Finally, one of gaming’s biggest players has relented and realised the future is mobile.
Nintendo has confirmed that it’s going to develop new games for smartphones, ditching its opposition after years of falling sales of its handheld consoles.
It’s welcome news for anyone who spends too much time playing games on their phone or tablet, especially those who love the likes of Mario and Zelda.
So, what do we know about Nintendo’s smartphone game plans? Read on and we’ll give you the lowdown.
1 Nintendo is not working alone
The gaming giant has enlisted the help of Japanese developer DeNA to build its new smartphone titles.
DeNA is behind titles such as Marvel’s Mighty Heroes, Blood Brothers 2 and Star Wars Galactic Defense.
It has pedigree in the mobile space, which means it should help Nintendo to easily make the transition from handheld console to handset.
2 There will be classic characters
Nintendo and DeNA said in a statement confirming their plans that new titles would feature ‘iconic game characters’.
That means that we should finally get the chance to play as Mario, Donkey Kong and Zelda on a smart device.
With Sonic The Hedgehog already starring in smartphone games, this is something gamers of a certain generation have been crying out for ever since Apple and Google flung open the doors of their app emporia and sent mobile gaming stratospheric.
3 But there won’t be any ports of current titles
Nintendo was very keen to stress that there will be no ports of current Wii U and Nintendo 3DS games.
“Only new, original games optimised for smartdevice functionality will be created, rather than porting games created specifically for the Wii U home console or the Nintendo 3DS portable system,” it said.
That means no Super Mario Bros U or Super Mario 3D Land.
4 However, the classics could still be coming to your phone
Ninty’s statement clearly leaves the door open, however, for older ports.
There’s no mention of games created for older systems, such as the Game Boy, N64 and original DS not making the move.
That leaves us hopeful that we could see classic Mario titles on our phones.
5 There’s a new online membership service too
DeNA and Nintendo are plotting a new online membership service, which will work across its consoles and smartphones and tablets.
This is due to launch in autumn 2015. There’s no word, though, on when we’ll be seeing actual games.
But surely it wouldn’t roll out a membership platform without some new games to play on your phone?
We’re keeping everything crossed that we’ll be controlling our favourite Italian plumber on our iPhone come the year’s end.
