Nintendo Wants to Harness Smart Devices, Not Compete With Them
The Japanese game maker looks for alternative ways to utilize smartphones for their business.
by Jose Otero NOVEMBER 5, 2013
In response to a question at a recent investor Q&A, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata showed interest in taking advantage of smart devices to help their business.
Nintendo continues to face a changing mobile games market thanks to competition from smart devices. After detailing the growth his company has achieved in spite of this growing competition – with 3DS expected to sell over five million units for the second straight year -- Iwata analyzed different theories regarding the state of the mobile games business before he spoke about the role of smart devices.
“I believe that the era has ended when people play all kinds of games only on dedicated gaming systems. For example, I think it is natural that many people feel that it is more convenient to use smart devices, as opposed to dedicated gaming systems, to play games to kill a bit of time, “ Iwata said. “That is to say, there are some areas in which dedicated gaming systems were once used that now have greater potential on smart devices.”
Iwata acknowledged that dedicated gaming systems are developed by considering the type of software designed for the hardware, and that it allows the creators to create unique propositions. He believes that the gaming market will be segregated, but that does not mean smart devices will simply compete with dedicated gaming handhelds.
“Given their growth, I feel that we should make an effort to take advantage of their existence, “ Iwata said. “For instance, we already made it possible to browse Wii U’s networking service called Miiverse on smart devices. Starting with this attempt, we are discussing among us how we can expand the use of smart devices to help drive the business of dedicated gaming systems. Smart devices have already played a central role in creating buzz among consumers above a certain age with respect to, for example, Animal Crossing: New Leaf, Monster Hunter 4 or Pokémon X/Pokémon Y.”
Iwata used other examples to his point: “Twitter timelines filled with tweets about Monster Hunter and Pokémon can certainly help create awareness for the products, and we also know that many watch Nintendo Direct on their smart devices. Rather than simply viewing smart devices as competitors, we should consider ways in which we can use them for our business.” 作者: hujie 时间: 2013-11-7 14:39
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