Nintendo has already brought back Pokémon with this summer's exciting—and sometimes dangerous—Pokémon Go augmented reality game. Proving it's not afraid to pull from what's made the gaming company successful in the first place, Nintendo will reportedly bring back videogame cartridges for its forthcoming NX console.
The Nintendo NX will reportedly be part TV console, but will also be portable. Focusing on the portable aspect of the gaming system, Nintendo is turning back to cartridges, anonymous sources told The Wall Street Journal. Why cartridges, you ask?
- They're easy to transport and can withstand some wear and tear unlike an easily scratched or broken, CD.
- Games load faster on cartridges. No one has time to wait for games to load at the speed of dial-up internet.
- Cartridges also make it harder for games to be pirated. Plus, using a cartridge would allow for the device to be small and therefore portable.
Nintendo currently uses cartridges for its 3DS handheld system. But cartridges, as older Nintendo fans will know, have come a long way from the bulky NES ones that were ubiquitous in the 1980s and 90s. They have been getting smaller and thinner through the years, as handheld systems like the Gameboy Color and Gameboy Advance have been released.
The NX is expected to be revealed later this year, with a March 2017 release planned. While gamers wait for the NX, Nintendo will satisfy nostalgia needs with its release of the Nintendo Entertainment System: Classic Edition in November just in time for the holidays. The gaming console will be a mini version of the original NES, which was released in 1985.
