Nintendo president hints at exploring smartphone gaming support

[compl3x]

What a difference a failing console makes. Just hours after announcing severely scaled back projections for fiscal year Wii U sales and after projections of yet another fiscal year loss, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata told the audience at an Osaka press conference today that the company might look to smartphones to change up its struggling business.

 

"We are thinking about a new business structure," Iwata told the press, according to a Bloomberg News report. "Given the expansion of smart devices, we are naturally studying how smart devices can be used to grow the game-player business. It's not as simple as enabling Mario to move on a smartphone."

 

?We cannot continue a business without winning,? he continued. ?We must take a skeptical approach [to] whether we can still simply make game players, offer them in the same way as in the past for 20,000 yen or 30,000 yen, and sell titles for a couple of thousand yen each.?

 

That's not an ironclad confirmation that Nintendo is looking to develop directly for the phone market, of course, but it's the largest sign yet that the company is strongly considering such a move. Then again, a careful reading could suggest that Nintendo is simply looking at smartphones as companion devices to consoles like the Wii U. Nintendo has recently opened up its Miiverse messaging service to work between the Wii U and mobile platforms, so Iwata's statement could also be hinting at an expansion of that kind of connection.

 

Still, the suggestion of "enabling Mario to move on a smartphone" suggests there's more behind Iwata's statements than that. That's especially true when paired with mention of a "new business structure," like, say, one where Nintendo focuses on making software rather than continuing to make hardware.

 

It wouldn't be unprecedented for the company; Nintendo made versions of its arcade hit for consoles from the likes of Atari and Coleco before it had its own consoles, and the company licensed its characters for games on the PC and CD-i into the '90s. Nintendo is far from the grave financial straits that led Sega to abandon the hardware market after the Dreamcast's failure?it took a half-decade of failed systems like the 32X and Saturn to force Sega's hand. Still, Nintendo may be interpreting the writing on the wall and looking to diversify a bit sooner than its former 16-bit competitor did. Or Nintendo may just see smartphone software development as a potential supplement to its existing hardware business, ahead of a Sega-style transition. Or neither of these things. It's all quite speculative at the moment, of course.

 

Iwata's smartphone talk could also suggest a lack of faith in the future of the 3DS. As that portable system approaches the conclusion of its third year on the market, research analyst Michael Pachter notes that the system is selling "fine" but is still down 50 percent compared to DS levels last decade.

 

Nintendo is revising its expectations for fiscal year 3DS sales downward as well, from 18 million units to 13.5 million units worldwide. That's not as drastic as the 50 percent reduction in sales expectations for the Wii U, but it's enough to suggest that Nintendo may have been surprised by how much mobile systems are eating into the market for dedicated portable gaming systems?a market that has been a rock-solid cash cow for Nintendo since the days of the original Game Boy.

 

In the past, we've suggested on these virtual pages that Nintendo would be crazy to slit its own throatby making games for smartphones, but that was 2.5 years and a few major system launches ago.Back in 2012, when the 3DS was struggling in the marketplace more than it is today, I used the popularity of a fake Pokemon app on the iOS app store to suggest that Nintendo might be wise to look at taking a bite of Apple's market. "Why continue to struggle building an audience for your own mobile platform when Apple already has an established device with an audience that's obviously desperate for your software? In other words, why continue to try to beat the IP thieves when you can instead join them?"

 

Nothing is certain, but it looks like Nintendo may finally be warming to that view.

 

 

Source

[n_K]

Haha wow, amazing what a huge failure of a product does to a company, people have been telling nintendo to do this for years and only NOW do they listen, if I'm being honest though it's a bit too little too late.

[LimeMaster]

It's kinda funny that Nintendo have decided to target the smartphone as a lot of people would have preferred them to go multi-platform on the home consoles. :laugh:

 

Hopefully this change doesn't reduce the quality of their games and hopefully their games come to Windows Phone as well and not just the two popular smartphone OSes. :)

[The Evil Overlord]

Mmmmmmmmmm, pikmin on my s3.....

[LimeMaster]

Mmmmmmmmmm, pikmin on my s3.....

They are only supporting IOS & Windows Phone. :p :shifty:

[The Evil Overlord]

They are only supporting IOS & Windows Phone. :p :shifty:

no symbian support neither? :p

[LimeMaster]

no symbian support neither? :p

Sadly, no. They might support Blackberry. :p

[-T- Member]

Could MS get some kind of exclusivity on the virtual console stuff and finally make a serious move in the Japanese market

[The Evil Overlord]

Sadly, no. They might support Blackberry. :p

strange, I read a mention for ios, so one could safely assume more platform support as it would maximise the exposure of their games.

[LimeMaster]

strange, I read a mention for ios, so one could safely assume more platform support as it would maximise the exposure of their games.

This is Nintendo we're talking about. Remember they are on their own little island right now and have only just realized that there's a better places that they could be exploring.

 

Could MS get some kind of exclusivity on the virtual console stuff and finally make a serious move in the Japanese market

Then all their games would be Windows Phone exclusive. :)

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

Could MS get some kind of exclusivity on the virtual console stuff and finally make a serious move in the Japanese market

 

Considering X1 fans have said they don't even care about their own back libraries, I seriously doubt it.

[Blackhearted]

So the word "smartphone" is mentioned in a nintendo article and people immediately go all retard-mode and think that means that's where all nintendo games will be going now.

 

I'll be the one in this thread who will be realistic and say that nintendo supporting smartphones will be similar to how you can use miiverse on your phone.

[Lord Method Man]

So the word "smartphone" is mentioned in a nintendo article and people immediately go all retard-mode and think that means that's where all nintendo games will be going now.

 

I'll be the one in this thread who will be realistic and say that nintendo supporting smartphones will be similar to how you can use miiverse on your phone.

 

I agree. Its pathetic and embarrassing. Nintendo's mobile sales are phenomenal right now why would they want to start competing with themselves there?

[LimeMaster]

So the word "smartphone" is mentioned in a nintendo article and people immediately go all retard-mode and think that means that's where all nintendo games will be going now.

 

I'll be the one in this thread who will be realistic and say that nintendo supporting smartphones will be similar to how you can use miiverse on your phone.

If they were more successful in the smartphone department, then I'm sure Nintendo will probably end up only developing for smartphones rather than maintaining the things that are making them lose profit.

[Kalint]

finally!  Pokemon native on my phone!

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

Topic cleaned.

 

Enough of the "fanboy" name calling.

[compl3x]

So the word "smartphone" is mentioned in a nintendo article and people immediately go all retard-mode and think that means that's where all nintendo games will be going now.

 

I'll be the one in this thread who will be realistic and say that nintendo supporting smartphones will be similar to how you can use miiverse on your phone.

 

 

The article admits it is speculative. No need to come out with all guns blazing to defend Nintendo.

 

Although why Nintendo looking at the smartphone market is such an insult to Nintendo fans is weird. Do they think it is going to ruin the company's purity or something?

[Blackhearted]

The article admits it is speculative. No need to come out with all guns blazing to defend Nintendo.

 

Although why Nintendo looking at the smartphone market is such an insult to Nintendo fans is weird. Do they think it is going to ruin the company's purity or something?

 

You have seen what typically happens to games when they go the smartphone kind of mobile right? Gameplay suffers, controls go to crap, and they often get littered with in app purchases. I don't think anyone(fan or not) realistically wants to see what are some of the top games of the industry go down that path.

[ngc891]

instead of developing for phones, maybe Nintendo are thinking of developing phones... Nintenphone 3ds...

[Lord Method Man]

finally!  Pokemon native on my phone!

 

And what the hell are you talking about?

[compl3x]

You have seen what typically happens to games when they go the smartphone kind of mobile right? Gameplay suffers, controls go to crap, and they often get littered with in app purchases. I don't think anyone(fan or not) realistically wants to see what are some of the top games of the industry go down that path.

 

 

I'm not a fan of mobile all that much, either, but Nintendo might need to go mobile to supplement or subsidise their other development. Nintendo aren't printing money like they used to.

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

instead of developing for phones, maybe Nintendo are thinking of developing phones... Nintenphone 3ds...

 

Didn't work out with Apple and the Motorola iTunes phones and it hasn't really worked out for Sony and their Xperia Playstation phones/tablets either.

 

Unless you're going to into it with 100% heart to be a contender in the phone market, i.e Apple's iPhone, you aren't going to last long. I'm not sure people would want to buy a Nintendo branded phone either. I can already see the nagteive press now about "toy candy" cells or friend code limits etc.

 

Mobile gaming is not where they're struggling though, so as someone said previously, to compete with themself on a 2nd device wouldn't make sense. Providing more support for the 3DS is easier and has more to gain.

[riahc3]

Hello,

I disagree with those saying that the Nintendo phone is a bad idea.

Nintendo's first console (I believe, someone correct me if Im wrong) has a handheld. Why not revisit this?

Nintendo, even if stock has gone down, is still huge. Imagine selling a handheld console.....with GSM capability.

Dont get me wrong, I know Sony has tried this and famed horribly but their target audience isnt adults that want handhelds; its kids wanting their first phone because all their friends have it...

Nintendo keeps making its small 2DS games but for this new phone platform. They wil sell at a HUGE lost but....I think they can capture this small kids market. I see kids every year younger and younger and getting smartphones with Android. I think the Nintendo phone can indeed capture a untapped market.

Its competition:

iPhone - Obviously too expensive for a kid and touchscreen only.

Android - Androids are dirt cheap but I see a 2DS here at 129?. I think Nintendo can not only match that (Android phones that cost 129?) but beat it.

The thing is that it has to stay oriented towards a console. It needs to be a console BEFORE a phone IMO.

I really think that Nintendo can take this market...

[compl3x]

I think Nintendo might still think it is in a position to charge high prices because people are so in love with their first-party titles. The amount of competition and a flourishing indie & mobile market is seemingly proving too much to handle.

[firey]

nintendo needs to start making a serious console, that is competive to the xbone and ps4.  Yes, it will be more expensive than their standard.. but players are looking for the high-def, action, etc. I am sure 99% of xbone or ps4 players would buy a pokemon game on one of those console if nintendo were to also release games for those.