UPDATED: Nintendo Going Mobile: Smartphone Deal with DeNA, New Hardware confirmed

UPDATES 8:41am

• Nintendo to focus on the game development, DeNA to focus on the infrastructure and analytic’s
• First release will be this year
• Iwata reiterating that they won’t be making the same type of content for mobiles as they do for consoles
• Iwata against the f2p exploitation
• Nintendo and DeNA also plan to develop an online membership service that is accessible from smart devices, PC and Nintendo systems, such as the Nintendo 3DS portable system and the Wii U home console. The membership service, which is targeted to launch in the fall of 2015, will be built on DeNA’s extensive experience and capabilities in online membership services.

Iwata：

Generally speaking, an alliance is an approach that aims to realize certain objectives by leveraging the strengths of the other party in areas where each company could not easily succeed by itself. In that sense, there is a large significance in these two companies with different strengths working together, and so that we can review this business alliance in the medium to long term, we decided to make the capital alliance as well.

Lastly, allow me to add some final comments to express my aspirations for this alliance.

Many content providers who are succeeding on smart devices are depending on single hit titles. One of my goals here is, now that we are challenging ourselves with this endeavor by making use of Nintendo IP, to produce multiple hit titles at an early stage after we start releasing our software on smart devices.

Also, until now, when we said, “platform,” it meant a specific video game platform. Now that we are going to release games on smart devices and make use of globally widespread PCs and smart devices for our new membership service, we would like to offer more consumers with software that is suited to their tastes. In other words, we are challenging ourselves to redefine what “Nintendo platforms” mean.

With this collaboration with DeNA, a partner with different strengths, we aim to achieve this goal as soon as possible.

Source for quote: http://www.nintendo.co.jp/corporate/release/en/2015/150317/05.html

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UPDATES 8:22am

Updates from the conference:

• Nintendo will not be dropping hardware, and will not be stopping dedicated software for their current hardware
• Doing this to maintain value and lifespan of IP’s on Mobile devices
• It’s a competitive market with a handful of winners, they want to be successful when they enter the mobile market.
• Any IP can be used, none are off limits
• “No ports between dedicated gaming devices to mobile devices, it would ruin the value of the IP”
• Game announcements on other occasion

And perhaps the biggest Nintendo confirmed they are working on new hardware currently code named Nintendo NX.

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Nintendo & DeNA (A Major Japanese mobile gaming company) are joint hosting a press conference for 5pm Japanese time (which is 8am GMT) to confirm further details. But as it stands various news outlets are reporting that a deal is already in place and Nintendo will be bringing their famous IP Range to smart phones.

From The Verge:

Nintendo has long resisted the call of mobile gaming, but today it entered the space in a big way. The company has announced that it will team up with DeNA, a major Japanese mobile gaming company, to make smartphone games featuring Nintendo characters. The two companies “intend to jointly operate new gaming applications featuring Nintendo IP, which they will develop specifically for smart devices,” Nintendo said in a statement.

Nintendo has flirted with mobile gaming before. In a tie-up with GungHo, the company will release a Mario-themed version of Japanese mobile smash hit Puzzle & Dragons for 3DS next month, and recent experiments like Pokémon Shuffle have adopted similar free-to-play business models.

We’re at a hastily convened press conference in Tokyo that’s due to start soon, and will bring you any further news as it happen.

 

Official Statement from DeNA:

TOKYO, JAPAN – March 17, 2015 – Nintendo Co., Ltd. (Tokyo: 7974) and DeNA Co., Ltd. (Tokyo: 2432) today entered into a business and capital alliance to 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 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. Under the alliance, DeNA will also be able to strengthen its gaming business at a global scale by leveraging Nintendo’s IP. To ensure the quality of game experience that consumers expect from this alliance of Nintendo and DeNA, only new original games optimized for smart device functionality will be created, rather than porting games created specifically for the Wii U home console or the Nintendo 3DS portable system.

In order to create completely new game experiences for smart devices, all Nintendo IP will be eligible for development and exploration by the alliance. As these consumers enjoy the unique kind of gameplay found only with Nintendo, they will have the opportunity to explore even more premium experiences on Nintendo’s dedicated video game platforms. Information on upcoming games and availability will be forthcoming.

Nintendo and DeNA also plan to develop an online membership service that is accessible from smart devices, PC and Nintendo systems, such as the Nintendo 3DS portable system and the Wii U home console. The membership service, which is targeted to launch in the fall of 2015, will be built on DeNA’s extensive experience and capabilities in online membership services.

As part of the long-term relationship and commitment by each company, Nintendo and DeNA have also agreed to form a capital alliance. Under the capital alliance, Nintendo will acquire 15,081,000 of DeNA’s treasury shares, which corresponds to 10.00 percent of its total outstanding stock, for a total of approximately 22 billion yen. DeNA will simultaneously acquire 1,759,400 of Nintendo’s treasury shares, which corresponds to 1.24 percent of its outstanding stock, for a total of approximately 22 billion yen. The payment is due April 2, 2015.
About Nintendo

The worldwide pioneer in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii U™ and Wii™ home consoles, and Nintendo 3DS™ and Nintendo DS™ families of portable systems. Since 1983, when it launched the Nintendo Entertainment System™, Nintendo has sold more than 4.3 billion video games and more than 680 million hardware units globally, including the current-generation Wii U, Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo 3DS XL, as well as the Game Boy™, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, Nintendo DSi™ and Nintendo DSi XL™, Super NES™, Nintendo 64™, Nintendo GameCube™ and Wii systems. It has also created industry icons that have become well-known, household names such as Mario™, Donkey Kong™, Metroid™, Zelda™ and Pokémon™. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo’s operations in the Western Hemisphere. For more information about Nintendo, please visit the company’s website at http://www.nintendo.com.
About DeNA

DeNA (pronounced “D-N-A”) is a global Internet company that develops and operates a broad range of mobile and online services including games, e-commerce and other diversified offerings. Founded in 1999, DeNA is headquartered in Tokyo with offices and game development studios across the globe. DeNA Co., Ltd. is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (2432). For more information, visit: dena.com.

We’ll update as we know more from the conference. One thing that we do know for sure is the below:

 

Source(s): http://www.theverge.com/2015/3/17/8230477/nintendo-dena-mobile-games-announcement

http://dena.com/intl/press/2015/03/nintendo-and-dena-form-business-and-capital-alliance.html

– Murr