Nintendo Switch vs. NX Rumors – What were they smoking?

So many rumors surfaced about the NX over the years leading up to today’s Nintendo Switch reveal. It’s almost as if it became a mutated console of its own.

Looking back over the NX rumors, it’s clear someone had the inside scoop. Yet, there are still plenty of rumors that wildly missed the mark. We’ve scrubbed over every inch of the Nintendo Switch reveal trailer and compared it to the countless rumors floating around about the NX.

NX Rumors vs. Nintendo Switch

Each rumor is checked against GameSkinny’s Bull$#&%-o-Meter:

• Confirmed – Well steal my mushroom call me Luigi! These NX rumors are 100% accurate and match up perfectly with the Nintendo Switch reveal trailer.
• Mostly true – While correct, these rumors are still missing something. They either pass over specifics or describe the NX functioning somewhat differently than the Nintendo Switch.
• What were they smoking? – Completely off the mark. So inherently wrong that it hurts to think we bought into this twelve hours ago. These NX rumors are often created by your average 4chan user, but could also be a scrapped idea.

Nintendo Switch is a portable home console.

This was the first rumor to circulate the internet after the initial announcement of the Nintendo Switch, codenamed NX. Ever since then, multiple sources claimed the NX would turn out to be a handheld and home console hybrid.

Mostly true.

The Nintendo Switch reveal trailer prominently featured just that. Not only are we getting a new console with a new generation of Nintendo and 3rd party games, but we finally get to take them with us wherever we go. We’ll finally get to play Skyrim on the airplane without ordering an expensive custom laptop!

The NX screen takes up the entire controller; buttons appear on screen as needed.

The above image displays the NX’s original controller patent. Or, at least the internet assumed it was a patent for the NX. This controller has a screen that covers the entire surface, with buttons that only show up on screen if you need them.

What were they smoking?

You saw the Nintendo Switch reveal today, right? A controller like this was no where to be seen. After this patent surfaced, there were many people who printed up a physical mock-up of the controller and tried to pass them off as the NX controller. Thankfully, Nintendo didn’t stick with this model, for whatever reason. Maybe they still have something up their sleeves for the future.

Nintendo Switch is a tablet with detachable controllers on both sides.

Earlier this year, Eurogamer reported on yet another controller design, this time with detachable controllers. As you can see, it shows stand which you can prop the tablet up on, and the controllers were even rumored to come with motion support, just like Wii Motes.

Confirmed.

Well, the Nintendo Switch’s controllers are called Joy-Con, and they can even be plugged into a controller frame for more comfortable play. Of course, there are also Pro controllers that will be available to purchase when the console releases. Looks like Nintendo is going back to the roots of traditional home console gaming — just with a portable twist.

Nintendo Switch games come on cartridges.

This rumor came from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild‘s patent. The patent listed both disk and cartridge mediums of distributing the game. The Wii U, of course, uses disks, so the cartridges had to be for the NX, right?

Confirmed.

In the trailer, we’re shown a short clip of a guy popping in his physical copy of Skyrim. It’s quite evidently a cartridge of some sort. We never get a clear view of the cartridge itself, but there’s no way it can be a disk. It’s simply too small.

Verdict

Overall, it seems like a lot of NX rumors were surprisingly accurate. Any rumors we’ve left untouched have yet to be proven right or wrong by Nintendo. The only official word we have on the Nintendo Switch so far is a three-and-a-half minute trailer, so obviously we couldn’t bust everything.

If and when Nintendo utterly abolishes (or begrudgingly confirms) more Nintendo Switch rumors, you can be sure we’ll be here to ask the most integral of all questions: What were they smoking?