Everything you need to know about Nintendo's portable NX console

Forget 4K graphics. Ditch your ideas of download-only games. Nintendo appears to be planning something pretty odd for its new NX console.

No, you're right, we haven't seen the console - no one outside of Nintendo has. But Eurogamer has been informed by numerous sources of various details of what the elusive NX will offer when it arrives in March 2017.

Besides the new leaks, we think we've been given one MASSIVE hint from Nintendo themselves as to the portable future of the NX console.

It's a portable console with detachable controllers

The NX will have two major functions: on the move, it's a high-powered handheld console with its own screen (not unlike the Wii U pad, pictured), bookended by two removable controllers that will allow for multiplayer fun on the move. 

Having thrashed some poor kid on the bus at a game of Super Smash Bros NX, on arriving home you'll be able to plug the NX into a base unit that will connect to your TV. The controllers can then be detached for a living-room gaming experience. 

It won't be very powerful

At the heart of the NX console is Nvidia's mobile processor chip, the Tegra.

Without getting into the finer nerdy details, the Tegra is designed for portable hardware: it'll be kinder to the battery of the portable NX, but it won't be much more powerful than an Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3. 

It will use cartridges

Adding to previous rumours that Nintendo is ditching disks for cartridges, EuroGamer has heard from multiple sources that the NX will indeed use 32GB cartridge games to support its portable format. 

In short, you're going to need a bigger backpack. And a much bigger portable charger.

It won't be backward compatible

Want to play all your old Wii and Wii U games on the NX? You might struggle, as it's suggested the new hardware is so different, backward compatibility won't be available.

That said, we'd expect Nintendo to continue to offer downloads of old classics, as it currently does with the Wii U eShop. 

Nintendo has already hinted at a portable NX

Other than revealing a release date of March 2017, Nintendo hasn't said anything official on the NX. 

HOWEVER, we got to play The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild at this year's E3 festival - a game that will appear on both the Wii U and NX. 

One of the first elements of the game sees Link pick up the Sheikah Slate - a magical tablet that acts as his guide throughout the game.

"Oh, this looks a lot like the Wii U controller," we mused - but the version we played didn't include any additional functions on the screen of the Wii U controller we were playing the game on. 

"That's odd... if the game is confirmed for both the Wii U and the NX, and a core element of said game is based around a portable magic table that has a ruddy big touch screen built into the middle of it, perhaps the NX will feature a portable device with a ruddy big touch screen built into the middle of it."

Yes, we're speculating, but we'd like to think this detail just adds a nice element to the rumours collected together by EuroGamer.

Nintendo isn't saying anything for now, but the NX may break cover at the Tokyo Game Show in September - until then we'll just have to gaze into our Wii U screens and hope they give us a hint.