Nintendo is making headlines in the mobile gaming world again, as this week a new report from Japanese publication The Nikkei (translated and relayed via Dr. Serkan Toto) details Nintendo’s upcoming smartphone and tablet initiative which the company is expected to announce at a briefing this Thursday. As Dr. Toto notes, “The Nikkei writes that Nintendo wants to use smartphones to expand its potential user base by spreading information about new game releases, i.e. by using video to introduce future titles. (This will probably happen through some kind of official Nintendo app.) In addition, Nintendo is said to be planning to put so-called “mini games” on smartphones, playable demos of console games – content that can only be purchased in full on Nintendo hardware."
The news isn’t really surprising, as it falls right in line with what Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime revealed in an interview this past December. And, just over a week ago, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata revealed that Nintendo was considering a “new business structure" and would be looking for ways to market to potential new customers using smartphones and tablets. The one thing I think doesn’t seem very likely is “playable demos of console games" as it just doesn’t make sense that Nintendo would go to the trouble of implementing a touch control scheme for a demo of a 3DS or Wii U game. But mini-games featuring the characters or certain elements from those seems much more likely. We’ll find out soon enough I guess, as Nintendo’s briefing is scheduled for this Thursday.
