Nintendo continues doing things in its own time, announcing it is preparing a new generation of hardware codenamed "NX." Just before that, Nintendo revealed that it's willing to change and announced that it's finally licensing its beloved intellectual property for use on smartphones and tablets.
In a briefing called on short notice, Nintendo President and Director Satoru Iwata announced that Nintendo is partnering with DeNA, provider of social games and e-commerce sites, to bring old characters to new devices. Nintendo and DeNa will work together to develop new games for smartphones and tablets in global markets, Iwata stated.
"Needless to say, now that we are challenging ourselves in this new business area, we hope that hundreds of millions of people will use and enjoy these products," said Iwata.
There are significant differences between Nintendo's dedicated gaming hardware and smart devices, stated Iwata. So, Nintendo won't port Wii U or 3DS or NX games to smart devices.
"We have no intention at all to port existing game titles for dedicated game platforms to smart devices because if we cannot provide our consumers with the best possible play experiences, it would just ruin the value of Nintendo's IP," said Iwata.
Despite refusing to port console games to smart devices, Iwata said Nintendo wants to create mobile spinoffs of new titles to suit smart devices. So, while a new game may not be the same across all devices, the spirit of it will be created for smart devices.
For years, Nintendo has bucked analysts and consumer demand for the game maker's IP to arrive on smartphones and tablets. Now that Nintendo is doing so, Iwata said it in no way compromises the company's passion and dedication for releasing games for its dedicated hardware.
Evidencing its commitment to continue innovating in the console space, Nintendo is preparing to release a "dedicated game platform" that has a "brand new concept," stated Iwata. "That product is codenamed 'NX,'" he said.
"It is too early to elaborate on the details of this project, but we hope to share more information with you next year," said Iwata.
To bring all of its upcoming projects together, Nintendo is developing a membership service that will be more comprehensive than Club Nintendo. The services connect the 3DS, Wii U, NX and smart devices and PCs.
To marry Nintendo and DeNA, the pair of partners have been connected by a capital alliance in which both companies will rely on each other. The two companies are in it for the long-term and plan to scale their alliance over time, said Isao Moriyasu, president and CEO of DeNA.
"I grew up playing Nintendo games, and I'm already excited that I will soon be able to play Nintendo IP games on smart devices," said Moriyasu.
