It's been announced that Nintendo is to release games for tablets and phones in a new venture with Japanese mobile company, DeNA...
NewsFor years, Nintendo pretty much had the handheld market to itself, thanks to the huge popularity of the Game Boy and its successors. But in more recent times, the rise of the smartphone and similar systems has chipped away at Nintendo's dominance. And while Nintendo's resisted the temptation to create games for rival systems, it's clear that a change of thinking as been in the air for some time.
Not long ago, the company talked about the possibility of creating new mobile experiences designed to promote the Nintendo brand, and games like Pokemon Shuffle and Puzzles & Dragons: Super Mario Bros Edition hinted at this new direction.
In a Tokyo press conference, Nintendo laid out its future plans for mobile gaming. It's set to create games for tablets and phones in a new venture with Japanese mobile giant DeNA, where the two companies "intend to jointly operate new gaming applications featuring Nintendo IP, which they will develop specifically for smart devices."
Together, Nintendo and DeNA will launch a new, cross-platform membership service which will replace the outgoing Club Nintendo. This will work on PC and mobile devices as well as Nintendo's own 3DS and Wii U.
"The new membership service will include multiple devices and create a connection between Nintendo and each individual consumer regardless of the device the consumer uses," Nintendo boss Satoru Iwata said.
With Nintendo's next console, the NX, also announced, the conference clearly marks a considerable change in direction for the company.
"We are challenging ourselves to redefine what Nintendo platform means," Iwata said. "We aim to achieve this goal as soon as possible."
More on Nintendo's move to mobile as we get it.
