Generous fistfuls of salt at the ready!

Okay, according to various “sources” Nintendo has been showing off its next generation of handheld hardware to a select group of gamesbiz bigwigs at the recent GamesCom show. Hmmm, really?

Well, maybe. But let’s run with the rumours for a while...

By all accounts the new unit is built around Nvidia’s Tegra chipset, hence the new moniker – the Nintendo “TS” (Tegra System). The Tegra is appropriately described as a computer-on-a-chip in that it integrates many functions into one slender slice of silicon. It is specifically designed for mobile devices and is scheduled to power Microsoft’s Zune HD handheld later this year. In other words, it’d be the ideal foundation for a new generation of handheld consoles, assuming that Nintendo was ever in the market for such a thing. But moving on.

Practically-speaking, the TS would be on a par with the Wii in terms of its processing power and graphical grunt. The new unit is set to retain many features of its immediate predecessor too – notably a DSi-style built-in camera and a higher-resolution touch-screen interface. Full backwards-compatibility is also on the cards, we’re assured.

Now this is where the rumour mill begins wobble. Nintendo supposedly demonstrated a working version of Mario Kart that boasted the same spiffy visuals as Double Dash and the recent Wii iteration. Also on show behind those closed doors were TS versions of Nintendogs, Metroid, something in the Brain Training line and what appeared to be a the next Pikmin.

And there it all is. Cynics, as we are, we’re tempted to dismiss it all as a work of hopeful fanboy fiction. That said, the last time something like this was unearthed it turned out to be the PS3 Slim. In short, we’re keeping ‘em crossed that there’s more than a little substance to the stories.

We won’t bother to contact Nintendo for further comment, since we can already predict their response. But we’ll be sure to report anything else of interest that turns up between now and the claimed E3 2010 unveiling. Meantime, remember where you heard it first.