Mario, Luigi and Link on your smartphones by 2017
Image: Mashable
Nintendo aims to have Mario, Luigi and Link on your smartphones by
2017, the company said in an investor presentation in Japan Friday.
Nintendo President Satoru Iwata said the company would aim to have
five games out by the end of the following fiscal year. (Nintendo's
fiscal years run April 1 to March 31.) He reiterated the games would not
be mobile ports of existing titles, but new games designed with the
touch interface in mind.
"You may think it is a small number, but when we aim to make each
title a hit, and because we want to thoroughly operate every one of them
for a significant amount of time after their releases, this is not a
small number at all and should demonstrate our serious commitment to the
smart device business," Iwata said.
Nintendo announced its partnership with mobile game company DeNA
in March, finally bringing its well-known characters and games to
platforms outside of its own consoles and handhelds. The company said at
the time it was going to explore many game types and monetization
models, and Iwata clarified that it wouldn't stick to models (like
aggressive free-to-play) that would hurt the company's brand.
Nintendo's presentation Friday also mentioned plans to unite its
mobile games under the umbrella account system as its other consoles and
handhelds, something that really isn't available currently.
We could see Nintendo's first mobile game by the end of the year,
though the company made no firm promises, or commented on which licenses
are likely to be turned into mobile titles.
