By 
A report from Nikkei in Japan suggests that Nintendo could finally cave and begin offering some form of digital content on mobile devices later this year. According to sources, content would come in the form of free mini-games, videos, and other content (like back stories) featuring Nintendo’s iconic franchises and upcoming releases.
As Nintendo fans well know, the Japanese game maker has typically shunned new tech like smartphones and tablets, seeing them as competition to their gaming handheld business, rather than an asset or tool. In an interview, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata realizes his folly, mentioning that the company is currently exploring different ways in which Nintendo can leverage smart devices to their advantage.
As far as timing on when we can expect Nintendo content to land in the Play Store, Nikkei — who has a great track record with this kinda stuff — says it’s scheduled arrive as early as this year. We’ll be watching out.
via Kotaku | Image credit
Sh!t they better do somethin wit their tanking asse$..
too stubborn
I know -_-
PORT OLD GAMES. Bypasses all the arguments against Nintendo going mobile with new games (unreasonable price, loss of sales of 3DS, etc.).
Square Enix, Rockstar Games, Hyperdevbox, Sega, etc. do it. Given how popular Nintendo’s franchises are, and the relatively poor quality of most platformers on mobile, I imagine many people would love to have various old Mario games on their phones. They are currently earning nothing due to emulators; they may as well put it out themselves so the money goes to them.
i like the idea behind porting the popular franchise from nintendo handheld / sony psp to smartphones/tablet (be it android or iOS) but what i don’t like was something like this happen when they actually port the title over:
http://www.shacknews.com/article/82839/tales-of-phantasia-strikes-ios-with-aggressive-in-app-purchases
This really shows how much the flop of the Wii U and the impact of Google and Apple are affecting them. It’s a sad case for them to break their traditional model in order to stay relevant today.
At the risk of making an ass of myself… I can see how the Wii U would flop. The Wii was the start of the demise. imo, it didn’t really have the game selection that one would call “awesome” like the gamecube did or the N64 and so on. The lack of real controller killed it too. Irrevocable so for the Wii U even though it has one.
I agree on that. Even though i had a lot of fun with the original Wii, i still had far more games for both the N64 and Gamecube each than i had for the Wii.
Yeah, I think I liked LOZ: Skyward Sword the most for immersiveness. Other than that there are many more games on GC that I liked more.
Everyone was saying the same thing the first year or 2 the 3DS came out and now the amount of great games it has rivals what the 360 and PS3 have been putting out. Just give it time and Wii U will soar especially since with its lineup for this year: New Super Smash Bros., LoZ x Dynasty Warriors, Mario Kart 8, Bayonetta 2, X (Xenoblade sequel), DK Country Returns 2, an HD Pokemon game, Shin Megami x Fire Emblem, and probably some I forgot. They’re going strong this year!
the wii functions as a good toy, different than a traditional console. the wii u is just a shitty console with a horrible controller and software glitches that are unforgivable… My roommate has one they did a software update about a month in and sometimes hulu would just feeze in the middle of the show and start a full volume buzzing noise, the only way to turn it off was to unplug it (with the attached hdd still spinning). this was a known issue and it took them 3 months to get it from once or twice a day to once a twice a week. if the games were noticeably cheaper than xbox and ps you might have a case but they are the same
Am i the only one who thinks that mobile gaming just won’t ever be as appealing as a dedicated gaming console or handheld? I don’t know. It just seems like mobile gaming is more of an experiment to big name companies than a real alternative.
I hope so. If more people thought like you then things like the Walkman would’ve never taken off or evolved.
Yeah because Android hasn’t evolved or taken off.. Nintendo would benefit nothing but short term success from this. And we see how well that’s treating sega.
mobile gaming is as appealing vs a dedicated gaming console, as tablets are as appealing vs a desktop workstation. Some people don’t care about all that power n just like something portable. Others would never want to sacrifice complexity and depth of a dedicated machine just so they can play it on the bus.
I guess you forgot how addicting mobile games can be. Think angry birds, candy crush, etc.
Yeah but those games only really work on a mobile device so that’s not really the same thing.
To people who play the causal games vs dedicated consoles it’s no comparison to you and i, but to the average consumer a 99 cent game compared to $50 game is going to have much more appeal to someone’s wallet. If Nintendo had a very popular mobile game to the effect like angry birds it could bring more customers back to purchasing Nintendo products.
But that’s just it why would someone pay 50 dollars for a game on their phone when they could buy it on a game platform that is better supported? Not to mention the horrid lack of a proper controller.
The reason why some people think Nintendo should get into the mobile game business is to help generate more buzz about upcoming games for it’s wii U console. Maybe a mini game version of zelda of an iphone might propel that causal gamer into buying the full version of game for the wii U for a better gaming experience.Little gains lead to big gains if done properly.
I don’t mind Nintendo making apps that support games on the Wii u. But a mini game?? If that were to happen people would be complaining at Nintendo to release the full version which would hurt them in the long run.
I second that. I much rather play games on my PlayStation than my phone, mobile graphics and functionality will never compare to that of an actual console.
I have no interest in buying a Nintendo handheld or new console. I would, however, but mario, zelda ect for android.
BRING POKEMON TO ANDROID :D!
Well they could use this as a stepping stone to bring people in to buy 3ds and WiiU. Get them addicted on minigames and interested in character backstories, so that people will be more likely to go buy their full products. And they could have a game release app where people could see updates as to when the games they are interested are coming out. Lots of possibilities, just need to see if they pull this off
FAIL!!!
The real problem is that Nintendo can’t compete with Microsoft and Sony. Forget the Mobile market. Your bread n butter is with hardware and in today’s world, when a kid looks at next Gen consoles, he’s not telling his mom “those graphics on the wii U look awesome”.
Come out with a console comparable to the One and PS4, grow your franchise characters in the process and get more exclusive titles and it’s a win for Nintendo. I grew up on Nintendo but back then they competed on the same level with Sega, Saturn and Amiga.
I would kill for a state of the art Legend of Zelda.
Bring on Super Mario Brothers 1,2,3, Excite Bike, Double Dragon, Punchout, Zelda, T&C Surfing. :-D
Did we have the exact same childhood? #childrenoftheearly80s
Big N has already denied this:
http://www.engadget.com/2014/01/28/nintendo-denies-smartphone-games/
I’ve read others suggesting this and I have to agree that they could have a goldmine on their hands if they do a sort of rental/subscription/purchase service on their back catalog of games. Although it would need a controller to work with it (Wii Remote/Classic Controller anyone?). That way they could sell both hardware as well as have a lucrative subscription service. However, that would still be unlikely as they will want to push their own mobile hardware first and foremost.
Personally, I think that they should make a Streetpass app. The trick is that
it would only distribute your data and pickup new Streetpasses. You
would still need a 3DS in order to make use of them. This would benefit
people who can’t always carry a 3DS with them. It could also allow
Streetpass to be used with home consoles if they so desired (although we
would see that happen with the 3DS first). That’s my thought, anyway.