When it comes to raw console power, it's been a long time since Nintendo reigned supreme. That looked like it might finally change with the arrival of the NX.
Though Nintendo has yet to reveal official details about the mysterious new console, rumors seem to indicate that fans can at least expect the machine to be more powerful than the Xbox One and possibly even the PlayStation 4, which would make sense given the NX would release four years after the arrival of both Microsoft and Sony's consoles.
That put Nintendo in a great spot - until Microsoft and Sony announced their new, upgraded Xbox One and PS4. Xbox's Project Scorpio will be the most powerful console ever created, and while official specs for the code-named PlayStation Neo haven't been revealed, leaked information puts it as slightly below that of Project Scorpio.
It seems safe to assume then that Nintendo's new console won't be the most powerful machine on the block for long (or at all) when it releases, depending on when the PS4 Neo arrives. Recent statements from Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime only seem to confirm it. When asked how the NX would stack up against Microsoft and Sony's new machines, Fils-Aime emphasized that Nintendo isn't focusing on hardware specs.
"For us, it's not about specs, it's not about teraflops, it's not about the horsepower of a particular system," Fils-Aime tells Bloomberg. "For us, it's about the content. We're focused on bringing our best entertainment to both the Wii U as well as the NX in the future. So for us, whatever Microsoft and Sony are doing in terms of talking about new systems, that's for them to fight out in that red ocean."
Of course, Nintendo has always focused more on gameplay and content than system performance. The Wii was far inferior to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 graphically, but that didn't stop it from becoming one of Nintendo's most successful consoles to date.
It's still unclear when Nintendo will officially unveil the true name and horsepower of its NX console. The company decided against showing off the machine at E3 in favor of putting the spotlight almost exclusively on Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. That appears to have paid off, as the new Zelda game is by far the most talked-about game of the show.
