Breaking news is coming out of Tokyo this morning as Nintendo has announced that the company has teamed up with DeNA to bring games to smartphones and tablets. On top of that, the agreement is also to build a new multi-membership service accessible worldwide.
This comes as a complete surprise since Nintendo has for a long time adamantly refused to consider bringing their games to mobile. However that appeared to be changing recently as Nintendo began teasing an official Mii application for Android and iOS. Of course that application has been teased for almost a year except recently it actually seems to be an actual thing finally. Now before getting all excited to see Super Mario Bros natively on your Android device, here are the details to the agreement.
This agreement between DeNA and Nintendo is 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”. The wording on this is very interesting because they are calling it ‘game apps’ which is a term used often in Asia to describe games on mobile, but can also be used to describe companion apps like the Mii application being teased already. So at any time Nintendo can change it up and simply release companion apps and not games at all. Secondly, this doesn’t mean that their existing catalog of titles will be ported over. These games could be totally new IPs, and more than likely a lot of them will be, or spin-off of existing franchises.
However there is good news. Further into the announcement it is stated that releases will be both new IPs as well as releases based off of existing IPs, including “iconic game characters”. Ports won’t be happening though of existing games. Everything released will be new games built from the ground up to ensure quality. So don’t expect your favorite Wii U or Nintendo 3DS games to be ported over but there is a good chance you will see new games based off of your favorite franchises from those platforms.
Interestingly enough, to ensure a good partnership between the two companies, Nintendo has acquired 5,081,000 of DeNA’s treasury shares, which is roughly 10% of the company. The cost? 22 billion Yen. DeNA acquire 1,759,400 of Nintendo’s treasury shares, which translates into roughly 1.24% of the company. The cost? 22 billion Yen. In other words, both companies now have a stake in each other that cost them nothing.
Unfortunately there is no word on when we can start seeing games hitting Google Play nor what the first titles to be released will be. We will obviously be keeping a close eye on this and will report on any new details we find out. We’ve contacted both companies for further information. Full press release below for your read pleasure.
So what do you think about this? Let us know in the comments below!
Nintendo and DeNA Form Business and Capital Alliance
Companies to develop new game apps featuring Nintendo IP for smart devices and a new multi-device membership service
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.
