As Nintendo’s latest financial earnings continue to further paint a “gloom-and-doom” future for the company, Satoru Iwata reiterates that they currently have no plans to release their key franchises on smartphone devices. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Iwata mentions how smartphones will not be the end of home console gaming. However, Iwata states that the key to success is to use smartphones in a way that will encourage consumers to pick up the console versions of Nintendo franchises.
The spread of smart devices does not spell the end of game consoles. It’s not that simple,” President Satoru Iwata said at a news conference Friday. The key is to figure out a way to use smartphones to make people aware of Nintendo’s games, and encourage them to try out the console version of the games, Mr. Iwata said.
“It doesn’t mean that we should put Mario on smartphones,” he said.
In the meantime, it is worth noting that Nintendo is beefing up its research and development budget, and that Mr. Iwata promises to surprise game players in the future. While there are plenty of unknowns, Nintendo isn’t saying game over to consoles just yet.
It’s apparent that Nintendo will be changing their business model to ensure that the company has any long-term success with the Wii U and 3DS. Just this past weekend, Nintendo slashed its projected fiscal year sales forecast for the Wii U from 9 million units to 2.8 million.
Now, if Nintendo were to delve into some form of applications or even a retro title or two for smartphones, how would you want them to do it? Tell us in the comments below.
