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Why Nintendo’s mobile gambit will exceed your expectations

Puzzle & Dragons is coming to the 3DS with a Nintendo look and feel. It could end up on mobile, too.

Image Credit: Nintendo

Nintendo is a Japanese multinational electronics company and one of the world’s largest video game development companies. This brand’s longtime popularity in the gaming industry is now going to take over the mobile platforms as well. And the House of Mario’s recent move to mobile will be a great boon for the industry.

The news that Nintendo and DeNA have partnered to produce mobile games has led to so many speculations. Nintendo’s video games are known for their superior interactive graphics, stunning visuals and elements that boost all round brain engagement. Here are some of the benefits that come from playing Nintendo video games.

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  • Video games act as brain boosters.
  • They improve motivation among the children.
  • They help provide better mental health.
  • They improve the problem-solving skills.

Nintendo is one such game that provides all the above and is known for its other powerful features as well.

Nintendo is expected to create, develop, and publish various smartphone applications to grow its business. With the help of mobile gaming company DeNA, the House of Mario intends to create systems that cater to mobile gamers and hardcore Nintendo fans.

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Here are a few things that Nintendo can do to enhance its players’ mobile experience.

  • Nintendo app: Similar to PlayStation and Xbox apps, Nintendo could do the same thing to keep their players engaged when away from their consoles and handhelds. It can also promote its games and trailers by connecting the Nintendo network and the new Club Nintendo with this app.
  • Companion apps: Nintendo could also benefit by creating companion apps for it games. An unofficial Pokédex for Pokémon has been in the app stores already, and it’s a sure bet that fans will download an official version. Animal Crossing could also benefit from an app — it could help players keep track of their progress as they collect the insane amount of items in that game. Wouldn’t this be good for fans?
  • Web applications: Web-based gaming apps for mobile devices constitute another frontier that the brand can venture toward in the near future. Nintendo’s move to mobile can be a serious indication that it would also consider developing web-based gaming apps for wider mobile audience.

Controlling the soul of mobile games

It is important for Nintendo to be in control of its games on mobile, and this desire manifests in two different ways:

  1. How well the company can control the quality of the games? It has produced amazing games for decades, and now the question is how well it maintains the same approach in the mobile games. DeNA will probably help with this. Graphics will be a major concern here.
  2. Nintendo games will appear on Western stores. This will also change its design philosophy and approach to releasing games on mobile. It will still be problematic for the Western players, it is more common for those in Japan and South Korea to explore the apps through a PC.

 Nintendo games will likely to be free-to-play, and here are some likely candidates for that business model:

  • Pikmin: This would be an ideal game for tablets. The player just needs to tap the vegetable-like Pikmin into groups and tap them in places where they need to go.
  • WarioWare: This is another great game — a collection of minigames, in fact! — that would work amazingly on the smart devices.
  • Mario & Luigi: The new entry of Mario & Luigi series would be one of the few must-play role-playing games that would be available on the smart devices.

The future of Nintendo mobile games

Nintendo has done a great job by pleasing its main fanbase. By using its success with the old Game & Watch and the money-making Game Boy, DS, and 3DS handhelds, Nintendo could easily find a way to get people to download a $1 app a billion times. At least the brand’s star-studded success story can weigh heavier than many of its competitors.

Chirag Leuva is the CEO of Yudiz Solutions, an iPhone game development firm, where he works to bring client ideas to reality.

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