Nintendo played down speculation that it is set to adopt Android to power its next generation of gaming devices, codenamed NX.

According to reports originating from the Japanese press, the company was set to move away from the in-house platform used for its Wii home console line, the latest incarnation of which – Wii U – has failed to get much traction.

Adopting Android would enable it to appeal to a wider range of developers, although the flip-side of this is that few would have experience developing console-quality games.

However, The Wall Street Journal subsequently reported that a Nintendo spokesman had said there is “no truth to the report saying that we are planning to adopt Android for NX”.

Nintendo broke with its long tradition of steering clear of the mobile market earlier this year, when it announced a partnership with DeNA to launch its first titles targeting smartphones.

Following this change of heart, and with the company needing to do something to reinvigorate its hardware portfolio, the possibility it may embrace Android perhaps looked more likely.