Nintendo Developing for Mobile

[MOSQUITO FIGHTER]

I hope this means Game and Watch type stuff will be coming to my phone.

http://time.com/3748920/nintendo-mobile-games/

[HydrogLox]

Actually it's probably more accurate to say that DeNA Corp. will be developing mobile games using Nintendo's IP, under Nintendo's direction, with Nintendo's brand.

This needs to be viewed as part of Nintendo's advertising effort, not their core product effort. This is just like "The Lego Group" getting into TV and movies in order to continually renew the public's awareness of the brand and to keep the consumer market interested in buying plastic bricks.

So while "Game and Watch" style games can't be ruled out, I would primarily expect mini-game apps that promote the full-blown games for Nintendo hardware. I would also expect these apps to be heavily integrated with the "online membership service" which at some point in time will also be accessible from Nintendo hardware. The intent is maintain a connection with the smart device owning public and to ultimately seduce them into buying Nintendo hardware and full price Nintendo games.

In the digital world, content has the tendency to lose value, and especially on smart devices, we recognize that it is challenging to maintain the value of our content.

In Nintendo's view app prices in the smart device market are too low, the hardware platforms too varied, and the platform life cycles too short*** to build a solid long-term gaming business on.
***Yearly hardware and system software refreshes can translate into never-ending maintenance work if you want to keep your existing digital products on sale.

Ultimately Nintendo still feels that it is essential to maintain control over the gaming hardware that "their" games run on - so this isn't (necessarily) the thin edge of the wedge of Nintendo going third-party software developer like Sega in 2001.

Nintendo isn't trying to become a viable "smart device gaming business" - they are simply acting on the realization that their core products don't sell themselves.

[broken harbour]

I don't understand the point. The only portion of Nintendo's business that's making money is portables.... wouldn't mobile gaming kind of compete with that? Has anyone played a game more than a couple times on their iphones? I never have. Not even DDP Maximum. (Which I liked).

[HydrogLox]

For example Nintendo did port Majora's Mask to their portable, however with their current stance they would never port it to a smart device. But with their new initiative they may release a promotional smart device game that uses the main game's characters, environments or themes. That game may even recycle some of the game play, modified for touch interfaces and via the "online membership service" may show what other people who own the full game are up to (achievements, inventory, scores, etc).

Obviously there is a difficult balance; nobody is going to pay any attention if the promotional game is too basic but if it is "good enough" some people will simply stick to it rather than moving on to the full game (which requires Nintendo's hardware). The promotional game needs to be engaging but also leave you wanting more (i.e. the full game). That isn't something that is easy to pull off. Of course there could be the occasional standalone smart device game which would primarily promote the Nintendo brand in general and pull the player more into the online membership service and community.

Nintendo is concerned about the ephemeral nature of digital content on smart devices*** but it is not beneath them to create some (potentially free) apps to foster the interest of the mainstream for their core products.
***Primarily because it can limit the gains they reap from their effort.

[BryanM]

Has anyone played a game more than a couple times on their iphones?

Puzzle and Dragon makes more in a week than the entire rest of the gaming industry does in a year.

Nintendo probably isn't going to violate its action games by putting them on a platform that has no buttons by default like Capcom did with Mega Man, or release the horrible atrocities against mankind that Square Enix did.... but we might be pleasantly surprised. And submerse ourselves into a world of endless horror.

[Pretas]

When Nintendo finally gets their big mobile hit on the level of Clash of Clans/PazuDora/Candy Crush, you can kiss dedicated gaming handhelds goodbye.

Pokemon Shuffle and PazuDora Mario are already modern mobile games in spirit.

[HydrogLox]

Nintendo does not intend to choose payment methods that may hurt Nintendo’s brand image or our IP, which parents feel comfortable letting their children play with. Also, it’s even more important for us to consider how we can get as many people around the world as possible to play Nintendo smart device apps, rather than to consider which payment system will earn the most money.

For the time being Nintendo does not plan on employing Coercive Monetization that all those top earners rely on.
And apparently lots of people still like to play (the less predatory?) Puzzle & Dragons Z on the 3DS.

Satirical companion piece: Coercive Pay-2-Play techniques.

[BrianC]

Pokemon Shuffle and PazuDora Mario are already modern mobile games in spirit.

I agree on Pokemon Shuffle, but not the latter. Puzzle and Dragons Mario isn't even out yet and it doesn't look like it uses microtransactions. I heard Z is more consolized and doesn't use microtransactions. Pokemon Shuffle is definitely freeinum, but the 3DS PuzuDora games are full retail and, from what I heard, lack microtransactions.