As Nintendo attempts to find its new path for the future (with its dipping sales number due to the failed Wii U console), President Satoru Iwata recently made some interesting comments regarding their vision moving forward.
In what could be the first real indication of the company’s intent to expand its presence into other venues, Iwata stated, “A lot of people around the world think Nintendo is solely a company that makes video games, and I believe more and more of our own employees have started thinking in this way. Some employees in charge of development find themselves in positions where all they are thinking about is how they can make the game in front of them more fun…so even though we won’t change the fact that our focus is on video games, I felt the need to take that occasion to state that Nintendo is a company that can do whatever it wants.”
However, it’s this “focus” Iwata is referring to that has some speculating about what a version of Nintendo could look like five years from now. While most expect them to stay game-centric (with their Mario, Zelda and other 1 st party franchises remaining strong), some point to the ever exploding mobile market as Nintendo’s future. The assumption is they will soon abandon home consoles all together and divert 100% of the energy into their handheld devices, as well as possibly bringing content to smartphones and tablets.
Check back tomorrow as I delve a bit deeper into Iwata’s comments, and reveal how this could mark the shift that many have predicted for Nintendo for some time now.