As Nintendo prepare to enter into the next phase of their console journey, there is a reassuring hand at their back: Take-Two Interactive has given its blessing to the Nintendo NX, and will back the giant going forward.
Take-Two is responsible for publishing gigantic successes like Bioshock and Grand Theft Auto, as well as managing products from developers like Gearbox. Chief Executive Strauss Zelnick recently spoke to GamesIndustry.biz and revealed his thoughts on the new console – which at this point retains much of the mystery it has had for months.
“We’re believers. We never want to count Nintendo out. They do it over and over and over again. So we feel pretty enthusiastic really.”
Zelnick also wasn’t too bothered about the failure of the Wii U, and pointed out that Nintendo often ebb and flow with their consoles: “They’ve been doing it for like 150 years … They’re really thoughtful, they come to market with something they really think is going to work, more often than not it really works, it blows up, and then eventually they let it decline and they move on to the next thing. They don’t mind having time in between.”
These are reassuring words, and given that the Nintendo NX is still an unknown quantity at this point, reassuring partnerships are very strong spiritual currency indeed – especially given the Achilles heel that third-party support turned out to be for both the Wii and Wii U. The NX is set to be released in March of 2017, and Nintendo has still held back on revealing it so they can protect a unique element of its design – very intriguing indeed. Also worth noting is that a potential backing by Take-Two would be the first major pledge of support a Nintendo console has gotten from a third party publisher in a very long time.
We will have to keep our ears out and eyes open in the coming months for more concrete word from either Take-Two or Nintendo on the Nintendo NX; until then, the fog of war remains firmly in place.
