A recent investor Q&A saw leading members of Nintendo’s hierarchy quizzed on the company’s approach to mobile games.
During the event Shinya Takahashi, manager of Nintendo’s Entertainment Planning & Development Division, and Super Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto both outlined how mobile titles will be used to support, not supersede, the company’s console efforts.
According to Miyamoto, while it’s important for all mobile titles to make a profit, Nintendo is more concerned with turning its smartphone games into stepping stones, and using them to bring new customers into the console fold: “… our primary objective is to encourage smart device users to be interested in and to play with our dedicated video game systems, and we are focused on this goal,” said Miyamoto.
“If we can expand to smart devices what we have been challenging ourselves with on Nintendo’s dedicated game systems by taking advantage of the unique characteristics of smart devices, we believe that Nintendo will be able to create a new style of games and spread them all around the world.”
Takahashi hopes the company’s first mobile release, the StreetPass-esque messaging app, Miitomo, will prove an attractive prospect thanks to the unique nature of the Nintendo brand.
“We believe that smart device users will enjoy Miitomo as we are offering Nintendo IP called Mii with which anyone can feel an affinity,” said Takahashi.
“For our applications that will be enjoyed only on smart devices, we are creating ideas so that even those smart device users who do not usually play with applications can enjoy them.”