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Google Android could be the operating system that Nintendo chooses to power its in-development NX console, reports from Japan suggest.

Analyst Dr Serkan Toto said of a report in Nikkei: It says that this is not confirmed but that the source says it’s a possibility driven by Nintendo’s need to attract 3rd-party devs.”

The move would be a dramatic one for the company, which has until now not only always developed its own OS for its hardware but also made them quite distinct from other market offerings, emphasising ease of use and approachability.

The use of Android doesn’t imply anything directly – it doesn’t mean that the next system is necessarily a handheld, for instance, as home systems such as Ouya have also been built using the OS. At the same time, it seems entirely possible that the move is designed to allow Nintendo to more closely align its home console and smartphone aspirations.

The article also states that Nintendo apparently considered bringing its games to mobile phones 15 years ago, but eventually abandoned the idea.

The article also mentions that Nintendo in 2000 was in talks with JP telco Docomo to bring their games to phones under ‘Project Aurora’,” Toto added. That plan was scrapped.”