they are more portable than delicate discs.
This would make the NX console itself easier to move around. It would solve the quandary of how to avoid adding a big hard drive to the console maker's next system, and 3DS owners are already used to carrying cartridges.
Video games are in fact one of the few media that are distributed on the CD format that was first used for gaming in the early 1990s.
In 1991 Sega launched the Sega CD add-on for its Genesis console. Meanwhile, some early PC titles include "Myst", "Return to Zork", and "Star Wars: Rebel Assault."
Nintendo has not officially provided details about the NX console. However, clues from the developer of the Pokemon Go Plus wearable include patents for an oval controller that also functions as a touchscreen.
In related news, Sony is rumored to announce its PlayStation 4 "Neo" or "PS 4K" console at its event on September 7, Wednesday. The new console will reportedly be an improved version of the current PS4 system and include better components.
PS4 Neo will also likely support 4K games and include hardware specs for smoother gameplay with its PlayStation VR headset, according to Mirror.
Here's are some top NES games: