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Nintendo's Mobile Push to Focus on Marketing Demos, Not Full Games

Monday January 27, 2014 12:21 pm PST by Juli Clover
Earlier this month, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata indicated Nintendo was looking into a new business structure involving "smart devices" after the company experienced its third consecutive annual loss in light of increasing competition from mobile platforms.

While that statement was interpreted by some as an indication of Nintendo's plan to develop game titles for iOS and Android, it appears that the company instead intends to use smartphones to market its existing handheld and console hardware and game lineup.

wiiu
According to a report from Japanese business newspaper Nikkei [Google Translation] (via Dr. Serkan Toto), Nintendo will introduce a free app that includes information on new games, including videos and character profiles along with some smartphone mini games.
But Nintendo will not simply put Mario, Pokemon or other games on smartphones. According to the report, Nintendo plans to use Android and/or iOS devices (not confirmed at this point) to market its console games.

To be more concrete, The Nikkei writes that Nintendo wants to use smartphones to expand its potential user base by spreading information about new game releases, i.e. by using video to introduce future titles. (This will probably happen through some kind of official Nintendo app.)
Nintendo's mini games are said to be playable demos of console games, but full versions of the titles will only be available on Nintendo hardware like the Wii U and the 3DS. The idea is to give players a small taste of the gameplay in order to entice them to purchase content on the Nintendo platform.

Mobile devices from Apple and Android and more popular consoles from Microsoft and Sony have devastated Nintendo's earnings in recent years. According to a report from App Annie, consumer spending on games for iOS and Android is now 4x that of dedicated gaming handhelds and sales of the Xbox and PlayStation have far outpaced Wii U sales. Though Iwata has said that Apple is "the enemy of the future" he has stated publicly that he will not provide Nintendo's "precious resources" to other platforms.

Nintendo is expected to make an announcement about its new mobile app on Thursday.

[ 195 comments ]


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milo
67 months ago
Dismal fail.
Rating: 21 Votes
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TC03
67 months ago
Slippery slope. Just a matter of time before Mario will be on iOS.
Rating: 13 Votes
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SMacDuff
67 months ago
Hey Nintendo, I'd like for you to meet Blackberry. I think you'd get along well together.
Rating: 11 Votes
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robertpetry
67 months ago
Laughing Out Loud here

That is an amazingly ignorant idea. Why the hell would I install a Nintendo app to watch a video of a game that won't play on my platform? Idiots.

They will be teetering on the brink in 12-24 months and then Apple can buy them cheap.

Heck, why wait Apple - I want you to buy Mario and Yoshi now, port games to the Apple platform and leverage Wii titles and technology into a new Apple Wii TV that works with my iPhone and iPad as controllers. All that IP could be bought cheaply. Yes their market cap is just shy of $19 Bil right now but it won't be up there in a year or two. Just wait till they half again the sales numbers for Wii U.
Rating: 10 Votes
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maflynn
67 months ago
Talk about missing the point. Its not that People are unaware of the Wii, but they've moved on. they would be better served to give consumers a next gen console like Sony and MS or put their games on iOS and Android. Doing demos to get people to buy them on their old consoles Wii and their failure of a handheld is only going to crash and burn
Rating: 8 Votes
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Z400Racer37
67 months ago
Idiots. Do these Executives even talk to their kids? How do they not know how completely futile this is? Just use the awesome hardware that already exists, and put your software on it.
Rating: 8 Votes
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cmChimera
67 months ago

Talk about missing the point. Its not that People are unaware of the Wii, but they've moved on. they would be better served to give consumers a next gen console like Sony and MS or put their games on iOS and Android. Doing demos to get people to buy them on their old consoles Wii and their failure of a handheld is only going to crash and burn


You realize that the 3ds sold better than any console last year right? It sold 13.5 million units. It now has an installed base of over 40 million. Failure? It's literally slightly behind its predecessor in sales. Oh and its predecessor was the best selling console of all time.

And they aren't trying to sell the Wii, which was another huge success. They're trying to sell the Wii U, which has performed poorly. So they have one poorly performing console in like 10 years, and they should just quit. Seems legit.
Rating: 8 Votes
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Nevaborn
67 months ago
So instead of offering their games and some of the best franchises in gaming history to tens of millions of new gamers bringing them badly needed money to help fund development and scrap the Wii U they instead decide to ignore the wishes of gamers ( again ) and are simply going to have an advertising app. why the Hell would anybody download their app for information that you can just as easily get online.
Rating: 8 Votes
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Goldex
67 months ago
Yeah like this is gonna save them...
Rating: 7 Votes
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AngerDanger
67 months ago
Mario themed Doodle Jump! Zelda themed Angry Birds! Pokémon themed Plants vs Zombies! The possibilities are endlessly underwhelming!
Rating: 7 Votes

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