Nintendo wants to "surprise" customers with NX, not expand upon existing hardware

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has firm wants to "surprise" players with its new NX system.

Speaking in an interview with Nikkei, translated by Kotaku, Iwata wouldn't go into details on the new system, but stated expanding on a current gaming system would be "dull."

"In the past few years, the idea of what [encompasses] a gaming platform gradually changed," he said. "If you only expand upon existing hardware, it's dull.

"In some shape or form, we're always thinking about how we want to surprise players as well as our desire to change each person's video gaming life."

Iwata went on to say there's a need to "start over from zero" when putting out a "new game machine" and depending on the model change, there is a possibility of cutting off the "relationship with our customers"; therefore, Nintendo is "reflecting" on its past hardware releases and what a new system should offer to consumers.

"Switching platforms had [resulted] in a gap in the relationship with our customers," he said (via Google translate)."Whether with Nintendo DS, 3DS, or what happened in the transition from Wii to Wii U.

"I think it's [something] to be reflected upon greatly."

Iwata also recently spoke with investors after the DeNA deal was announced, stating that the latter will use its expertise in online systems and infrastructure to deliver the new membership program which will replace Club Nintendo this fall.

The new incentive will work across multiple devices including NX.

"The new membership service is compatible with multiple devices and that it will form a bridge among these devices," he said. "If I can go a bit further, we will construct a system so that we can invite the users who play our game applications on smart devices to our dedicated game systems. Something you have done on one device can be utilized on another.

"We have scheduled this new membership service to start in the fall of this year, and it will have a loyalty program like the existing Club Nintendo. We will make further detailed announcements on the new membership service when we progress further in its development and are ready to explain it in a more comprehensive way."

Nintendo confirmed its NX system was in the works earlier this month.