Nintendo’s move into smartphones has been welcomed by investors, with its shares surging following the announcement of its decision to enter a partnership with Japanese mobile and online services company DeNA.As reported by Reuters, Nintendo shares posted their biggest daily gain since listing, soaring 21 per cent in the day.
Under the partnership, Nintendo and DeNA will “develop and operate new game apps for smart devices and build a new multi-device membership service for consumers worldwide”.
“Leveraging the strength of Nintendo’s intellectual property (IP) and game development skills in combination with DeNA’s world-class expertise in mobile games, both companies will develop and operate new game apps based on Nintendo’s IP, including its iconic game characters, for smart devices,” the companies stated in announcing the partnership.
“The alliance is intended to complement Nintendo’s dedicated video game systems business and extend Nintendo’s reach into the vast market of smart device users worldwide.”
Only new original games, optimised for smart device functionality, will be created under the alliance, with all Nintendo IP to be eligible for development.
Nintendo and DeNA also plan to develop an online membership service accessible from smart devices, PC and Nintendo systems, targeted to launch towards the end of September in the fall of this year.
Reuters reported CLSA analyst Jay Defibaugh as forecasting Nintendo would exit the console business in three to five years.
“Nintendo is not in a position to simply drop its legacy console businesses given the investments made in software,” Reuters reported Defibaugh as stating. “But the writing is on the wall.”
Mobile gaming is currently on a steep growth curve in the Australian market.
Research released earlier in March, commissioned by IGEA (the Interactive Games & Entertainment Association) from analyst firm Telsyte, showed the Australian mobile (smartphone and tablet) gaming market exceeded $700 million in 2014, growing 56 per cent year-on-year.
