In a press conference, Nintendo announced that it would partner with DeNA, a large mobile game and software publisher, to release liscenced apps using their IP.
This is the first time Nintendo has released full, original games on mobile devices. You read that right: original. So no ports of Super Mario Bros. for iOS. These will be brand new titles starring Nintendo’s all stars. I’m glad that we won’t be getting shoddy ports, at least.
Both DeNA and Nintendo are investing heavily in this, with Nintendo now owning 10% of DeNA’s stock. DeNA has confirmed that they will be creating a sort of membership program between 3DS, Wii U, and mobile, but we have no idea if this program will spread outside of Japan. This could very well be the replacement to Club Nintendo, or it could replace Nintendo’s current Internet services.
Personally, I’m feeling shaky about the whole thing. Nintendo spreading out makes sense and hopefully means they’ll continue to update and catch up with the rest of the world, but on the other hand DeNA has only released a few major liscenced titles, such as a Transformers game. Also, in my opinion, smart device/mobile gaming is subpar unless it’s boiled to extremely basic concepts, which Nintendo often struggles with. This could be a big gain for Nintendo, or a huge blunder. All we can do is watch and see.
UPDATE: During the conference, Iwata also mentioned a new Nintendo “system” called NX. We don’t know if this is a new hardware to replace Wii U, or something else entirely. Get your wallets ready!
