Nintendo NX: The Most Pointless Internet Argument

This is a story about internet arguments. About Nintendo. About people arguing about Nintendo.

The Nintendo Switch is a pretty well known thing today, but years ago, a lot of people spent a lot of time arguing about what it might be.

Today I’m gonna talk about it.

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Timestamps

0:00 Sponsor
1:28 Opening
4:54 The Rumors Begin
9:08 Sharp and AMD
11:46 NX
14:25 Team Smartphone
15:27 Patents, Contracts, and Reveals
22:06 The Ocean
26:50 The New Year
27:03 Geno
31:54 The Other Consoles
38:19 Emily Rogers
40:27 E3 Leadup
41:55 E3
45:05 Digital Foundry
48:09 Leadup to Reveal

[wrathisme]

I wish the video didn't end the way it did because if I recall correctly this whole thing went on for a lot longer and dipped into the realm of hyper delusional conspiracy beyond what had come before. It would have been really interesting to see a retrospective on that and the things that people said and believed

[uhobme]

2015 - 2020 really feels like Nintendo rumors became an industry in itself

[krombopulos_michael]

9:58 I believe this was for a project that I worked on. We were contracted by Nintendo to develop sleep tracking software for a new device they were planning to manufacture that was supposed to be kept on your bedside locker, back when they were still briefly working on Quality of Life products along with gaming. I even got the job of taking it home and putting it beside my bed for gathering data. It got canned though and never ended up being released or had much published about it.

[lamaripiazza]

I remember this era. Watching thousands of videos on YouTube trying to see what it was.

[DomiAnimations]

Later in the future: "Switch Pro: The Bizarre Feud Over What Nintendo's next gen console Could Be"

[ianeons]

“All the footage was of existing Wii U games”

The actual Nintendo Switch with Mario Kart 8 and a bunch of other rereleased Wii U titles:

[undefender]

i remember the mystery and excitement around the NX rumors… good times

[jubies]

I'd almost forgotten how much drama there was in the NX community back then. So much vitriol was thrown at Rogers specifically, and then when it turned out she was right those people just quietly backed off and acted like it hadn't happened.

[bigspaghettio]

It's still so weird to think that the "NX" was kind of announced just so people knew Nintendo wasn't becoming a mobile game company

[WasatchWind]

I remember what a strange time it was, where I was hearing nonstop that Nintendo was about to die, or at least be out of the hardware business. After the switch was announced, I wrote a college English essay on why it would be a success, owing to its convenient hybrid nature, and big new software coming out - and lo and behold, I was right on all points. 😎

[LinkNinjaMaster]

I would have loved to see the "reaction" of team AMD here as well, just to see what people thought when the Switch was finally revealed.

[eddyland]

It's funny reading people's reaction to the switch when it was first revealed about how it was going to be another massive failure, with now being the 3rd best selling console of all time

[bluestar]

Ooh I remember this wild era of NX rumors. I'm glad you talked about the Fusion DS/Terminal rumor, most Switch development retrospective videos forget or ignore it.

Say, can you do a rumor retrospective video for Sonic Frontiers? It has one of the most interesting game dev cycles in recent years, because of how much it was leaked years before the first trailer and how much leakers got right.

[brodown]

jeez this NX talk was when I started getting into my Nintendo fan phase, remember reading speculation and mockup designs like crazy

[JBaughb]

lol. I love the idea of people in 2016 being upset at 900p 60fps. Id love to get that in some of my current 2023 switch games.

[imconfused]

Wow Tyler you really outdid yourself on this one. Some long content is what I needed from you

[AuroraNemoia]

wish you had all the stuff that led up to the console's release. There was a ton of crazy shenanigans then too. Like Etika's (rest in peace) fake Switch that looked crazy real.

[jackal]

This era was so silly to me. Maybe because I was already well into my late 20s, but it always seemed obvious to me that it’d follow Nintendo’s tried and true formula for the previous 15 years (more if you count the underpowered Game Boy). I guess to me it always felt like they were presenting it more as their successor to the 3DS because of the timing so I always assumed it’d be a handheld you could play on your TV. The fact it was so successful that it became their main platform just felt like a bonus.

[omarg]

Every time I see that NX reveal tweet/Switch reveal trailer, I can't help but smile! I wish the Switch 2/Pro/Sucessor/Whatever had this degree of hype and divisive rumors....

[brendanrisney]

I remember my friend saying "New Nintendo console is announced, they're calling it the NX." I was like "Cool, can't wait!" and then a couple years later I saw the switch and almost forgot that that was the NX. Had no idea there was so much debate.