We've discussed this before, but Nintendo could receive(d) a sweet deal from Nvidia with huge orders.  Why so huuuuuuuuuuge? /trumpvoice

"A base unit, or dock station, is used to connect the brain of the NX - within the controller - to display on your TV."

I think this part of the article has been slightly overlooked.  The language used re: "brain" has me intrigued.  If it was just a simple hdmi-out like its done with many other devices it could have been said that way.  I think there is something more here, i.e dock adding more power.

So how powerful can the NX mini tablet be?  If we can expect a reasonable jump from Tegra X1 (512 gflop), maybe a cutdown X2 for the portable could be around 700 gflops fixed (still not perform to full chip power even when docked).  Then the NX dock will use the 2nd and full chip capability, and lets say a conservatvie 900gflps-1TF.  Combined could be around PS4 level or comfortably ahead of XB1.  I don't know how combined chips could work, if at all, but again the language used with connecting to a "brain" could mean getting NX help from a superior source.

It'll be interesting to find out about the X2's specs regardless to see the gains made from 20nm to 16nm.

First off, the GBA sold 80 million, BUT it only had three and a half years on the market before the DS was released.  The GBA was a huge success.

Secondly, the fact that the 3DS sold far less than the DS precisely means that they aren't interested in Nintendo anymore.  Or, more accurately, that they're less than half as interested.

The Wii did gain Nintendo a lot of fans.  But that's because the Wii was a good idea.  It offered something new and exciting.  The Gamecube failed, so they gave something that was very different then the gamecube.  The NX is not different than the Wii U.  It's a portable Wii U.  Taking something people didn't want and making it portable doesn't somehow make it appealing.  This proposed NX does not in any way fix the problems Nintendo has been having. 

The lack of portability is not what held the Wii back.  Not being able to play at home is not what held the 3DS back.   The casuals just do not want Nintendo's current offerings.  They do not want them in their house, they do not want them with a mouse.  They do not want them on a train, they do not want them in the rain.  They do not want them in the car, they do not want them near or far.  They do not want them in a tree, they just don't want these games you see.  They do not want them here or there, they do not want them anywhere.

I don't know the technical details, but there are a lot of products that stream content to devices perfectly well.  I don't know why the technology wouldn't improve in this case either via the chromecast itself, or some other kind of streaming solution.

We dont know enough about the NX to say its a WII U on the go.

Casuals are still interested in Nintendo its just that they see no reason to buy a device like a wii u or 3ds when they have tablets.

If Nintendo can make a console casuals want they will buy. A console that you can play on a tv and on the go might get casuals interested. We just have to wait and see.

Thinking about it, the WiiU version of Zelda Bofw may be the definitive version if the NX is just a Tegra X1 based handheld.

Price is also key to this, a Tegra X1 handheld could be made for 199$, down to 150$ in two years. Nintendo said, they wanted to go cheap this time.

A Tegra X2 would be more in the 299$ range, but I dont think this would give much better graphics for a small mobile screen. X2 would shine with FHD screens though.

The article is very straighforward about that. The portable is the "brain", where the processor and main components are, and the base station does nothing but connect the portable to the TV and probably also charging the portable.

I know that having extra hardware to make the device more powerful sounds great, but having two sets of hardware creates lots of other problems that make it impractical.

A simpler option would be to "unlock" the full power of the processor when the device is docked. When using the NX as a handheld, the processor would be limited to a certain performance in order to make battery life acceptable but, with the device put in the dock with no power restrictions and probably a better cooling solution, the processor could be used at full speed, increasing the performance.

I'm just going based on these rumors, which I don't believe are actually true at this point.  I fail to see why being able to play anywhere would be a big selling point to a group that doesn't play that much to begin with.

Considering the Tegra X1 is more capable than what's in the Wii U I doubt that would be the case.

Most likely visuals will be improved on the NX if it's packing a Tegra X1, remember Wii U used 40 and 45nm technology, Tegra X1 was a true 20nm part, Tegra X1 is probably a good 2X plus faster than what's in Wii U.

X2 could be what's in NX or maybe the docking station has some additional processing tech to boost visuals when you dock the tablet system in front of your TV. Mobile screens can have the same resolution as their bigger brothers, you can 1440p smartphones like the ZTE AXon 7 (pretty sure there are others). X2 is likely a more powerful processor than the Tegra X1 so I don't know why you would think that it can't produce better visuals on small screens, if anything having a higher level of DPI would make the visuals look better, bigger screens would reveal more issues with visuals.

A handheld with better visuals than Wii U could sell well, provided it's got the right release price and games that appeal to that audience.

Doesn't that overly elaborate description of "brain" seem strange?  I wouldn't have read into it that deep otherwise.  But of course, lets not forget the SCD tech, which is what the NX dock can serve as (along with HDD etc).

What makes more sense is no "dock"  at all, but lets say, a marriage of portable and stationary- independent HW but can work in tandem (nx would act as a controller).

In PC hardware, the CPU is usually called the Brain of the computer. Eurogamer is just using that term with a console's processor, there's nothing suspicious about that.

And Nintendo also has patents about holographic storage, among other very different patents that have filed during the years. Just because a patent has been filed, it doesn't mean that it will used soon.