Nintendo NX: Report claims console is a powerful handheld that can be plugged into TVs

Nintendo's next console is a powerful handheld with its own high-definition display and two detachable controllers that can plug into television sets and uses games cartridges. A docking station is used to house the device when it is connected to a TV.

This is according to a report from Eurogamer, which cites multiple sources. A second report from affiliates Digital Foundry delves under the device's bonnet, claiming it will be powered by Nvidia's Tegra technology, and speculating it may even be powered by an unannounced, more powerful version of the tech.

Nintendo announced their next device, codenamed NX, in March 2015 and has revealed little about it since. We know it will be released in March 2017 and that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild will be one of the game's heading to the platform.

Speculation has been rampant ever since, including reports that it would be a hybrid handheld and home console, and that it would use cartridges. Eurogamer's report is the most confident and comprehensive to date, and without a doubt the one with the greatest validity.

The Digital Foundry report says: "Nvidia's Tegra technology is built with a specific profile in mind: a delicate balance between performance and power efficiency in order to maintain battery life, the life force of mobile gaming."

It then says that the console is likely to be less powerful than Sony's PS4. "What this means is that prior, plausible rumours of an AMD-powered console with PS4-beating performance and utilising x86 architecture are erroneous. NX is smaller, leaner, portable - and yes, less powerful."

In addition, Digital Foundry also wonders whether the NX will be capable of running Wii U games. "Tegra technology would have no problem whatsoever coping with existing virtual console emulation (and indeed, the X1-powered Shield Android TV is one of the best emulator boxes on the market) but running Wii U titles may be a stretch too far." Another source told Eurogamer that there would be no backwards compatibility.

Sources also claim that Nintendo may suggest a 32GB cartridge size for games, which would rule out a great many modern games on PS4 and Xbox One. Digital downloads will still be central to the device, with the report claiming Nintendo considered making it a device that only supported downloads.

There are no details on the NX's exact specs and Nintendo has yet to confirm any of this officially.

For all the latest video game news follow us on Twitter @IBTGamesUK