Nintendo has been relatively clear on its smart device plans with DeNA in recent times, emphasizing that we'll be playing the first game / app by the end of this year. Quite what that'll be is still an unknown, and we're most certainly intrigued.
It's also been made clear that the volume of games will be modest, as Nintendo aims to produce quality downloads that achieve significant smart device success through building and cultivating a loyal audience. That's part of the thinking in the DeNA partnership, of course, with Nintendo's partner being experienced in mobile infrastructure and services. Speaking at Pocket Gamer Connects San Francisco 2015, DeNA West CEO Shintaro Asako was clear on how the partnership works in terms of expertise.
Nintendo has by far the best gaming IP. DeNA's expertise is definitely backend.
The executive provided some interesting detail on the planned content, however, avoiding specifics but explaining that five games will arrive by the end of March 2017, and the plan is that they'll all be in distinctive genres.
I understand some people like RPGs, casual games. That's why we decided to work together to create five games, hitting on different genre-utilizing IPs.
We want to make sure out of those five IP that we can end up attracting hundreds of millions of people.
Asako did admit that the partnership is the biggest in DeNA's history, and acknowledged the related pressure as "people are expecting a lot". Not only does the company have dedicated fans to deal with, but the pressure from investors and shareholders is significant; Nintendo's notable and sustained boost to share price has largely been a result of the DeNA announcement earlier in the year.
DeNA's role with Nintendo is significant beyond the smart device games and the 'service' aspect they have, of course, as the company is also working on the loyalty / customer programme that'll replace Club Nintendo.
Which Nintendo IPs and genres do you think will work best in smart device games?
[source pocketgamer.biz, via pocketgamer.co.uk]
Comments 86
I just hope they come to Windows Phone.
RPG - Puzzle - Rhythm - Racing(F-Zero) & ??
I'm not getting my hopes up too much but I hope these games turn out to be decent. I don't love mobile games but there have been some decent ones in the past. As far as characters go I want to see Kirby.
Watch the next true animal crossing be on mobile.
RTS!?
A platformer wouldn't control well, nor a shooter of any kind, so I would rule those out. A Pokemon RPG would work well on mobile, and the way it is now Fire Emblem would be perfect for mobile. Even a straight-up port of Fates to mobile would work perfectly.
@Collinhall That'd be perfect honestly.
@AVahne They said they won't do ports of existing games.
@Inkling Same here. I REFUSE to let my windows phone go to Android. Had enough of them.
Can I just say that this is just not.... a lot? I mean compared to other publishers, like SEGA or SquareEnix, who have released and are releasing more in the future. I wonder why though
RPG - Fire Emblem
Party/mini games - WarioWare
Casual - Animal Crossing
Puzzle - Dr Mario or Panel de Pon
Endless Runner - Mario
Those + Pokemon Shuffle
@IceClimbers Please let those be true. I would cry.
@IceClimbers I'd be more than willing to get Wario Ware and Dr. Mario.
While I'm happy at what's happening, I doubt I'll be getting any of their mobile games. I don't want to be consumed with gaming when I'm on the go. That said, it'd be nice for there to be games with amiibo support. Most smart devices have NFC capability
How about an advance wars game or brand new duck hunt
@Player4 Quality! Quality, son. It's not Nintendo, if there is no quality worth buying.
I'll be buying these. Very interested in the new "Account" system.
I could see an RTS style game utilizing Pikmin. It would be different enough so it wouldn't stray the console fan base, and it would be really interesting.
About an 80% chance I won't bother with any of their mobile stuff. I went from iOS to 3DS to get away from the current state of mobile gaming.
2D Metroid, F-Zero, Mother, Mario and Zelda. Nintendo will try to convince the console gamers to go mobile rather than the opposite way round.
@Skeletor
A pikmin rts where you must take over the world from other competing pikmin populations
I'm sure we'll see the Pokemon, Animal Crossing and Mario IPs used pretty early. I think Nintendo were also very clever with their wording. They said they won't do direct ports, but I still think we'll see ports with control schemes altered for touch-only controls.
@Mona-Reggie I think that would work.
@Grumblevolcano
>Mother
Oh that would be some Kojima-level trolling right there. Mother 3 localized, but for mobile only. That would be so evil.
I definitely could see a Dr Mario match game on a phone. I think they will have some sort of Mario Game in some context. I think other peoples idea of having an fzero racer and a animal crossing would be good games. I imagine there could be a party game that utilizes all main titles from Nintendo, and maybe some kind of portable sports game with online play.
@IceClimbers Oh God, no!
@Peach64 I think Pokemon Shuffle's port will be their cop out. I don't see them going any further than that with the Pokemon IP - at least, not yet anyways.
Endless Mach rider
Smash bros card battle
Advance wars type game
Puzzles like dr mario or yoshis cookie
A new ip tailored for mobile
That and then afterwards id expect ports of phantom hourglass ,spirit tracks maybe even bayonetta 2 and the mario vs dk series
Please don't do a Fire Emblem game on phones. Cause otherwise, micro transactions would ruin the entire game if each character is bough and that you can't reset but inorder to revive the characters, you need to pay to do so.
I know Nintendo isn't stupid to do this but man, you never know because Nintendo loves making risks and from its history, it shows. Please Nintendo I am begging you....DON'T PUT FIRE EMBLEM ON PHONES!
I want Pikmin!!
I would like the games to have some kind of connectivity to the console games. The little village game that was part of Bravely Default would have worked well on your phone and then would have generated items for the main game in the same way. Ubusoft do some good games that are on mobile that link to main console titles, but could also be used independently just as if it was any other mobile game.
@McoobabWATP
>Mach Rider
holy crap, that could work
What if they did a Fallout Shelter clone with Tomodachi?
wow maybe I will actually have a high quality and fun game on my iphone.
Hopefully they're putting Metroid Chibi Force & Animal Crossing Cash Festival on mobile & canceling the console versions! Thats where they belong after all!
@AJ_Lethal @McoobabWATP
I agree Mach Rider would work as a cool endless runner game.
We might just get that F-zero game after all
I wonder if they'll do anything with F-Zero or R.O.B.
Oh yeah, here we go! The beginning of replacing the portable consoles with mobile, especially if this initial salvo is successful! I can't wait to use those amazing software movement controls! Don't forget paying extra for micro transactions at every twist and turn, and the constant barrage of DRM watching your every move! This is going to be great! I can't wait to fling little Mario figures at a Bowser Castle, smack the flying Yoshi so it doesn't hit anything, tap a top down land space to move Link across a board, and match Ridley Heads and Mother Brains in 3s to blast them!
Raise a glass to Nintendo's glorious mobile future!
...Or maybe 50 glasses...
I highly doubt I buy any of these mobile games. I don't care about mobile gaming remotely, and I don't understand how it even became a trend.
Makes sense. If they release 5 completely different games to mobile, there's more chance of at least one of them being a huge success than 5 games of the same genre.
Not alot of games planned awesome that each game is a different genre. I hope this works for Nintendo, cause console gaming sure isn't anymore.
@hYdeks Probably because they want to test the waters, before diving in.
@manu0
Oh right that's true.
Most likely FE15 then.
@Artwark
I don't think they'll go THAT far by making a mobile FE. Thing is the way it is now, Fire Emblem is nearly PERFECT for mobile. And I'm not talking about casual mode or Phoenix mode or micro transactions. The very core of Fire Emblem is now designed to be very casual and mobile gamer oriented. All the complexity the series built up in the past was thrown out the window to create something that's very pick up and play. It's essentially "strategy-lite", making it great for mass market appeal. And nowadays the masses gather around their phones and tablets, so yeah, perfect for mobile.
As long as they have a fair f2p structure and don't start replacing main series titles, I'm ok with this.
@Inkling it was a mistake buying one of those, not that many games come to it. #AndroidMasterRace. Hope it trends. Lol
@Kirby-life there are a bunch of pirated Nintendo games on Android. I wouldn't download them, because I have respect for Nintendo's hard work. Lol. Still though, hope they are good
@Collinhall Lol, true dat
@MrPuzzlez #AndroidMasterRace
@sketchturner never gonna happen.
@Meaty-cheeky #AndroidMasterRace
@Ichiban #AndroidMasterRace
@Aromaiden or their abandoning ship. They know they will make a ton of money with only 3 games a year and will do some layoffs.
@Ninstarkof I find that unlikely.
@Aromaiden you never know. #AndroidMasterRace
@Ninstarkof Of course, you never know. There is always the possibility that something unexpected will happen, but that doesn't exactly mean it is very likely to occur. It's good to see the unexpected, but one also has to see what is most likely to happen and focus on that first. Right now, it's very unlikely that Nintendo would jump ship and rely solely on the Mobile Market.
@Aromaiden it's Nintendo, they are unpredictable. They may not be only on mobile, but their bad business decisions may make them have to jumpbto 3rd party
@Ninstarkof It would not be not only be a very bad decision but a pretty stupid one if they ever decide to immediately abandon they're Mobile Consoles (which is their greatest area of profit) just to join the Mobile Market, without properly testing it. Which is probably why they are taking things so slow, as they do not want to rush it.
Although Nintendo may occasionally be unpredictable, they are still a business and make whatever decision they see will allow them to profit. Immediately abandoning their consoles is not one of them.
@Aromaiden not "immediately", but jumping to platforms such as PC and other consoles might happen. We all know Nintendo's bad business decisions, and they may not end up as bad as SEGA, but it would be for the best if they went 3rd party
I like that Nintendo is only going to release a mobile game once in a great while instead of making a bunch of them with little time between each other. Quality over Quality.
*Quality over Quanity
@Ninstarkof It's never a good idea for a consumer to want a Company to leave a certain area of business. When a Company leaves so do the options and competition it provided. As a consumer you want options and for there to be competition, so you never want to run the risk of becoming reliant on a Company for a certain good (as they will always take advantage of it).
Competition in the Market is also a very good thing, meaning the more opposing Companies the better. The competition prevents companies from raising prices and encourages companies to advance and better serve the consumer.
So as a consumer it's never a good idea to hope for any Company to leave a certain area of business.
@Aromaiden sorry, but that means less consoles I have to buy. Nintendo's systems are already outdated, plus why buy the same hardware over again
@Ninstarkof That doesn't make much sense to be honest. That form of thinking is kind of flawed.
@Inkling You and me both. As much as it would be utterly ridiculous for Nintendo to support a platform that is dead in Japan, I still want support for my WP.
I became a bit confused at the part that said "RPG casual games" that sounded like an oxymoron. oxymoron to me for sec. But anyhow, I think they should consider a Free-to-play Kirby game, with the end-level being what brings up your currency to purchase more levels and special stages. Let us buy more currency if we want but also let us earn them and maybe buy new power ups and /or abilities or costumes. I feel Kirby is the perfect candidate for this type of thing.
@PlywoodStick I couldn't agree more, this is how Nintendo's exit from the portable market (and possibly hardware market) is met by fans, with cheers. Pretty sad that people fail to realize wanting fewer consoles or gaming devices on the market actually hurts them, in the long run, as both a consumer and a fan.
Oh well, the market has spoken, and those of us that care are few and far between. Don't complain when you ONLY get certain games on mobile.
@Inkling me too
@Inkling
Unless Windows 10 and all its forms are wildly popular, I'd imagine not.
@IronMan28 To be fair, Nintendo can't "exit" the handheld market. They can only kill it. They pretty much are the handheld market. The moment they stop making handhelds or puts a brand new main series Pokemon game on both handheld and mobile is the day the market dies.
@IceClimbers What about Sony and the PS Vita?
@Aromaiden Sales are too low to be of any significance. The Vita is probably Sony's Dreamcast in handhelds - their last one.
@IceClimbers True enough.
@IronMan28 No kidding, these positive responses are completely unrecognizable from the perspective of just 2-3 years ago. It's incredible how easily people can change if they're gradually eased into a foreign perspective. If the past selves of everyone talking about this in a positive light were shown these comments of their present selves, most would probably be in denial. "Who is that person? That's not me!"
@PlywoodStick Where the hell are you even getting this from? Nintendo handhelds are as fine as day. Not to mention your unnecessary sterotyping of mobile games when a few are them are actually good. And Nintendo won't even be pushing these out at a fast rate, so I'm betting they will be actually good. Plus touchscreen controls are horrible for most games and Nintendo is not even working on these games (DeNA just have control over there IPs) so they don't have to waste time on weaker hardware so why would they even consider leaving the handheld market? Anyway I would love a Rhythm Heaven and WarioWare game on mobile, there are so many things they can do with them on mobile and they would be literally god tier time wasters.
@Inkling I highly doubt it, devs don't care about the WP8 crowd because nobody buys it because it has no apps because... Yeah.
Hate to say but my next big purchase is probably going to be a Galaxy phone, especially now that the 8.1 update on my WP8 made Hulu Plus unusable. Also, looking forward to some Ninty F2P games for my cigarette breaks at work.
@Inkling No, they aren't. Nothing is. Ever.
Wait, so not counting Pokémon Shuffle? I thought that was the actual first game, but I guess it doesn't count, since it's a port. Looking forward to seeing what's in store.
On Android, let's be specific. What even is an iPhone, any more? Such phones' owners have clearly dwindled since 2010 or so. Samsung seems to be the predominant cell phone brand out there - at least in the US - and that means Drooooiiiiid.
@Kirby-life I agree that Kirby seems mobile-appropriate, as a brand. It'd be easy for them to do another Canvas Curse successor, but I wonder what else could come of it. In any case, I vote Kirby.
@Inkling As. If.
It may be iOS only. --"
I'm really excited to see what they come up with and I'm hoping at least one of those five will be something genuinely innovative and not all of them candy-crush style button mashers
@AVahne Even Advance Wars would work well on Mobile.
The problem here is if they make FE games on Mobile, then what about the consoles? What if they leave that behind and focus the series on mobile. I don't want it like that. Also, just because it sounds like a perfect fit doesn't mean it will do well. Look at games like Pokemon Shuffle. That doesn't fit for the 3ds but definitely for the mobile it does.
@Genesaur what about tablets? I think apple makes lot better tablets than samsung. My ipad 2 does perform better in most games than my samsung galaxy tab 4 and its only 2 months old when ipad is 2 years...
@Genesaur what about tablets? I think apple makes lot better tablets than samsung. My ipad 2 does perform better in most games than my samsung galaxy tab 4 and its only 2 months old when ipad is 2 years...
@DarthNocturnal Yes yes yessssssss!!! That would be perfect.
Other M II: Endless Pixel Hunting
I doubt that it will be anything Pokemon because the pokemon company handles anything Pokemon.
@Inkling doubt it the app store is a wasteland
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