Nintendo NX console to use Android OS to attract third party developers

Nintendo's next dedicated gaming platform, dubbed the NX by company president Satoru Iwata, will utilise an Android-based OS in an attempt to attract the kinds of third party games that have been absent from their current Wii U console.

The news comes from an editorial on Japanese website Nikkei, translated and summarised by NeoGAF user duckroll, who says that the article cites an insider source who claims that the Android-based OS represents a "paradigm shift for Nintendo business-wise".

The article's source then says that the abandonment of the Wii U by third parties became a "turning point" for the company, who now want to open their platform up by making it more flexible for developers outside Nintendo's own contingent.

The NX was revealed to be in the works in March 2015 during the announcement of Nintendo's intention to develop mobile games with DeNA. It was announced to alleviate any fan concerns that the gaming giant would be moving away from home consoles following poor Wii U sales.

At that same press conference Iwata also said that nothing more would be officially stated about the NX until 2016, meaning a late 2016 or 2017 release for the device and a likely reveal at next year's E3 event in Los Angeles.

At E3 2015 (taking place in just a matter of weeks) the company will focus on continuing to build the Wii U's library of impressive first party exclusives.