After experiencing their third consecutive annual loss, Nintendo is looking at new ways of branching forward, and setting their sights on the mobile market.
According to a report at Nikkei, Nintendo has announced plans to incorporate smart devices into the mix to further cater to the companies’ longtime and casual gaming audience. While we won’t be seeing full-length releases anytime soon, Nintendo does plan to introduce promotional material for upcoming games including a free Nintendo app with info about new games, videos, character profiles as well as playable demos for the Wii U and 3DS. While nothing is confirmed at this point, Nintendo may plan to use Android and/or iOS devices to market these releases.
In relation to Nintendo president Satoru Iwata’s thoughts about Apple (ahem, the “enemy of the future”) according to Times Online, is this a strategic move for Nintendo or simply a way of turning their back on powerhouses like Microsoft and Sony? By targeting Apple as their prime competitor (rather than ally), has Nintendo already lost the fight? We want to hear your thoughts on the matter and how you think this new business structure will unfold!
More news about the mobile app will be announced this Thursday. Please stay tuned for more news once the time comes!
Update: Nintendo has recently denied any movement into the mobile market in this statement:
Nikkei’s article contains information previously stated by Mr. Iwata during past press conferences, including statements which relate to Nintendo’s willingness to make use of smart devices to promote our products.
However during such past announcements Mr. Iwata has also stated that Nintendo’s intention is not to make Nintendo software available on smart devices and as such, we can confirm that there are no plans to offer mini-games on smartphone devices.