Nintendo to enter the world of smartphone gaming at last
With sales of its consoles in steep decline, the Japanese company has decided to focus on the palm of your hand - and analysts say it could generate billions in revenue
Nintendo is finally making the move into smartphone gaming, figuring it’s better late than never.
The Japanese electronics maker – one of the world’s biggest video game companies but a virtual nonentity in the rapidly growing mobile games industry – unveiled its first title for smartphones in November in Tokyo.
Miitomo, which is set to be released in the spring of next year, is a game that allows players to create avatars to interact with one another socially. The game is the first of five mobile apps Nintendo plans to launch by March 2017, including one that may feature its Mario characters, the company told an investor briefing in Tokyo.
The long-overdue move is an effort to tap into the lucrative and cutthroat world of mobile games that has exploded with the proliferation of smartphones and tablets. Chances are, at one time or another, you were secretly obsessed with Angry Birds or Candy Crush. Even Kim Kardashian scored big when she launched Kim Kardashian: Hollywood last year, with the addictive mobile game raking in $1.6 million in its first five days.
This year marks the first time mobile gaming revenue will exceed console gaming revenue globally, at US$30 billion versus US$27 billion, according to video game market research firm Newzoo.
Nintendo’s popular franchises, which include Super Mario and Zelda, “have the potential to be a billion-dollar business on mobile alone”, says Peter Warman, Newzoo’s co-founder and chief executive.