Tag: Smart Devices
News Nintendo Staffing Up Internal Smart Device Development Team
Upwardly mobile
Nintendo is accepting applications for smart device developers who will work within the company on future mobile and tablet projects. That might not seem like surprising news on its own, seeing as Nintendo is currently in the process of expanding into the mobile space in partnership with established firm DeNA, but what makes these...
Also coming to Switzerland, Mexico and South Africa
Nintendo has revealed that another major update is coming to its social networking smartphone app Miitomo. No solid date has been given, but it's fair to assume it will be pushed out on June 30th - the same day that the app becomes available in three additional territories: Switzerland, Mexico and...
News Space-Themed Accessories Now Available In Miitomo Drop
Space, man
Nintendo has updated its Miitomo smartphone app with a new range of items, dubbed "Futuristic Fashion" in North America and "Galactic Garments" in Europe. The new items include space helmets, hoodies, Saturn pin badges, Galactic sneakers, UFO shirts and "Alien Abduction" tights. These will be available until the May 22nd, so if anything...
News Miitomo Update Allows You To Add Friends Using Email And SMS Messaging
You can also edit Miifotos before posting as comments, too
Miitomo has been updated to version 1.2.0, and while it comes with the usual "bug fixes" and "speed increases", the most welcome addition is the ability to add friends using email or text messaging - handy for those who don't use social media accounts. Another key change is the opportunity...
News Miitomo Romps Past The One Million Installs Mark On Android
Taking over
Nintendo has already revealed that Miitomo has hit three million users worldwide and topped the iOS App Store, but we can now confirm that it has sped past the one million installs marker on the Android Google Play market, too. Browsing the Miitomo page on the Google Play store, it now says the app has been downloaded between 1,000,000...
News Hurrah, Miitomo Is Now Available In The West
Time to get social
Miitomo is now available in the west. After making us wait all morning, the app has just gone live on Google Play and iOS App Store. If you're on Android and are already using the Japanese version after following our guide, you'll be able to automatically update the app by downloading it on
News You Can Have 1000 Friends In Miitomo, But No More Than That
Being selective
Miitomo launches today in the west, and one of the big questions users have regarding this unique social networking app relates to the number of friends you're allowed. Other networks like Twitter and Facebook place no limit on the amount of contacts you can add to your profile, and as a result these services become quite hard to...
News Enhanced Digital Store With Over 2,000 Games Launching Alongside My Nintendo This Week
Can be accessed via personal computers and smart devices
Nintendo is launching its first smartphone app Miitomo and its My Nintendo loyalty program this week, and has confirmed that an "enhanced" digital shop will go live on the same day - March 31st. The unified store - which will cover 3DS and Wii U - will allow users with a Nintendo Account and...
News Niantic Cancels Pokémon GO Presentation At Game Developers Conference
No GO?
This year's Game Developers Conference takes place later this month, and Pokémon GO developer Niantic was due to hold a talk on March 14th about its latest game. Studio CEO John Hanke was supposed to give attendees "a first-hand, in-depth look at how players are interacting and exploring the world with one another through Pokemon GO," with...
News Nintendo Will Do Well On Mobile Because That's Where Its Core Audience Is Now, Claims Analyst
"Everybody wants Mario Kart on their mobile"
2016 is a big year for Nintendo. It's celebrating 20 years of Pokémon on one hand, but is also taking a momentous step into the future with Miitomo, the first of a new wave of exclusive smartphone titles created by the firm. In addition to this, Nintendo is taking Pokémon in an exciting new direction...
News Pokémon Company CEO Reveals Pokémon GO Rollout Details, Teases Another "Big" Project
Japan, Europe and North America first in line
Pokémon Company president and CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara has revealed in an interview with the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper that Pokémon GO will hit Japan, Europe and North America first. According to Ishihara, South America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East will get the game later on. Despite the finer...
"Nintendo will not be acquired, I think that much is certain"
Nintendo has had something of a rollercoaster year as far as its share price is concerned. Speculation surrounding the NX as well as the expectation (and subsequent delay) of the company's first smartphone app Miitomo have resulted in value of its shares dropping and
News Nintendo's Move To Smartphones Helped It Top Japan's Gaming Stock Market
DeNA deal and Splatoon success kept things ticking over in 2015
Nintendo may have endured a difficult 2015 with delayed titles and underperforming hardware, but on the Japanese stock market the company has been dominant, outpacing Sony and other traditional game publishers. This robust performance is largely down to Nintendo's deal with DeNA, which...
"The smart device business is not a simple business"
Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima took over from the late Satoru Iwata this year, and is overseeing an exciting time in the company's history. He's been speaking to Time about various pressing topics, one of which is Nintendo's new smart device strategy. Next year, the company will be...
News This Is The Last Real Console Cycle, Proclaims Industry Analyst Michael Pachter
"The console installed base is as big as it's ever going to get"
We could see the end of dedicated games hardware in the near future, states Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter. Speaking at DICE Europe last week, the outspoken industry expert tackled the issue of the end of the console era, and pointed out that in terms of pure sales figures, this...
Rumour New Report Suggests That Konami Has All But Abandoned Console Development
PES and Metal Gear Online are the only titles spared
With the incredible commercial and critical success of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain you'd think that publisher Konami would be feeling pretty pleased about its home console output, but it would appear that earlier reports regarding the company exiting the domestic arena are true...
Thinks "hundreds of millions" of people will want to play
We can expect quite a lot of focus on Nintendo and DeNA in the coming months, as the big N will be making its long awaited - especially by shareholders - entry in the world of smart device gaming. DeNA's experience in the market and background in 'services' will combine with Nintendo's game...
We can expect a smartphone game in the next four months
The passing of Satoru Iwata in July was an significant blow to Nintendo and his many admirers around the world, though company business has so far continued to follow planned timelines - at present Shigeru Miyamoto and Genyo Takeda are running Nintendo on an interim basis. A major announcement...
News DeNA Executive Confirms Plans For Five Nintendo Smart Device Games in Five Genres
One by the end of 2015, five by the end of March 2017
Nintendo has been relatively clear on its smart device plans with DeNA in recent times, emphasizing that we'll be playing the first game / app by the end of this year. Quite what that'll be is still an unknown, and we're most certainly intrigued. It's also been made clear that the volume of...
News Nintendo Aims to Avoid 'Notorious' Smart Device Business Models With Its Releases
Keen to "appeal to a wide variety of people"
By the end of this year, barring unexpected delays, we'll have downloaded Nintendo's first dedicated game / app for smart devices. In partnership with smart device veterans DeNA, Nintendo is plotting a small number of apps that it hopes will generate significant revenue, transforming its profit margins...
News Pokémon Shuffle is Heading to Android and iOS, to the Surprise of No-One
Micro-transactions are Super Effective!
Pokémon Shuffle remains a trailblazer on the 3DS, a free-to-play match-three title on the portable reliant upon micro-transactions to actually return the development investment. It's been downloaded about 4.5 million times, though we don't know whether it's actually made Nintendo any notable profit. If...
News Pokémon Jukebox Arrives For Free on Android Devices in the West
Not all fans are happy...
While we await Nintendo's first formal foray into smart device gaming this year, it's worth remembering that the Nintendo-owned but independently operating Pokémon Company has been doing a roaring trade in apps of various kinds for multiple years. It's now released another app on Google Play, though it's not without its...
News Natsume Is Bringing Smartphone Title Ninja Strike To The Wii U eShop
Will be showing it off at E3
Natsume has just confirmed the titles it will be showing off at E3, and among them you'll spot a new name: Ninja Strike. Before you get your hopes up, it's not some exciting simulation of what it must have been like in ancient Japan when the Shogun's best assassins decided to down tools over low pay - instead, it's a...
Rumour Nintendo NX Could Use Google's Android Operating System
Bridging the gap between home and portable?
Nintendo's next console could use Google's Android OS, according to Japanese publication Nikkei. An editorial by Nikkei on Nintendo NX contains alleged "insider" knowledge which suggests that the Wii U's lack of third party support has impacted the approach Nintendo is taking to its next system. According...
News Konami Not Turning Its Back On Consoles After All, Says Sorry For Causing Such A Fuss
Japanese company admits "conjecture" has caused "anxiety"
We recently reported on an interview with Konami boss Hideki Hayakawa which stated that the company was putting all of its eggs in the basket marked "mobile". However, these comments were translated from what was little more than a summary of the interview and the full, official transcript -...
Weirdness Indie Hit Progress Gets Ported to the Humble Game Boy
Now that's progress
Indie developer Ludosity is well known for developing fun games for tablets and smartphones, but now it seems to be taking its first steps to porting one of its games to Nintendo hardware - just not the Nintendo system which you might have assumed! Speaking to our chums at AppSpy at this year's Nordic Game show, the developer...
News Mobile Is Konami's Future, According To President Hideki Hayakawa
"We will pursue mobile games aggressively"
Konami president Hideki Hayakawa has been speaking to Nikkei Trendy Net about the company's future, giving the strongest indication yet of how the firm's business is changing. Hayakawa states that smart devices represent the core focus of Konami's business moving forward. The success of Konami's current...
News Nintendo Committed To Making Smart Device Gaming One Of Its Key "Revenue Pillars"
But company still feels dedicated consoles are its future
Nintendo's alliance with DeNA has arguably been one of the biggest gaming announcements of 2015 so far, and marks a brave new era for the Japanese veteran following countless denials that it would ever move into the smart device arena. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has now revealed that...
News Nintendo Share Value Increases With Profits and Smart Device Gaming on the Agenda
Nintendo pushes back system plans for developing countries
Whether by design or simply coincidence, Nintendo managed to bury its financial results behind a Splatoon Direct, though for the first time in a few years the reports were actually positive. Nintendo made a larger than expected profit despite missing some sales targets, and expects improved...
Slow and steady
In March Nintendo announced its partnership with DeNA to bring its IP to smart devices in apps and games. It was a fairly drastic shift in direction, with the talk turning from apps that would have the sole aim of directing consumers to Nintendo hardware, to directly acknowledging the need for big-hitting franchises to have games on...
News Iwata Reveals a Bit More Information on Nintendo's Upcoming Integrated Membership Service
Tracks past purchases and gameplay records
A point of contention for many years now has been Nintendo's rather deliberate approach to implementation of online services, but with the launch of the Nintendo Network and the eShop, Nintendo has made great strides in the past few years towards offering an increasingly more streamlined and modern online...
Talking Point Market Expectations Remain High For Nintendo and DeNA's Smart Device Crusade
A bubble to burst or the start of major success?
It's now been over a month since Nintendo and DeNA announced their major corporate partnership, with one relatively short presentation blowing away the big N's apparent reticence and minimalist approach to bringing games to smart devices. The announcement brought a marked shift in strategy - we went...
News Nintendo's Mobile Partner DeNA Lays Off Significant Number Of North American Staff
San Francisco and Vancouver offices impacted in "reshape" of operations
Japanese mobile company DeNA has laid off a significant number of North American employees, it has been revealed today. The job losses are taking place at the company's San Francisco and Vancouver offices, and while exact numbers aren't forthcoming at the moment, the layoffs...
"My belief is that Nintendo is looking for a blue ocean"
Nintendo caused quite a stir when it announced its partnership with Japanese mobile firm DeNA and that it was working on its next hardware platform, dubbed "Nintendo NX". This double-whammy of news was greeted with a positive reaction, not only from the
News DeNA Hopes To Bring In $25 Million Per Month Via Its Relationship With Nintendo
Nintendo could be getting 70 percent of profits
Nintendo's first mobile phone game is expected to launch later this year, and partner DeNA has been talking up its expectations on the potential profitability of this joint venture. Speaking to Reuters, DeNA CEO Isao Moriyasu stated that while targets
"Something you have done on one device can be utilized on another"
Nintendo surprised many observers with its recent - and sudden - announcement of a strategic 'alliance' with DeNA, a company that specialises in back-end systems, e-commerce and smart device games. The headline announcement, along with a number of others, was that Nintendo IP will be...
News Zelda Lookalike Oceanhorn: Monster Of Uncharted Seas Could Be Sailing To Consoles
Game shares a link with the Sega classic Landstalker, too
Oceanhorn: Monster of Uncharted Seas is an iOS adventure title which has recently crossed over to PCs, and is clearly influenced by Nintendo's Legend of Zelda - more specifically, the Wind Waker instalment which came to GameCube and - much later - Wii U. With the game branching out to other...
Poll Where Do You Stand On DeNA, Smart Device Games, Nintendo 'Membership' And The Nintendo NX?
Now that the dust has settled
There's been a lot of debate in the past few days around multiple topics that are important in the world of Nintendo. The corporate 'alliance' with DeNA will bring Nintendo brands to smartphone apps, services and - notably - games, while the former will also handle a lot of the dull-but-important infrastructure work on...
News Mobile Developers Extremely Positive About Nintendo's Move Into The Smart Device Space
"Nintendo will be another titan in the mobile game industry"
While industry analysts might be conflicted about Nintendo's partnership with Japanese mobile firm DeNA - a deal which will see Nintendo's IP finally arrive on smartphones and tablets - the mobile development community has reacted in an extremely positive fashion, seeing the Japanese...
News Nintendo Share Prices Continue to Climb in Response to DeNA and NX Announcements
Victory lattes all around
In the first day of trading following the announcement of a major partnership with DeNA to - among other things - bring Nintendo IPs to smart devices, the company's share value jumped a massive 21%. This was unsurprising, as a number of investors had been demanding that Nintendo move to smart devices for some time, while...
Use of IP catalogue "is a major strength"
In 2015 Nintendo will take its first major steps on games for smartphones and tablets, no doubt combining the expertise of partners DeNA and also lessons learned from some eShop experiments, such as free-to-play titles Pokémon Shuffle, Steel Diver: Sub Wars and Rusty's Real Deal Baseball. The first of those...
"We are forming a joint development structure with DeNA"
Following this week's dramatic announcement of Nintendo's partnership with DeNA to greatly expand its move into smart device gaming and services, utilising core IP in the process, there have been plenty of questions around how the partnership will work and how, in practical terms, it'll affect...
DeNA shares, and those of major Nintendo shareholders, also spike
Nintendo's announcement of a major corporate partnership with DeNA to bring its IP to smart devices, along with confirmation of a new customer 'membership' programme and 'NX' hardware being in development, brought a major jump in US-based share prices. The key metric is in the Tokyo...
Talking Point Nintendo's DeNA Plans and Ideas Are Smart, Not a Beginning of the End
This doesn't have to be a 'Sega' moment
Nintendo has lifted the curtain, today, on a major corporate deal that dramatically adjusts its approach to smart devices, and also its future direction as a business. With Nintendo signing a major deal with DeNA to brings major IPs to smart devices, in addition to the partnership being linked to a future...
Guide Everything We Know So Far About Nintendo's Deal With DeNA, Smart Device Plans and More
We break down the major details and questions
Nintendo has caused surprise and plenty of debate today by announcing a new deal with DeNA, which will focus on a variety of areas. We'll see Nintendo IP on smart devices, a Club Nintendo successor, and Satoru Iwata also re-affirmed Nintendo's focus on its own ga
News Intriguing Data Helps Explain Nintendo's Smart Device Strategy
Games aren't necessarily the route to glory
Following Nintendo's recent Q3 investor briefing, the reaction to its much-anticipated smart device strategy was decidedly mixed, with Satoru Iwata's announcements on a dedicated development team with the objective of producing free "services" in an app not quite representing the move into the iOS and...