Nintendo today announced plans to develop games for mobile devices, including smartphones and tablets. The move is an about-face for the gaming company, which has steadfastly insisted on supporting only its gaming consoles.
In order to kickstart its development efforts, Nintendo has partnered with DeNA, a Japanese mobile gaming company, to bring games to market quicker. Nintendo and DeNA are each investing about $182 million in one another, with Nintendo acquiring a 10% stake in DeNA and DeNA acquiring a 1.2% stake in Nintendo. Together the companies will launch a “multi-device membership service for the global market” in the fall encompassing consoles, PCs, tablets, and smartphones. “This will allow us to build a bridge between smart devices and gaming consoles,” said Nintendo President Satoru Iwata.
“It doesn’t mean smart devices will eat away at gaming consoles, it will create an entirely new type of demand.” Nintendo did not share details about the first game, but said it will not create “hand-me-down” versions of its existing games.
Nintendo’s most popular titles include Super Mario Bros. and Mario Kart. Nintendo has lost significant share in the gaming market due to its stubborn refusal to adapt to mobile devices. S
ony and Microsoft, with their PlayStation and Xbox brands, have embraced console gaming and mobile gaming. Nintendo isn’t giving up on consoles and is working on something called the Nintendo NX. Nintendo didn’t provide any details about the NX.
