Rumor: "Nintendo Fusion" Is Nintendo's New Next-Gen System

[Andy Chalk]

Rumor: "Nintendo Fusion" Is Nintendo's New Next-Gen System

A rumor has surfaced claiming that Nintendo is hard at work on its next generation of home and portable consoles, collectively known as "Fusion."

An anonymous source claims that Nintendo, which is reeling after an absolutely disastrous year [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/131477-Nintendo-Plummets-in-List-of-Powerful-Japanese-Companies], is working on the successor to the much-maligned Wii U. Called Nintendo Fusion, it's a collective name for Nintendo's next generation of both the home and portable consoles.

Nintendo actually purchased the nintendofusion.com domain in 2003 in support of the Nintendo Fusion Tour [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_Fusion_Tour], a rock and video game music festival that ran for four years, but it has since gone dormant. And while news that Nintendo isn't just watching its money evaporate is not in itself remarkable, it is noteworthy that there are actual "possible" specs for the hardware, suggesting that development is relatively far along.

Fusion DS:


CPU: ARMv8-A Cortex-A53 GPU: Custom Adreno 420-based AMD GPU
COM MEMORY: 3 GB LPDDR3 (2 GB Games, 1 GB OS)
2 130 mm DVGA (960 x 640) Capacitive Touchscreen
Slide Out Design with Custom Swivel Tilt Hinge
Upper Screen made of Gorilla Glass, Comes with Magnetic Cover
Low End Vibration for Gameplay and App Alerts
2 Motorized Circle Pads for Haptic Feedback
Thumbprint Security Scanner with Pulse Sensing Feedback
2 1mp Stereoptic Cameras
Multi-Array Microphone
A, B, X, Y, D-Pad, L, R, 1, 2 Buttons
3 Axis Tuning Fork Gyroscope, 3 Axis Accelerometer, Magnetometer
NFC Reader
3G Chip with GPS Location
Bluetooth v4.0 BLE Command Node used to Interface with Bluetooth Devices such as Cell Phones, Tablets
16 Gigabytes of Internal Flash Storage (Possible Future Unit With 32 Gigabytes)
Nintendo 3DS Cart Slot
SDHC "Holographic Enhanced" Card Slot up to 128 Gigabyte Limit
Mini USB I/O
3300 mAh Li-Ion battery


Fusion Terminal:


GPU: Custom Radeon HD RX 200 GPU CODENAME LADY (2816 shaders @ 960 MHz, 4.60 TFLOP/s, Fillrates: 60.6 Gpixel/s, 170 Gtexel/s)
CPU: IBM 64-Bit Custom POWER 8-Based IBM 8-Core Processor CODENAME JUMPMAN (2.2 GHz, Shared 6 MB L4 cache)
Co-CPU: IBM PowerPC 750-based 1.24 GHz Tri-Core Co-Processor CODENAME HAMMER
MEMORY: 4 Gigabytes of Unified DDR4 SDRAM CODENAMED KONG, 2 GB DDR3 RAM @ 1600 MHz (12.8 GB/s) On Die CODENAMED BARREL
802.11 b/g/n Wireless
Bluetooth v4.0 BLE
2 USB 3.0
1 Coaxial Cable Input
1 CableCARD Slot
4 Custom Stream-Interface Nodes up to 4 Wii U GamePads
Versions with Disk Drive play Wii U Optical Disk (4 Layers Maximum), FUSION Holographic Versatile Disc (HVD) and Nintendo 3DS Card Slot
1 HDMI 2.0 1080p/4K Port
Dolby TrueHD 5.1 or 7.1 Surround Sound
Inductive Charging Surface for up to 4 FUSION DS or IC-Wii Remote Plus Controllers
Two versions: Disk Slot Version with 60 Gigs of Internal Flash Storage and Diskless Version with 300 Gigs of Internal Flash Storage


Nintendo News claims it has an "impeccable reputation" with regard to rumors but also notes, as do I, that none of this is substantiated and is subject to change and/or outright denial at any time. And while it's only been a little over a year since the Wii U was released, it's been such an unmitigated disaster that I wouldn't be surprised if Nintendo is in a rush to get a successor out the door. Whether or not it will do anything to restore its credibility is another matter entirely, but at this point, anything is better than nothing.

Source: Nintendo News [http://www.nintendonews.com/2014/01/nintendo-fusion-could-be-nintendos-next-gen-hardware-name/]


Permalink

 

[thiosk]

I understand they're in a mess, but I can't help but blame the lackluster advertising campaign and complete lack of interesting first party titles. Is there a new mario out yet? I have no
idea. If there is, why didn't I see a single commercial? The new zelda was on the portable, not on the new flagship system? I havn't heard a word from Samus since other M.

The xbone and sony offerings can afford to release new hardware whenever. That doesn't matter to them. But nintendo lives and dies on their first party offerings. If they haven't figured that out yet, why are they getting ready to fuse their systems into some distorted hybrid? whats that mean for the wii u early adopters?

I have no idea.

And a coaxial cable input? What? I cant imagine anyone would release something with a coax input these days.

 

[Alfredo Jones]

I'm never really that good at understanding tech specs. Such things look like scientific arglebargle to me. Are these specs better than the Wii U or the 3DS?

 

[xPixelatedx]

I would be surprised if whoever started this rumor wasn't simply an elaborate troll, which is very common for Nintendo right now. People keep acting like the wiiU's failure of a first year is somehow important and unheard of, seemingly forgetting the PS3 was the worse disaster in Sony history when it first came on store shelves; to the point everyone predicted Sony was out of the console race. Then the 3DS immediately bombs, and everyone predicts Nintendo will immediately release another handheld or get out of the portable market. Somehow, even with the 3DS being recent, people manage to forget all of that and immediately start making predictions for the wiiU not at all reflecting events common in the gaming industry or Nintendo's own history.

Sometimes I wonder if some sort of sci-fi related catastrophe hit our world years ago wiping everyone's minds, because I seem to be one of the only people who can remember the last 7 years.

 

[Vault Citizen]

This reminds me of those recent Pokemon game rumours, in which one version was said to use a "terminal unit", it would be interesting to see if Nintendo was taking the interlinked system approach that we have seen with such things as Smartglass and remote play.

 

[Kmadden2004]

If this rumour is true, then I'd put money on nothing coming from it (at least publicly) for another two or three years minimum. As bad for business as the Wii-U may be, it would be even worse for Nintendo to just abandon it within a couple of years of its debut. It's also worth remembering that the 3DS, itself, isn't actually that old either.

That being said, I can imagine Nintendo using the 3DS and Wii-U to experiment and lay down the groundwork for a future dual system set-up.

IN ADDENDUM; Okay, I just noticed they're claiming the system's choice of media will be the extremely expensive HVD format.

So, yeah, this rumour's bullish!t

 

[Alfredo Jones]

I understand they're in a mess, but I can't help but blame the lackluster advertising campaign and complete lack of interesting first party titles. Is there a new mario out yet? I have no idea. The new zelda was on the portable, not on the new flagship system? I havn't heard a word from Samus since other M.

The xbone and sony offerings can afford to release new hardware whenever. That doesn't matter to them. But nintendo lives and dies on their first party offerings. If they haven't figured that out yet, why are they getting ready to fuse their systems into some distorted hybrid? whats that mean for the wii u early adopters?

I have no idea.

There was Super Mario 3D World which was really awesome, but aside from that and a handful of other games there really isn't much on the Wii U at the moment. Honestly the good games we have now feel like they are the launch lineup only delayed for about a year.

 

[Dr.Awkward]

The thing that concerns me is the lack of a architecture designation for their system. I know Microsoft and Sony decided to embrace x86 to make native code easier to reuse for cross-platform developers and publishers. Because of this, Nintendo needs to realize they've got to do the same if they want to get the interest of third-party developers again.

Also, nice to see dual analog (or haptic pads in this case) and traditional controls. Nintendo doesn't have to use all of them, but it'll make people happy that Nintendo realizes that there people who are left-handed and/or want to relax while playing a game.

 

[gigastar]

Admittedly it would be kind of obvious why Ninty would decide to replace the WiiU so soon, but its also kind of strange that they would seriously consider a new console when the current one isnt even two years old.

Perhaps the "Fusion" version is a higher spec machine running the same OS (and thus, current WiiU titles) capable of running current gen AAA games?

Not to mention if this is actually true then it would vindicate that Eurogamer article about how Ninty basically didnt know what they were doing when making the WiiU a thing.

 

[Eiv]

Here is what I want (this may sound dull to regular Nintendo fans). I want a Nintendo console with a blu-ray drive that has specs that are in line with ps4/xbo. I want a regular controller (don't mind if they go crazy like the gamecube, that was fine). What I really think would sell this 'next gen' console... name it SNES2. These specs coupled with Nintendos fantastic 1st party games would be a winner.

/RantOver

 

[BrotherRool]

I don't believe this. If it were just a successor to the Wii U, then it's unlikely but possible. I think the Wii U is fundamentally dead at this point and their very best hopes would be selling 25-30 million with poor software sales.

If they released a console that was functionally identical to the Xbox One in terms of hardware and architecture (with normal controllers, but backwards compatibility on Wii-motes), then they may be able to attract the third-parties back, because if it takes no effort to port, then why not? I doubt they would get the public on board and it would be hard to make a convincing case for the Fusion given just how far the PS4 and Xbox are, but it could help repair Nintendo's third-party reputation and maybe reach 40 million with effort (or fail miserably and bury the company).

But why would they replace the 3DS? It's hardly been out comparatively yet and whilst it's not meeting expectations it would only take a tiny amount of work to get there now the 2DS exists (for example they can release a 'portable' version of the 2DS which is basically a cheaper 3DS with no 3D). Some more big third-party titles and the 3DS is set.



So I would only believe it if there's a massive gimmick that makes it barely a 3DS or console at all. Either that or maybe they release it in 2 years time, but in which case why are their specs?

So all in all, I'm calling BS

 

[rasputin0009]

Fake! Totally fake! If it was true, it'd be totally awesome (the dream Nintendo console), but these parts are way too expensive for anything Nintendo. Gorilla glass? Ya right! And the co-ax cable input? Uh-wha? 4 Wii U Gamepads streaming? Nope!

 

[Rad Party God]

I like the codenames of the components :3

Ninty's always had a nice set of codenames for their new hardwares, they actually sound beter than the actual name of the console itself, remember Dolphin?, Revolution?.

 

[Stavros Dimou]

What's the point of putting a super-top processor that would cost $500+ alone in a system with just 4gb ram,when 4gb ram have been a limit for so many games 1,2,and 3 years ago,and most modern systems (even budget computers) come with 8gb of ram ?
Something's not right here,it's suspicious because this hardware configuration is way unbalanced,in no way someone with at least some knowledge of computer technology would make this.

It's like putting a 650bhp engine that can output 300mph speed in a car, along with breaks that are only for cars with 60mph max speed.

 

[Hoplon]

The specs are all over the place.

that graphics card lists shader cores? which i can't find any other GPU listing, an 8 core processor with a co processor? what for? this seems more like a list of possible components rather than a final list of an actual machine.

I mean if they where really smart surely they would just get the same jaguar chips as the Xbone and the PS4 to allow ease of development perhaps? I dunno.

 

[Gearhead mk2]

This screams fake to me. Or at least I really, really, REALLY hope this is a fake. I'm planning to get a Wii-U in a few days, and it has got some good games with unique takes on them, not to mention upcoming games like Smash Bros 4. I don't see Nintendo abandoning the Wii-U inside two years.

 

[Darmy647]

I could see nintendo planning this out of panic, and I actually think it wouldn't be such a horrible move if not that many families have bought a Wii U yet. Yet the reverse of that statement could be true too, where it could be bad since a lot of families bought one. To be entirely honest, I don't what what the hell Nintendo's got up its sleeve. Its handling this crap in stride either way, so I cant lean any one way. I will say this, if Nintendo abandons the Wii U to be a Small one game every month or so console and the fusion comes out swinging, it'd be pretty damn neat to say the least. The biggest problem there though is Nintendo's notoriously long delay in delivering either game or console. So as nice as it sounds...would it even matter? Maybe if they got the new one out by the end of the year it would, but 2 years? Ehhhh.

 

[Stavros Dimou]

If they make even more different pieces of hardware,they will just confuse people more.
What they have to do is remove confusion.
Make a DS that has an HDMI-OUT port,so someone can connect to a TV and play the games at 1080p,and BAM,everything's solved.
With this machine you could play on the go,and you could play on a big screen at HD,with extra touchscreen,all in 1,with no consumers getting confused between which product is which and what it does.

 

[TheComfyChair]

The specs are all over the place.

that graphics card lists shader cores? which i can't find any other GPU listing, an 8 core processor with a co processor? what for? this seems more like a list of possible components rather than a final list of an actual machine.

I mean if they where really smart surely they would just get the same jaguar chips as the Xbone and the PS4 to allow ease of development perhaps? I dunno.

GPUs always list graphics cores, generally have to google the specs though . The main issue is that the listed GPU here has more shader cores than an R9 290X (2560 cores). Which would be insanely powerful (as in, more powerful than the best PC GPUs, so yeah, not happening based on that alone), and also generate far more heat than any console will ever handle without some mega expensive cooling (The R9 290X negates the need for central heating).

It is definitely false Nintendo can't afford to mass produce a console with a £300 GPU, never mind the rest. Furthermore, with everyone else on x86 cores, it makes zero sense to go for an IBM powerPC part.

But anyways, should this fantastical machine exist (maybe it'll come out in 2016 and therefore all these parts will be distinctly mid range, which would be about right) and theey release a Pokemon MMO as a launch title, I'd buy it

 

[Donzacuceron]

Versions with Disk Drive play Wii U Optical Disk (4 Layers Maximum), FUSION Holographic Versatile Disc (HVD) and

You guys realize that's a 6 TB Disc right? Unless Nintendo plans on releasing their games in bulk, I call BS.