Nintendo has announced its partnership with smartphone game maker DeNA as part of an initiative to boost console sales. As smartphone users become more familiar with a game's mobile version, the Japanese company believes they will become more interested in a premium playing experience — using Nintendo's dedicated game systems.
The agreement, which was finalized in March, outlines that Nintendo's intellectual property – such as games and characters – will be used in mobile games. These games are expected to be entirely new titles.
Around five titles are scheduled for release within the next two years, with the first smartphone game set to become available within the year. The company explained that it's releasing only a few games, with the intention of making each game a hit.
"Regarding the number of the titles, you may want to know that we will release approximately five titles by the end of the next fiscal year, which is the end of March 2017," said Nintendo president Satoru Iwata in a talk with investors and analysts.
To make the move to mobile as smooth as possible, the company came up with an integrated membership service that will allow users to access a number of devices and services using only a single ID. By using this ID, gamers can take advantage of a number of services, including those based on their previous purchases and records of gameplay. There will also be an enhanced version of the current loyalty program.
Nintendo announced a new console called "Codename NX," which will work like a pair of devices that can exchange seamless communication. One of the devices is a handheld console and the other is a console that connects to a TV.
Nintendo hopes that its smartphone games will help increase their IP exposure and lure new audiences to the company's game devices.
"By taking this approach, we firmly believe that doing business on smart devices will not shrink our dedicated video game system business and will instead create new demand," Iwata said.
