Nintendo Confirms No Games Coming to iOS, But Service App in the Works

During a strategy briefing that took place in Osaka, Japan, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata today confirmed (via The Wall Street Journal) that Nintendo has plans to "actively" use service apps for smart devices, but does not have plans to introduce key Nintendo software, like its portfolio of games, on third party platforms.

According to Iwata, Nintendo is aiming to use service apps to both build a bridge with its customers and deliver information on Nintendo products. Service apps are not intended to make money for the company, but instead will be used to "make connections with customers."

nintendo-logo
Iwata did acknowledge that Nintendo's apps would need to be more than a simple advertisement in order to engage customers, but he did not elaborate on what tactics the company would use to entice customers to use a Nintendo app. Neither a potential release date nor any additional information on the content of the service app was divulged.

Iwata did, however, say that the game console will continue to be at the center of Nintendo's strategy and there are no plans for the company to abandon its hardware business.

News of Nintendo's foray into mobile first surfaced in mid-January after company president Satoru Iwata indicated Nintendo would consider a new business structure involving smart devices in light of increasing competition from both iOS and Android and competing consoles.

On Monday, Japanese business newspaper Nikkei suggested Nintendo would release an iOS and Android app featuring game information and playable mini games, but Nintendo quickly refuted the claim and insisted it had no plans to make Nintendo software available on mobile devices.

Earlier today, Nintendo missed its earnings forecast and announced an operating loss of 1.58 billion yen ($15.3 million) for the December quarter. The company expects another loss of 33.4 billion yen for the final quarter of the year with a total operating loss of 35 billion yen ($355 million) for 2013.

During today's event, Nintendo also announced plans to bolster its profits by introducing an on-demand gaming service, allowing Wii U players to access Nintendo DS games, and releasing a non-wearable health monitoring device in 2015.

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Monday June 30, 2025 1:08 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are less than three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max in September this year. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an...
Apple Watch Ultra Night Mode Screen

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Launching Later This Year With Two Key Upgrades

Wednesday July 2, 2025 1:13 pm PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 appears to be nearly over, and it is rumored to feature both satellite connectivity and 5G support. Apple Watch Ultra's existing Night Mode In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is on track to launch this year with "significant" new features, including satellite connectivity, which would let you...
iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Magsafe

iPhone 17 Pro's New MagSafe Design Revealed in Leaked Photo

Wednesday July 2, 2025 8:37 am PDT by
The upcoming iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are rumored to have a slightly different MagSafe magnet layout compared to existing iPhone models, and a leaked photo has offered a closer look at the supposed new design. The leaker Majin Bu today shared a photo of alleged MagSafe magnet arrays for third-party iPhone 17 Pro cases. On existing iPhone models with MagSafe, the magnets form a...
Wi Fi WiFi General Feature

iOS 26 Adds a Useful New Wi-Fi Feature to Your iPhone

Wednesday July 2, 2025 6:36 am PDT by
iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 add a smaller yet useful Wi-Fi feature to iPhones and iPads. As spotted by Creative Strategies analyst Max Weinbach, sign-in details for captive Wi-Fi networks are now synced across iPhones and iPads running iOS 26 and iPadOS 26. For example, while Weinbach was staying at a Hilton hotel, his iPhone prompted him to fill in Wi-Fi details from his iPad that was already...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Max Battery Capacity Leaked

Thursday July 3, 2025 5:40 am PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature the biggest ever battery in an iPhone, according to the Weibo leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post, the leaker listed the battery capacities of the iPhone 11 Pro Max through to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and added that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature a battery capacity of 5,000mAh: iPhone 11 Pro Max: 3,969mAh iPhone 12 Pro Max: 3,687mAh...
iOS 18

Apple Releases Second iOS 18.6 Public Beta

Tuesday July 1, 2025 10:19 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 updates to public beta testers, with the betas coming just a day after Apple provided the betas to developers. Apple has also released a second beta of macOS Sequoia 15.6. Testers who have signed up for beta updates through Apple's beta site can download iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 from the Settings app on a compatible...
maxresdefault

New MacBook With A18 Pro Chip Spotted in Apple Code

Monday June 30, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
Apple is developing a MacBook with the A18 Pro chip, according to findings in backend code uncovered by MacRumors. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Earlier today, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip. The machine is expected to feature a 13-inch display, the A18 Pro chip, and color options...

Top Rated Comments

Tal Ormanda Avatar
149 months ago
Don't worry, it will just take another 3 years of negative profits until they get the picture.
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
syavno Avatar
149 months ago
This is a very similar type of arrogance that RIM exhibited; we know what happened to them...
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
k1121j Avatar
149 months ago
lol

they are sounding like RIM these days.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Renzatic Avatar
149 months ago
To sum up most quotes here:

"Cuz I like Apple, I'd really love them to release stuff on my iPhone. But since they won't, I'm gonna say they're dumb and don't know what they're doing then make an off the cuff reference to RIM cuz apparently these two almost entirely unrelated companies working in entirely different markets are somehow related in some way".
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Renzatic Avatar
149 months ago
They will go the way of RIM. By the time they decide to go to mobile, it will be too late. RIP Nintendo.

They're already mobile, and making a ton of money off of it. Why would they want to port their games to the smartphones?

Unlike RIM, the iPhone isn't a direct competitor to their core business. Their business is games. They don't need to go 3rd party to become a success. What they need to do is make the WiiU more of a draw than it currently is.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AHDuke99 Avatar
149 months ago
They will go the way of RIM. By the time they decide to go to mobile, it will be too late. RIP Nintendo.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)