Nintendo Expanding Gaming Experience To Mobile Games, Theme Parks
By Edward Cardenas
SOUTHFIELD (CBS Detroit) - Fans of the Super Mario Bros. and Donkey Kong may soon have new platforms to enjoy their favorite video game characters.
Nintendo has announced that it plans to launch five mobile games for smart devices by March 2017, and has partnered with Universal to bring characters and attractions based on the company's video games to its theme parks at a later date.
"As smart devices are increasing in significance as the dominant window through which consumers connect with one another and with society, it is natural for us to leverage smart devices to communicate directly with our consumers," Nintendo president Satoru Iwata stated in a financial results briefing.
He added that company is striving to create a gaming experience that is different from current gaming consoles, and is dedicating time to developing each of the five games released on mobile devices.
"You may think it is a small number, but when we aim to make each title a hit, and because we want to thoroughly operate every one of them for a significant amount of time after their releases, this is not a small number at all and should demonstrate our serious commitment to the smart device business," Iwata stated.
The company did not release the names of the games, or release dates for the games on mobile devices.
Also on the horizon for Nintendo is an agreement with Universal Parks & Resorts to create "major attractions" Universal's theme parks.
"The two companies will jointly create attractive experiences by using the characters and the worlds of Nintendo games that people cannot enjoy anywhere else," stated Iwata, who added that specific information about the agreement will be announced at a later date.