This is somehow a myth that will never die- Nintendo going third party is a doomsday story that originated way back in 1991, when Sega momentarily took the crown from Nintendo, and it has stuck around ever since then, in spite of not only the company’s mammoth successes since then, but also its extraordinary resilience through its failures.
Given the dismal performance of the Wii U (and in spite of the 3DS’s chart topping performance worldwide), these rumors have gained new life- yesterday, for instance, Nikkei reported that Nintendo will later this year be bringing its software to mobile platforms- albeit in its own, uniquely Nintendo way. It was reported that Nintendo would be putting shortened demos and minigames on smartphones, for free, to introduce smartphone owners to Nintendo games, and then have them go out and buy Nintendo hardware to play more of those games.
But, as always, Nintendo has denied the rumor- it will not be putting its games on smartphones, or tablets, or PCs, or PlayStation or Xbox. You still need to buy a Nintendo to play Nintendo.
“Nikkei’s article contains information previously stated 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.
However during such past announcements Mr. Iwata has also stated that Nintendo’s intention is not to make Nintendo software available on smart devices and as such, we can confirm that there are no plans to offer mini-games on smartphone devices, ” their statement said.
Nonetheless, Iwata has confirmed that the company is looking for new business plans and avenues for Nintendo- exactly what they are, we will find out this Thursday, when Nintendo holds its quarterly investors meeting.
