Nintendo Finally Considers Smartphone Move After Third Straight Annual Loss

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata stated in a press conference that the company is now considering a "new business structure" that involves smart devices, reports Bloomberg. wii_u_controller

Wii U GamePad controller

The news comes as Nintendo reported a third consecutive annual loss, slashing the global sales forecast for its flagship Wii U game console from 9 million units to 2.8 million consoles. The company also scaled back its expectations for its 3DS portable game console from 18 million units to 13.5 million, with Iwata also claiming that there are no short term plans to reshuffle management.

"We are thinking about a new business structure," Iwata said at a press conference yesterday in Osaka, Japan. "Given the expansion of smart devices, we are naturally studying how smart devices can be used to grow the game-player business. It’s not as simple as enabling Mario to move on a smartphone."

Nintendo has faced fierce competition from mobile platforms in recent years, with App Annie recently finding that consumer spending on games for iOS and Android rose to 4x that of dedicated gaming handhelds. In 2010, Iwata reportedly told his senior executives to regard Apple and its devices as "the enemy of the future", and also stated to CVG last August that he would "never think about providing [Nintendo’s] precious resources for other platforms at all."

Investors have also called for Nintendo to develop titles for iOS and other platforms in August 2011 after lower-than-expected demand for the 3DS. Alternatively, some also suggested that Nintendo should "buy its way into" the smartphone platforms by acquiring companies and technology or developing their own. Iwata's newest comments reveal that Nintendo is now seriously considering supporting smartphones in some manner.

Top Rated Comments

furi0usbee Avatar
129 months ago
Unfortunately for them, they're too late for a big piece of the pie. Not sure who their target market would be....

You're not sure? One word... Mario. Forget about the hundreds of Mario games already there for Nintendo to tap. Think of all the games out there now, big selling games, with new mascots... Now drop Mario into that equation, with the Mario universe, characters, etc. The possibilities are endless. Then, when Apple finally lets us play iOS games on the Apple TV with a real controller, you now are back in the living room.

Once Nintendo loses the hand-held market, they are over. The hand-held market subsidizes their console ambitions. Nintendo could stay in the hardware business for some time, but they have a goldmine as a software developer, and could be the biggest software house for iOS/Android on day one.

This is getting very interesting...
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Z400Racer37 Avatar
129 months ago
Its about time, its a good thing they pay those guys so much to figure out what a 5 year old could have told them 5 years ago
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bushido Avatar
129 months ago
Pokemon!!! #noshame
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ipedro Avatar
129 months ago
Iwata's comments have been misrepresented

Iwata's comments have been misrepresented and were totally blown out of proportion by the most of the mainstream media.

If you've been following his history regarding "smart devices", Iwata has in the past stated that Nintendo was looking into smartphones and tablets as an addition to their first party hardware experiences to entice new users to Nintendo consoles and handhelds.

What Iwata has suggested would be mini games made for touch devices using Nintendo characters but that major games would still be exclusive to Nintendo consoles. For example, we might see a Mario Angry Birds style game to introduce a new generation to Super Mario who would then feel compelled to buy a Nintendo console to play the main games. I believe he also made mention of a Zelda puzzle game and a Pokémon "pet" app.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Goftrey Avatar
129 months ago
Stinks of SEGA.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SandboxGeneral Avatar
129 months ago
Maybe we'll finally get to see some of their top games make their way to iOS finally.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 16 4 Web Push

Apple Confirms Governments Using Push Notifications to Surveil Users

Wednesday December 6, 2023 5:06 am PST by
Unidentified governments are surveilling smartphone users by tracking push notifications that move through Google's and Apple's servers, a US senator warned on Wednesday (via Reuters). In a letter to the Department of Justice, Senator Ron Wyden said foreign officials were demanding the data from the tech giants to track smartphones. The traffic flowing from apps that send push notifications...
best buy snowflakes

Best Buy's New Weekend Sale Has Record Low Prices on MacBook Pro and MacBook Air

Friday December 8, 2023 7:37 am PST by
Best Buy's month-long holiday sale continues this weekend with multiple all-time low prices on Apple's line of MacBook Pro and MacBook Air computers. In addition to Apple notebooks, Best Buy's event has discounts sitewide on home appliances, TVs, video games, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive...
iOS 17

iOS 17.2 Will Add These 12 New Features to Your iPhone

Friday December 1, 2023 12:19 pm PST by
iOS 17.2 has been in beta testing for over a month, and it should be released to all users in a few more weeks. The software update includes many new features and changes for iPhones, including the dozen that we have highlighted below. iOS 17.2 is expected to be released to the public in mid-December. To learn about even more features coming in the update, check out our full list. Journal ...
beeper mini

Apple Puts a Stop to Beeper Mini's iMessage for Android Feature

Friday December 8, 2023 2:24 pm PST by
Apple appears to have closed the loophole that Beeper Mini used to bring iMessage to Android, putting a stop to blue bubbles from Android devices. Beeper Mini quit working earlier today, with users receiving "failed to lookup on server: lookup request timed out" error messages. Beeper said on Twitter that it is investigating the issue, but Beeper CEO Eric Migicovsky told TechCrunch that "all ...
maxresdefault

Review: Two Months With the iPhone 15 Pro Max

Thursday December 7, 2023 12:04 pm PST by
Apple's iPhone 15 lineup came out in September, and while most reviews are done shortly after a new device launches, we like to follow up with a longer term review that gives us an opportunity to provide a deeper dive into what it's like using these phones on a day to day basis for months. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. MacRumors videographer Dan Barbera has been...
apple watch black friday

Apple Watch Ultra 2 Hits New Record Low Price of $699, Alongside Series 9 and SE Sales

Friday December 8, 2023 8:55 am PST by
Amazon has a few big discounts on Apple Watch today, headlined by a new all-time low price on the Apple Watch Ultra 2. Many of these watches can be delivered by Christmas, with delivery dates around the middle of next week for most models. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site ...
iphone se 4 modified flag edges

iPhone SE 4 May Reuse Existing iPhone 14 Battery

Wednesday December 6, 2023 1:17 pm PST by
Recently, MacRumors has received details on the battery currently being tested on the upcoming fourth-generation iPhone SE, and the information corroborates previous findings in relation to the device. The iPhone SE 4, known by its device identifier D59, is expected to use the exact same battery found in the base model iPhone 14. Partially assembled prototypes of the next iPhone SE have been ...
iOS 17

35 Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 17.2 Coming This Week

Wednesday December 6, 2023 5:57 am PST by
Apple made the first beta of iOS 17.2 available to developers in October. Since then we've seen three more betas, and with each iteration Apple continues to add more new features and changes, many of which users have been anticipating for quite a while. Below, we've listed 35 new things that are coming to your iPhone when the finalized version is publicly released in mid-December. 1....