Nintendo and DeNA to Bring Nintendo IPs to Smartphones

Well, seems as if Nintendo has finally caved to mobile platforms, and we may have solved the reasoning behind the closure of Club Nintendo.

Nintendo has announced that they've entered a "business and capital alliance" with Japanese mobile portal and e-commerce developer DeNA. In other words, we will see a number of new games optimized for both smartphones and tablets that will use both the worlds and icons of Nintendo fandom.

Nintendo also claims that no ports of popular 3DS and Wii U games will arrive on the smartphone for the purpose of ensuring "the quality of game experience that consumers expect." Despite this, all Nintendo IPs will be eligible for "development and exploration," so old franchise favorites such as F-Zero, Golden Sun, and Fatal Frame may appear with sequels or spin-offs.

Though President Satoru Iwata admitted that Nintendo will hold a "stronger passion and vision" for video game consoles, he also believes that mobile gaming can act as a bridge that will tempt consumers into purchasing Nintendo consoles.

Finally, Nintendo has announced that it will collaborate with DeNA to develop an online membership service that will be accessible from mobile devices, PC, and Nintendo systems. The service is expected to arrive later this fall.

It's probably best that Nintendo takes this route, as I'm sure that this strategy will expand the fanbase immensely.