Nintendo on Smartphones

Soo this happened... On an conference Satoru Iwata announced that Nintendo would team up with Japanese Mobile company DeNA to bring Nintendo Ip to smart devices. Full blown games. And the reaction have been split. While the business world was euphoric, resulting in a rise of Nintendos stock by 32%, many gamers remain skeptic of this whole proposition. Now first let's state what was actually said in this conference.

Nintendo will develop completely new titles for smart phones. They won't port existing 3DS or Wii-U games. The development of this titles will be done mostly by Nintendo themselves with DeNA providing their knowledge on Online Infrastructure. DeNA will also be tasked with building a membership program, which will encompass Wii-U, 3DS, future Nintendo consoles, PC and smart devices. You will be access it from any of these platforms. At the same time Nintendo assured everyone that they'll still keep developing and producing dedicated gaming platforms, with the announcement of the NX. It's not sure if this will be a 3DS or Wii-U successor or a third pillar, and it won't be talked about till next year. It was only announced to assure everyone that Nintendo doesn't plan to leave the console market any time soon.

Iwata also talked about the pricing model of their games on smart devices in an interview later on. He said that they are looking into all pricing models, but don't plan on using any exploitative pricing. Some took this as declaration, that Nintendo won't offer any free to play games, but I'm not sure about that.

That is what was roughly said on the conference. If you want to read it fully, you can do so under this link: http://www.perfectly-nintendo.com/nintendo-and-dena-press-conference-full-text-and-video-transcript-available-in-english/

First let me say that I don't like smartphone games. I don't play them and I have completely no interest in them. I'll still try to see all this from a neutral perspective, but I just wanted you to know that.

Now let's talk about the games. Iwata said, that they would develop completely new software and not port any existing games from their consoles. While this is nice, it also begs the question how they will be able to that? As it is now Nintendo barely manages to supply 3DS and Wii-U with enough software to keep everyone occupied. Even if the games for smart devices won't take any significant workforce, which I doubt, they still will pull these people, however few they may be, away from other projects. This can simply be countered by increasing the number of employees, but so far Nintendo hasn't announced anything.

I'm also a fan of them not porting any existing games onto smart devices. Everyone who has played a Version of Mario World or Super Mario Bros. on their Smartphone knows that the controls are nightmares. And locking the games behind additional accessorizes like controller add-ons will only diminish mass appeal. So for now this approach is probably the best and let's see how it will turn out.
However ignoring the Virtual Console would be stupid by the likes of Nintendo, so I'm counting on them releasing several classic games (which work with touch controls) on smart devices.

Next is the new membership program. We knew that something was coming since Nintendo send good old Club Nintendo into retirement. This new program will be created by DeNA and will encompass several devices. We don't have any hard facts about it, but I'm not really looking forward to it. I think that Nintendo may go the route of Sony and Microsoft and offer a paid service. Now I don't have a problem with paid services. Playstation Plus during the PS 3 era was awesome, but what I don't like is it being mandatory. I enjoyed Nintendos offering of free multiplayer this generation and I don't think it's really lacking. The games I played so far with Mario Kart 8 and Smash Bros. have been lag free and I rarely had disconnects.

What I would prefer is a two rail method. Offer a basic program for free, which includes free Multiplayer, the discount for regular buyers and other basic components, which the program will have. Also offer a paid membership program, which will include, for example, a free game every month like Sony and Microsoft already offer.

The NX was the next point. I can't say much about it, because there is hardly any information out. We just know that it is a dedicated gaming platform and that it will have a brand new concept. Many people think that this may be a new third pillar next to Wii-U and 3DS but I don't think so. It would be a stupid move, because Nintendo can barely provide support for two platforms and together with games for smart devices the number would increase to four. The original DS was also announced as a third pillar next to home consoles and the Game Boy brand. It should focus on casual gamers, while Game Boy would remain the Hardcore handheld brand. But this place is now taken by smart devices. So what could NX be? Well Iwata mentioned that it will have a brand new concept, so I'm thinking that the rumored Fusion Concept would be a plausible choice. We won't find out till next year, but it is reassuring that Nintendo will still provide classic console experiences.

Now for some questions regarding this whole thing.

Wont this devalue Nintendos intellectual property?

This is completely in Nintendos own hands. If the provide good experiences on smart devices for an appropriate price there will be any problem. However it will be a challenge for the company, because the classic smartphone crowd aren't exactly loyal to brands. At least not to gaming brands. They just buy whatever is at top of the app store.

Still Nintendos characters are well known, so they have an advantage over the standard phone developer.

The greatest pitfall will be providing adequate games for smart devices without devaluing their console games. The price will be their greatest enemy. Lets talk in examples.

Nintendo offers a Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker game on the app store. It costs 4.99 includes several levels and can be extended with level packs for 0.99cents each. The whole experience will cost around 10, which is astronomically high for phone games, but this is just an example. Why should I then pay 40 bucks on Wii-U to get Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker? Smartphone gamers don't care for improved visuals or such things. Most of them see games a just disposable time spenders. A View that directly collides with Nintendos way of making games.

If Nintendo wants to be successful on this market they need to play by the rules. It may not devalue their IP, Fans will still be able to enjoy their quality home console titles, but it also won't increase it, because smartphone gamers don't really care for such things.

Won't this be direct competition for the 3DS?

That is also my biggest fear. Nintendo intends to funnel smartphone gamers towards their dedicated gaming systems, but I'm not sure it will work. You want more Nintendo experiences? Then check out our real systems. This may sound like a good incentive at first, but I'm pretty sure that the smartphone crowd will just shrug it off. Mmhh why should I buy this system for nearly 200 bucks only to then pay 40 bucks for each game, when I can have games for free and 0.99 each. In the worst case it will prevent people from buying a 3DS because they can have the Nintendo experience on their phones. That is a dilemma for the company, which I don't know how they'll solve. On the one hand they can't make their smartphones game shitty, because it will damage their brand, and on the other they shouldn't be to good or people won't seek out their dedicated gaming systems. While I don't think that their home console business is in danger (quite ironic if you look at the current situation of the Wii-U), I fear that this may be the firs signs of dedicated Nintendo Handhelds. And that is a damn shame.

Isn't Smartphone gaming just a fad?

Well I also thought so and if you look at companies like Rovio (Angry Birds) or Zynga (Farmville) you may be right, but I don't think that Nintendo is comparable with them. Nintendo has a brand recognition these two can only dream of. They can provide a broad range of different characters and experiences for smartphones. In that no current Smart Phone developer can really compare. But what can be said, when looking at these companies, is that the smartphone crowd is especially fickle.

Concluding: 

I don't really mind Nintendo developing for smart devices, but I don't think it will have the effect they hope. Of course it will bring in a lot of cash, but the smartphone crowd doesn't really care for games. To them it's just a way to pass time. I don't think Nintendo will successfully bring many people from their smart devices to dedicated gaming platforms. In the worst case it will negatively impact their core business by creating direct competition for the 3DS. In the end it all boils down to Nintendos approach on this whole thing. They need to play the game and adjust to the price system on smart devices, while still making sure that their console titles stay appealing. We haven't seen any game for smartphones from them yet, but for the time being I remain cautious.

And as always

thanks for reading