To a lot of people, gaming on a smartphone isn't something to take seriously. There are a lot of games to choose from, but it's clear that the most popular games on smartphones are much simpler than something you might play on your computer or a designated gaming console. Over the past couple of years, though, I have noticed a push for more in-depth games to be released. There have even big some big name console titles like Halo, Assassin's Creed and Final Fantasy come out for certain app stores.
For the most part, however, nobody really puts a lot of focus on headlining titles for mobile devices. Halo and Assassin's Creed are fun for little games to play when you're in the waiting room at the doctor's office or perhaps just killing some time before bed, but it's nothing compared to the experience of the games under the same titles that you get on a console. As it turns out, that might be about to change as the world's largest video game company, Nintendo, finally considers making a move in the smartphone industry.
For now, it's only a possibility. Nintendo recently suffered its third straight annual loss after abysmal sales of both the Nintendo 3DS and the Wii U consoles. The company has largely been opposed to entering the smartphone business up until this point, and even saying to regard Apple and their phones as the "enemy of the future" back in 2010. Four years later, it seems that Nintendo might be looking at the brighter side of things and seeing Apple, as well as other smartphones, as an ally rather an enemy at this point. Personally, I think it would be a great move for them.
Mobile gaming still hasn't really "hit it big", for reasons like I've stated earlier. Sure, you have Angry Birds, Cut The Rope and other titles like that, but really intriguing titles with good storylines (although they exist) haven't really been a point of interest for most mobile users. I believe that Nintendo, if done correctly, will be able to bring a lot more to the table when it comes to mobile gaming than what anybody else can offer currently. Nintendo could take mobile gaming by the reigns and run with it if they wanted, because the stagecoach is currently unmanned.
Although I'm not certain exactly what Nintendo wants to use smartphones for, I'm kind of hoping they plan to develop actual mobile games to play on smartphones.
One thing that Nintendo has going for them is the fact that the most popular games they make are pretty universal in what demographic they target. Franchises like Mario and Zelda have been around for more than a decade, and have always had fairly modest themes in them while being able to hold a somewhat interesting storyline and easy gameplay. Also, these games are extremely famous as is. With such a broad demographic that either A.) enjoy Nintendo games now or B.) used to play Nintendo games and suddenly have a nostalgic yearning to play some Nintendo games (but don't necessarily want to buy the system) I feel like Nintendo and smartphones could have a beautiful, blossoming relationship. I'm sure they would be able to develop a new game, or even port earlier, remade versions of a game (like SquareEnix did with Final Fantasy) for a small fee and earn a handsome amount of money.
The nice thing about developing games for smartphones is that the smartphones and tablets are already made for you - that takes care of half of the equation right there. They don't have to necessarily develop new hardware unless they wanted to, so solely focusing on making good games for smartphones is all they have to do. And really, both Mario and Zelda have simple enough gameplay and interfaces that it wouldn't be that hard to create a good mobile version of either game to bring in some dough. I know I'd probably buy it up in an instant - but the key to generating sales is to make sure that you actually create a good set of games. This is something that I hope Nintendo realizes and builds on if it turns out they do end up creating games for mobile.
Readers, how do you feel about Nintendo possibly creating games for mobile? What games would you like to see them release? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Image via The Verge
