Ubisoft helps confirm rumors Nintendo's developing a console with capable hardware.

Ubisoft has been a reliable partner for Nintendo, especially so before Wii became a worldwide phenomenon. Red Steel wasn't great, but its existence was Ubisoft showing early belief in the platform. That has continued on 3DS and, expectedly, Ubisoft will be an early supporter of Nintendo's next console, to be unveiled at E3.

A key difference this time, however, may be what kinds of games Ubisoft brings to the platform.

During Ubisoft's fiscal earnings call today, CEO Yves Guillemot was asked about his plans for supporting the Wii's successor. Specifically, whether the development costs would make an impact, usually by requiring a separate product.

"First, the platform Nintendo is coming with is really a fantastic platform," said Guillemot. "We think it will be extremely successful and what we see is that we will be able to leverage a lot of the work that we do for Xbox 360 and PS3 when we will create games for the platform. We will not have to redo completely the games we create. We'll be able to use all the capacities the console is giving, but also use all the work that we do for the other platforms."

Could we finally see an Assassin's Creed on a Nintendo console? Bet your money on it.

Until now, our expectations about the hardware specifications for Nintendo's upcoming hardware have been shaped strictly by rumors. Guillemot represents an on-the-record account of a machine capable of competing, if not necessarily exceeding, the power inside Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3's boxes. Nintendo's machine will certainly have its own unique hooks, but publishers having the ability to publish games already coming to Xbox 360 and PS3 anyway should prove a significant boon to Nintendo. And gamers.