Nintendo just started to get their video game development process rolling with the mobile smartphone market. Their first official application that launched earlier this year was Miitomo which allows friends to connect online through the use of Mii characters. However, there will apparently be four more titles set to release by March 2017. With these video game titles, Nintendo is banking on the smartphone division to become one of their pillars of profit.
Recently, Nintendo held financial reports and briefings with their investors, people who are keener on making money than a video games creative development process. During their discussions, Nintendo President Tatsumi Kimishima discussed some of the questions regarding the smartphone development process.
For instance, there was an interest as to if Nintendo would be using some of their more seasoned developers for the various video games set to release, such as Shigeru Miyamoto, who has helped in creating franchises such as Mario, Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda, and Star Fox.
According to the response, it seems that while some of the most seasoned developers are not directly developing the upcoming video games, they are helping the grand scheme of the titles creation.
“As we have reiterated, we want to grow smart device gaming as one of the pillars of Nintendo’s revenue stream. As for shifting managerial resources in that direction, we have very capable developers who are working on development of games for smart devices, as you already know. Of course, Mr. Miyamoto, our Creative Fellow, is also supporting the business for smart devices from a company-wide perspective. To explain the level of engagement of Mr. Miyamoto, he is having specific talks with developers of games for smart devices on what would be desirable overall. In that sense, what you see from the outside may be markedly different from what we see on the inside. As I have said, we want this to be one of the pillars of our business. Our level of engagement has not lessened, so I hope you will understand that.”
Further on during the Q&A portion of the financial reports, Tatsumi Kimishima has noted that it’s too early to tell just how much profits Nintendo could bring in though the next applications released will influence their results. Those next two video game titles set to release for iOS and Android sometime this fall has been revealed to be Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem related.
With the next two releases being more video game related compared to the social experience with Miitomo, this may show just how well Nintendo’s smartphone mobile division will do in the future.
