Iwata has been looking at moving Nintendo’s handheld business into the twenty first century with the 3DS. Previously having reaffirmed the company’s commitment to making digital distribution a key pillar in their strategy, Iwata has now spoken of how he intends to modernize the 3DS handheld even more, and make it more appealing in the smartphone era.
“If our platforms are connected to other open platforms in some way and, when you are out, your smartphone gives you information from your friend like, ‘Let’s play with this game tonight,’ or ‘I broke your record on this game,’ you will be motivated to start a new game.”
What he is trying to say is that Nintendo might develop an app for Android and iOS, which would be synced wirelessly with your 3DS friends list, and would keep you updated on friend requests, game invites, achievements, and more. It sounds like a good idea, but fist, Nintendo will have to bring the friends list system used on the 3DS itself up to scratch, since even basic functions like private messaging are not yet supported. Thankfully, that can be added in with a firmware update.
Iwata had more to say:
“We are currently drastically changing our way of thinking regarding networks, which might have looked very closed before. We would like to respond to the changing times in this way, and our basic policy is to keep the value of our software assets and to do business in a manner where these assets are not easily depleted.”
It’s nice to see that Nintendo is actually taking the challenge posed by the changing marketplace seriously. Iwata seems to be serious about making the 3DS a success at all costs. Let’s see how it turns out.
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