There’s an interesting – or not, depending on your perspective – battle going on between rumours and sources around the Nintendo NX. What do you do when sources with a solid track record directly contradict others that are supposedly ‘verified’? Well, you treat them all as rumours, first of all, and then you just strap in for the ride.

The Nintendo NX (graphical) power debate is back. Among the earliest rumours it was pegged at hitting around the Xbox One level (a little under PS4), before rumours around x86 architecture were seemingly ‘verified’ on the likes of Reddit and NeoGAF. Some speculated whether the NX would actually be a step above the current generation in employing new AMD Polaris technology, which would make it rather powerful and perhaps in the same ballpark as the leaked ‘PS4K / Neo’.

Well, now Emily Rogers, who has been correct on leaks in recent times – such as with Paper Mario: Color Splash – says she’s spoken to seven sources in the past week and asserted that the NX’s graphical capabilities are more in line with the early Xbox One comparisons. In fact, her sources suggest the system is using custom chips.

After speaking to seven different people this week, I can say with confidence that this is false. NX is not using x86 architecture like PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The NX has special, custom-made chips and the overall design of the hardware is very modern. The chips are industry leading because they are very modern chips, but having modern chips doesn’t necessarily mean Nintendo is aiming to create the most powerful hardware on the market. Furthermore, any NX rumors on “Polaris chips” and “Polaris architecture” are all wacky. There’s a good reason why those rumors are wacky.

In terms of raw power, numerous sources tell me that NX is much closer to Xbox One than PlayStation 4. Even that might be stretching it a tiny bit. Anyone who is claiming that NX is “two times the power of PS4 GPU” is being misled by their sources. Based on what I’ve heard, I don’t believe the NX will compete directly with PS4 (Neo) / PS4K in raw power.

Of course these are, despite the reasonable track records of some of those concerned, only rumours. Especially when you get such diverse (and supposedly solid) speculation, it’s clear that clarity will only come when Nintendo officially reveals the system.

What it does do, of course, is bring back the topic of how much graphical power matters for the NX. Do we want a Nintendo system that – for the first time in generations – is an industry-leading powerhouse, or is an innovative and affordable console the preferred option? Chew that out in the comments below.

With thanks to Benson for the heads up.