If you are a fan of video games, then you are probably asking the same thing about Nintendo that every other gamer is asking, and that would be "what happened"?  Nintendo is almost solely responsible for bringing video games back to the households after a crash in the mid-eighties and was able to compete in the 16-bit era with Sega with Super Nintendo. After the success of the Game Cube and the major success of the Nintendo Wii, the Nintendo Wii U just cannot compete in the same market with Microsoft's Xbox One and the Sony PlayStation 4.  This is what is known about the Nintendo Wii U successor Nintendo NX, as well as its release date.

The Nintendo Wii U was first released in 2012, and there is usually about a 5-year rule for the next-gen system (the Nintendo Wii was released in 2006).  By now, it is known that the Nintendo NX is the latest system, but it is not known if it will be released in 2017 or not. 

In fact, Ubergizmo reports that there is very little known about Nintendo's next-gen system, other than it will exist.  There were suggestions that it could be tied-in to virtual reality, but Sony is already doing that with PlayStation VR.  Considering that 2016 is probably going to have VR sets like the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive coming to a lot of PC consoles, this isn't too much of a surprise.

In other words, if Nintendo were to attempt to sell the Nintendo NX on virtual reality alone, they would come off as a cheap imitator if they didn't do it better than their competitors that probably have a leg up on them. In fact, Nintendo already attempted a conquering of the virtual reality with the failed Virtual Boy in the nineties. 

In addition to the virtual reality rumor, there was a rumor that the Nintendo NX could run on Android, but Nintendo has come out with a spokesman and denied that one altogether.  Even though Nintendo might not run on an Android platform, there is some speculation from Macquarie Research suggesting that the Nintendo NX could be made to interface with our mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. 

Honestly, that is a very good idea, as every home has several smartphones and tablets.  In fact, the Nintendo Wii U seems designed to be practically a tablet in and of itself with its touchscreen and camera.  The idea of just interfacing with one's console games with a smartphone instead of a controller just makes sense, especially in a world dominated by mobile gaming. 

Perhaps this is the reason Nintendo is entering the mobile market with Miitomo, which is not a game, but rather a social network using Mii avatars.  Is it possible that Nintendo is playing some "long game", and making sure that consumers of the mobile world will transition into a new age of mobile console gaming?  If so, then it might not be long before Nintendo is back on top in the world of video games.