Nintendo Entering the Mobile Gaming Market

Nintendo has announced that it is entering into a “business and capital alliance” with Japanese mobile gaming company DeNA to produce “gaming applications for smart devices”. The games will use Nintendo intellectual property, including its logo and characters.

A DeNA press release reads:

The alliance is intended to complement Nintendo’s dedicated video game systems business and extend Nintendo’s reach into the vast market of smart device users worldwide. Under the alliance, DeNA will also be able to strengthen its gaming business at a global scale by leveraging Nintendo’s IP. To ensure the quality of game experience that consumers expect from this alliance of Nintendo and DeNA, only new original games optimised for smart device functionality will be created, rather than porting games created specifically for the Wii U home console or the Nintendo 3DS portable system.

Nintendo insists that it is still “dedicated video game hardware business,” with the company adding that it is currently working on its next gaming platform, codenamed the NX. As such, the alliance between it and DeNA seems very careful not to tread on the toes of Nintendo’s console output.

The press release continues:

Nintendo and DeNA expect to develop a new core system compatible with a variety of devices including PCs, smartphones and tablets as well as Nintendo’s dedicated video game systems, and are to jointly develop a membership service utilising this system, with a launch targeted for the fall of 2015. The companies expect to further enhance their customer relationships through the membership service.

This development seems to point towards an imminent replacement for the soon-defunct Club Nintendo loyalty program.

Should Nintendo stick to consoles, or is a move into mobile gaming long overdue?

Source: Kotaku