Nintendo decides less is more for its iOS games
Speaking during his company’s March quarter results, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata revealed some of the plans surrounding the release of Nintendo games for iOS. The video game giant announced in March its plans to bring classic Nintendo characters, along with some new faces, to IOS and other smart devices through a partnership with mobile app developer DeNA.
Iwata said that Nintendo would “carefully select appropriate IP and titles” for its smartphone games. The partnership between Nintendo and DeNA is expected to produce about five titles between now and March 2017, with the first to arrive before the end of 2015. Iwata pointed out a “less is more” strategy for the releases.
You may think it is a small number, but when we aim to make each title a hit, and because we want to thoroughly operate every one of them for a significant amount of time after their releases, this is not a small number at all, and should demonstrate our serious commitment to the smart device business.
At the same time that Nintendo is entering the smartphone gaming industry, the company remains committed to its own proprietary consoles and handhelds. Nintendo plans on continuing development for the current-generation 3DS XL and Wii U, tying consumers into the handheld and console platform with connectivity on smartphones, tablets, and even PCs with an integrated membership service.
Iwata hopes the integration will encourage more consumers to become familiar with Nintendo’s intellectual property and be encouraged to explore more premium services on the company’s dedicating gaming systems. The explosion of bite-sized mobile gaming generated by the popularity of the iOS App Store has surely impacted Nintendo’s bottom line, and integrating with iPhones and iPads may very well be what is needed to breathe new life into the 3DS and Wii U market.
