Nintendo surprised many observers with its recent - and sudden - announcement of a strategic 'alliance' with DeNA, a company that specialises in back-end systems, e-commerce and smart device games. The headline announcement, along with a number of others, was that Nintendo IP will be used in new games for smartphones and tablets, with the first releases due this year.
The partnership prompted Nintendo and DeNA share values to increase a huge amount, but the deal is about more than just smartphone games. DeNA will bring its expertise in online systems and infrastructure to deliver a 'Membership' programme, which will replace Club Nintendo in the Fall season. A little more information - or detail in the wording - is now available courtesy of an officially translated Q & A from last week. We did previously provide a translated summary of the Japanese original, but it's interesting to see the official text that points to the Club Nintendo replacement bridging the gap between smart device content and dedicated hardware - Satoru Iwata's comments are below.
The only things we can announce today regarding the new membership service are limited to that it is compatible with multiple devices and that it will form a bridge among these devices. If I can go a bit further, we will construct a system so that we can invite the users who play our game applications on smart devices to our dedicated game systems; something you have done on one device can be utilized on another. We have scheduled this new membership service to start in the fall of this year, and it will have a loyalty program like the existing Club Nintendo. Allow us to stop here, as we will make further detailed announcements on the new membership service when we progress further in its development and are ready to explain it in a more comprehensive way.
Another answer that's a slight variation on all that's been said before, in tone if not content, is the following response to a rather challenging question. Addressing a semi-polite accusation of a company policy u-turn and a dithering approach, Iwata-san was adamant that the timing and process towards the DeNA deal was right for Nintendo.
As to your question, "Why did you announce a policy which is different from what you used to say?", one thing is that we have finally found a clear way to achieve a win-win relationship both for the dedicated video game and smart device businesses by deploying Nintendo IP raised in dedicated video game systems to smart devices. Another thing is collaborating with a powerful partner, DeNA. Instead of one company having to do everything, this partnership will enable us to not assign an excessive number of development staff to areas where weaknesses exist, and as a result will help us avoid disturbances to our software development for dedicated video game systems. Or, I should rather say that we have found an answer to creating an advantageous situation for both sides by letting more people know about Nintendo IP and bridging the gap between these two platforms. You mentioned that what I explained today sounded different from what we have said in the past. Please understand that I had been hoping to come up with this sort of solution and that I was finally able to talk about the whole picture today, because various prospects we had been considering and working on have come together as we had hoped, so I personally feel very comfortable today.
As for your criticism that the decision is late, I think that whether it is late or not will be decided by what we produce in the coming years, and it could rather be described as the best timing. My personal view is that the time is ripe as many factors like various encounters with people, the ways our internal discussions have progressed and the ideas we have generated through that process occurred simultaneously. We will do our best to prove that our decision was made at the right time.
It likely won't be too long before early game details emerge, while the Membership programme itself shouldn't be too far away. It'll be intriguing to follow.
[source nintendo.co.jp]
Comments 47
I'm certainly curious about the new membership program. Let's hope it's a worldwide thing so that I don't need to... uh... become Canadian to enjoy it.
You're still the big cheese at Nintendo Iwata?Ugh
I'm curious about the new "membership service." I hope this stuff works out for them, but as I've noted before, there are red flags.
He didn't really address the face-heel turn. If they've been working on this kind of deal for a while, he shouldn't have spent so much time adamantly stating the "no Nintendo on mobile" mantra for so long.
I question a lot of their decisions right now, but they're stepping out and finally did a partnership with another company, and that's at least a positive move. Still, I have a lot of questions--as I'm sure we all do.
You better not need a phone to use the service....
This comment, by the way, "If I can go a bit further, we will construct a system so that we can invite the users who play our game applications on smart devices to our dedicated game systems; something you have done on one device can be utilized on another."
This stands out a bit. It sounds like they will not only be delivering games and software to mobile, but tying them into the console games in some way. I'm not really a fan of that concept. I thought it was stupid when Ubisoft wanted you to play mini-games on your phone to do things in Assassin's Creed, and this sounds just as annoying.
Having DeNA implement the membership program could help in making it usable. Club Nintendo never seemed very linked to either 3DS or Wii U, there wasn't even an app. And the DDP program was so covert it seemed like it was run by the CIA.
And if Nitneod is going to start making app games on smart devices then the new membership program should work on there as well, any money spent on a game should count towards money spent, same as purchasing a game on 3DS or Wi U. Though it may hurt their sales if people can actually see how much money they are spending on "free" games, but it's something that should be implemented.
Whatever it is, I hope Nintnedo can actually get it out in early fall, not in December, I cringe whenever they mention doing something in a "season". This should be up and running ASAP, regardless of when app games start appearing.
I think it's clear to see where Nintendo is going with this and I'm pleased... But knowing Nintendo you never know, right?
Crossbuy between iOS/Android to NX anyone? Maybe an iOS/Android VC on NX itself.
Why is Iwata so persistently defending this suicide mission? He can only defend it against people who don't trust it, and this seems to show there's a sizeable number of people who are against this sellout.
@Kaze_Memaryu: They are most-likely against it because "mobile is bad and stupid and evil" without any logic whatsoever. We know nothing about what will come out of this deal and people are jumping to conclusions prematurely
Relax, people. It’s just nintendo has thought things through, instead of trying to clean up after mindlessly chasing a short term revenue avenue in the mobile space.
If anything, because it sounds thought through and because there’s a partnership, and even a buy-in for having each others’ backs during rough times while developing (which will certainly come sooner rather than later for both companies) nintendo can do this perfectly fine.
I really like the focus they have with these decisions. It’s very reassuring.
It may be an about-face for Nintendo, but I'd rather them stew over it, be late to the party and get it right rather than them rushing into something like this and they fall flat on their face.
The comments section on these articles alone shows that no matter what Nintendo does, they can't win. (unless you're a super fan).
EDIT: Not to say that they're aren't even keeled people out there. There just seems to be not many. Lol
Please understand...
I reckon Nintendo did business with DeNA so they could sort out the infrastructure to their account system, and letting them use their IP for mobile games is the price they've paid for it.
Albeit a likely profitable price for Ninty.
@Yorumi yea, I don't disagree with that sentiment at all. I'm assuming maybe they didn't want to play their hand? Who knows.
Though I swear I thought they said they said somewhere along the lines of they were looking into ways to leverage mobile to point people back to dedicated hardware. Perhaps this partnership is an extension of that? Paticularly since Nintendo said they were looking into expanded licencing for their IP.
But them doing about face on doing mobile isn't a slap in the face to us... It shows that Nintendo is warming up to different things. People are overreacting on this topic. I hope this new direction goes well for Nintendo.
I'm excited to see what this new membership service is.
Too late? No worries, when the first Nintendo mobile games come on the market, they will obliterate all previous sales records. Then those birds will have something to be angry about
@Yorumi: As a customer, I just feel Iwata and Nintendo has been lying for the last few years. I wonder what else they have under wraps? And Iwata needs to be quiet. The more he talks, the more he damages the Nintendo brand. Why would you mention a new Club Nintendo is arriving in the fall? Now, everyone's just waiting the rest of the year. What they need to do is focus on the Wii U, and 3DS, and show something for these systems. Get back to the games, because anything else they talk about ends up being a gimmick or straight up false.
@Mk_II LOL
An argument can definitely be made Nintendo waited too long to make a deal like this but as the phrase goes, better late than never. I'm really looking forward to these mobile apps/games/hardware advertisements and the new reward system.
@Yorumi I can't remember your exact stance, but I believe you're against Nintendo going mobile, yes? If so I can understand your point. I'm of the mind that I'm personally for it, as it pertains to mobile tailored games and not full-fledged dedicated hardware games. My main fear is that it's going to take away more development resources from hardware games. And let's face it, they're saying it won't impact that part of their business, we all know it is. I just hope they aren't spreading themselves too thin. You have your 3DS, Wii U, and QoL. Now DeNA and NX. Seems like alot for a company that's practically going at it alone. Did I go way off base? Haha
@Cyberbotv2 perhaps Iwata should be more silent, but then again he is the voice of the company. I think he's just sort of losing on the balancing act. It surely can't be easy to try to please shareholders and consumers at the same time. Especially on the consumer front where you have some of the most passionate (crazy?) fans in the video game industry. Lol
@Yorumi: Oh yeah, the Wii was my last day one Nintendo purchase. I waited a year on the Wii U because I could see trouble early, especially with the looming PS4 and Xbox One. And I have little confidence I'll be purchasing any Nintendo console moving forward. I'll ride it out with the Wii U, since I put money into it already. Fool me once, fool me twice..goodbye.
@Sir_JBizzle : Nintendo does have the most insane fan base I've ever encountered. And its actually become a detriment, because those folks refuse to criticize bad business. Sort of sucks for Nintendo and the fan base because they are damaging each other.
@Yorumi I really hope it doesn't lead to that, as if there was any developer that could make a killing in mobile, it would actually be Nintendo. The end of dedicated hardware would honestly be a sad day for me. But I would still game on...
I'm holding out hope that Nintendo is on to something here and it all pans out. If I was to wager a best guess, the next couple years they'll do the bare minimum for their current hardware. They'll let this DeNA thing ride them out until NX. At that point they can exploit the partnership to it's full potential.
Long as the membership program doesn't cost money i am fine.
@TingLz
Not everyone is jumping to conclusions. As several people here have noted, there are some serious issues with this stuff.
For instance:
Nintendo hasn't detailed how they think consumers will move from mobile to console.
The early NX reveal is now guaranteed to damage any remaining potential the Wii U had.
Whatever NX turns out to be, it will launch when MS and Sony are at their absolute strongest.
Putting games on mobile becomes a risky Catch-22. Too high quality, and consumers will not see a reason to get the consoles. Low quality/obvious use as an advertisement, and consumers will be turned off altogether.
They killed Club Nintendo in what now appears to be a year before they had a replacement lined up.
And there is the fan-burning (to some) complete 180 of Nintendo refusing "anything for mobile, except maybe an app" to this full-blown deal that almost has to lead to games and IPs on mobile.
Finally, Nintendo is clearly struggling to support two consoles by themselves, but now they want us to think they can support three--as well as whatever the hell the Quality of Life platform becomes.
Sure, there will always be people jumping to conclusions without thinking, but even the slightest questioning of the recent deals opens up a wealth of questions--many of them with uncomfortable answers either way.
@Cyberbotv2
Far too many have also formed a damaging adversarial attitude towards 3rd parties, which means that every Nintendo system is almost guaranteed to lose 3rd party support--which means a lot of lost revenue for Nintendo.
@Mk_II
You do realize that if that happens, their focus will switch to mobile and game hardware will become a secondary revenue stream--not the primary one?
DeNA = DEath of Nintendo of America
We will see, but I have a feeling, that Nintendo will soon become the next SEGA. So just a software maker/pbulisher. Hope I'm wrong.
@TwilightAngel You still come here? UGH!
@mushroomer
....why Nintendo of America?
No, Iwata, it's late. Whether that turns out to be good, bad or whatever is however yet to be decided.
An interesting article:
Why Nintendo Seems Determined to Fail
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-feehan/why-nintendo-seems-determined-to-fail_b_4699827.html
... In the '90s, Nintendo won the hearts and minds of children worldwide with a stable of unforgettable characters. The children who once made up that core market are now starting to have children of their own. If Iwata wants Nintendo to survive another 20 years — or to even keep his job — he needs to reach today's young gamers where they play: on mom's phone and dad's tablet.
@TwilightAngel You can blame Iwata, but there are plenty of Nintendo board members who are also a problem.
@opeter
As crappy as HuffPo generally is, that article still got a lot of things right.
@Yorumi You've littered the comments section recently about Nintendo lying about mobile, but in Jan. 2014 this is what Iwata said about the mobile market:
"I have not given any restrictions to the development team, even not ruling out the possibility of making games or using our game characters. However, if you report that we will release Mario on smart devices, it would be a completely misleading statement."
The Mario part can be interpreted that it would be misleading to say 'will' when 'might' would be more accurate.
I'm sorry that you feel let down on this subject, but with Nintendo indicating an announcement similar to this DeNa announcement was entirely possible 13 months ago, I really think you should drop it now. It's boring and misinformed. I don't mean to attack you, but it gets annoying visiting the comments sections across multiple articles and finding you repeating the same inaccuracies.
@IronMan28 Yeah unfortunately i am.
@gcunit that's part of the quote I was thinking about this morning. If you take the full quote, you can sort of see the writing on the wall (parts Quorthon'd for emphasis ) . Here's the full excerpt:
So he sort of alluded to the fact that Nintendo was exploring going mobile, so as long as they could do something unique. Fast forward to the DeNA announcement. One thing we can be sure of is that there were no plans to release existing games to mobile, which obviously means their catalogue of past and present titles, as said at the beginning of his quote last year.
Of course, if I do enough hunting, I'll find the quotes where it was said that releasing Nintendo games on mobile would damage their IP, but even that could be interpreted as "existing catalogue." I know Iwata (and Shiggy) has said at one point, there were no plans to release mini-games (or something to that effect) on smart devices.
My thoughts? I don't think it's lying more than being ambiguous, (But can understand why it would be interpreted as lying) as obviously the business climate can change in a heartbeat and would be wise for Nintendo to adapt. I just think perhaps Iwata should choose his words carefully as was said above. It will definitely leave less room to be misconstrued. My hopes and worries from earlier still stand.
cross stuff. idk what i think.
Please understand
@Jcunit Thanks for looking into this further, I think @Sir_JBizzle 's summary is really helpful as well.
@Yorumi Does this help you see it better? On the whole "since 2010" thing: It comes from DeNA CEO talking about when it first approached Nintendo... who pretty much sent them packing initially. Then, they were persistent over the following years (2011 to 2013?) and as Nintendo further explored options, they began some negotiations. This is not "working together" in the sense that they were developing games or the membership program, it was discussion to see if they could work together. In 2014 it seemed Nintendo was warming to an approach to the idea but specifics were still up in the air.
Nintendo just made the deal final this year. So, I'm not sure what how you support that he was "lying for 5 years" anyway.
Cloud. I have been saying it for a while. I really think they are embracing streaming the games. Which by the way means they can get people trying their games regardless of their device as its being streamed to them. Having an account system would be very important with this. They can develop for their consoles, and still allow people to try them.
They could release a controller that can bluetooth to any device and in the future with the NX they can make the gamepad unit function as a take anywhere, use anywhere with wifi type of thing.
Also if the games run off the cloud, 3rd party support could be total. The server would dictate. Any PC game could be streamed to the console really.
The cloud is the future. Whomever embraces it properly is going to have a real leg up. I seriously have my fingers crossed that this is what they are doing.
"Something you have done on one device can be utilized on another"
Almost could have just said, we are gonna stream games no?
@Quorthon They said they won't stop making their own consoles, they never said they will never make games for smartphones.
I don't see this about face some people are complaining about. They have never said they wouldn't get into mobile. They said their main console releases would never be on mobile. In fact they have been saying for a while now that they would be entering the mobile space. And from the statements translated above it seems they are on that same path that they have been on. There will be mobile games that tie into console games.
Seems like a lot of people got excited when they heard Nintendo on mobile, and didn't pay attention to the small details.
@BLPs Actually, this is a smart move. I was just talking to a 26 year old female friend of mine last night who owns a Wii and DS, she doesn't really play console games anymore (though she did play the new South Park game on PC when it came out last year.) When I told her Nintendo was going to start making App games her face lit up, she wants to play more of their stuff. So this is a smart way to hook people back in.
@TwilightAngel Lol, touche. Iwata isn't THAT bad though.
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