Nintendo Plans to Release Five Smart Device Games by March 2017

During Nintendo’s most recent financial results briefing, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata further elaborated on the company’s plans to release software for smart devices.

As originally announced, Nintendo will be partnering with Japanese mobile gaming giant DeNA to release software featuring Nintendo properties on various smart devices. According to Iwata, the first such mobile application will be released by the end of the calendar year. Iwata also reiterated that every Nintendo IP is eligible to appear in the company’s mobile games, though Nintendo will be carefully selecting the most appropriate ones to use. In total, Nintendo plans to release approximately five smart device games by March 2017.

Despite its move into the mobile space, Iwata reiterated that Nintendo is still committed to dedicated video game consoles and plans to use its mobile titles to entice consumers to purchase its own hardware:

“Nintendo continues to have strong passion and believes in the promising prospects for the future of our dedicated video game system business. We will deploy our game business on smart devices not because we think that the dedicated game system business will wane, but because doing so will encourage a greater number of people to associate with Nintendo IP, to become familiar with the charms of video games and, eventually, to explore more premium experiences on our dedicated game systems. To realize this, we need to create a bridge between the two platforms.”

The bridge that Iwata mentions will be the company’s “integrated membership service,” which it will be developing with DeNA. While Iwata didn’t reveal any specific details as to what this membership service will entail, he did say that it will allow consumers to “access multiple devices using one common ID.” He elaborated:

“For us to be able to bridge the gap between smart devices and dedicated game systems, we will offer advantages to consumers who use one ID across multiple devices.

“So far, the members input their Club Nintendo ID to use the services. With this new service, our members will be able to visit Nintendo’s website and log in with one ID, and they will receive various services including the ones based on their past purchases and gameplay records as well as services that will be an improved version of the current loyalty program.

“With this new membership, we are planning to deploy services that will make playing Nintendo games with their game pals more fun regardless of which platform they are accessing.”

Iwata also confirmed that Nintendo’s new membership service will encompass the company’s current consoles, Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, as well as smart devices, PCs, and Nintendo’s next dedicated game system, NX.

Source: Nintendo