Earlier this year a rumor was abound that the Big N was going to bring a delectable treat of mini-games for its upcoming console games to the smartphone market, but today they have denied that rumor. The source, known as Nikkei, stated that the m ini games would most likely be downloadable from an app and that game trailers would also be included on the menu. Nintendo responded saying,
“The article contains statements previously made by Mr. Iwata during past press conferences, including statements which relate to Nintendo’s willingness to make use of smart devices to promote our products.”
Suggestions of sending Mario to smart devices have been spouted out by industry analysts such as Michael Pachter of Wedbush Securities due to poor Wii U sales. However, despite speculation that Nintendo should remain a software only company, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata doesn’t see the wind blowing out of Mario’s sails anytime soon.
“The spread of smart devices does not spell the end of game consoles. It’s not that simple,” said Iwata to the Wall Street Journal.
If anything, Iwata stated that Nintendo is currently studying how smart devices can be used to “grow” the game player business. The upcoming Ubisoft game Watchdogs plans to utilize that effect of cross play between console and smart device which should be pretty exciting. Whether or not the Wii U version (which was rumored to have been cancelled) will utilize that same technology is unknown at this time.
{Source: Computer and Video Games Magazine}