Nintendo's first mobile game could arrive this year

Within a few months, Super Mario could be appearing on a mobile phone near you. It's all part of a new venture between Nintendo and Japanese mobile gaming company, DeNA, which will see the former's IP appear on smart devices worldwide.

In a Q&A session following that announcement, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata revealed that the first mobile game created as part of that alliance could appear as early as this year.

"Regarding the individual video game titles, when it will be launched, we will be making the announcement when each of those games are ready," Iwata said. "At least, however, we believe that there is no means of collaboration if we can't launch anything, at least once, or some sort of output within this year."

That's a very rough translation, clearly, but it does seem to confirm that we'll be seeing the first mobile game from Nintendo in 2015. This certainly chimes with the previous announcement that Nintendo and DeNA are working on a new membership service, replacing the old Club Nintendo scheme, which will be accessible on mobiles, PC and Nintendo's own systems.

Elsewhere, DeNA CEO Shintaro Asako revealed to Venturebeat that his company had been pursuing Nintendo for five years, "Nintendo became ready to do this," he said. "And we were ready the whole time."

Nintendo and DeNA's venture will see the latter provide the backend underpinnings of Nintendo's mobile games, leaving Nintendo to concentrate on the finer details of the games themselves. "We're willing to help them build that really sophisticated backend structure," Asako said. "It's not a sexy part. But we're willing to do it."

Asako also talked about avoiding the pitfalls of other mobile gaming companies, who've enjoyed success with one title - say, the absurdly popular Candy Crush - but have failed to replicate it with their subsequent releases. What will distinguish Nintendo in the mobile arena, Asako says, is its range of IP, which could be used to create a range of different experiences, instead of the same game dressed up in different graphics:

"One thing that we’re always thinking about is how can we build a structural advantage over other people," Asako said. "When you look at other successful companies, like King or Supercell, a lot of them are using one successful title and then using that game engine for other titles. I think the people out there see that as not really a strong structure to be successful for a long time."

While it's not yet clear what the first mobile game from Nintendo will be, it's likely we won't have to wait too long before we a further announcement.

You can more about the Nintendo and DeNA venture - not to mention the newly-announced Nintendo NX console - in our lengthier analysis, while the full interview with Shintaro Asako can be found at Venturebeat.

Polygon