At their most recent press conference Nintendo President Satoru Iwata announced that the company would be partnering with DeNA, a Japanese mobile gaming company, to develop games using existing Nintendo IPs for mobiles. Also announced was a new console, codenamed the ‘NX’.
The partnership with DeNA is an interesting situation. The company as of yet hasn’t produced much of note, they have produced a number of games but nothing that really stands out or explains why Nintendo decided upon them as the ones to bring Nintendo’s precious characters to the mobile masses.
DeNA is also helping Nintendo to create a unified multiplatform software service. This is replacing the Club Nintendo scheme that is currently being phased out over the course of this year. This service may enable cross platform play and purchases, which, if you’re a fan has probably been at the top of your wish list for some time.
The cherry on top of this cake of announcements was the mention of the ‘NX’. What is this mysterious console? Will it be the successor to the WiiU? Nobody knows. However, many speculate that this may actually be a smartphone. It makes sense, the announcement for the console happening at the same time as the DeNA alliance does hint at the fact that this could be Nintendo’s first foray into that particular market.
Others believe that this console may be a hybrid. A handheld console with the ability to stream to a television seems like the next logical step for Nintendo. Couple this with the possibility of cross buy and play and this might sell gangbusters. I quite like the idea of being able to play my library of 3ds games on the big screen and if it is also backwards compatible with WiiU titles then, without a doubt, I am sold.
This idea has the potential to be amazing and could very well usher in a new era of Nintendo fun times for everyone. Fingers crossed they get it right this time.
Featured photo credit: Fjölnir Ásgeirsson on Flickr.
