Nintendo has finally announced the release schedule for the company’s highly anticipated smartphone games. The apps, first rumored in 2014 and confirmed in March, will be launched one by one over the course of two years, with the first one hitting the market by the end of 2015.
Nintendo’s CEO and president Satoru Iwata said the company will be releasing five games, with the last mobile title coming out by March 2017.
“You may think [five] 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 notes the new smartphone games will not be adjusted versions of existing titles. Instead, they will be completely new games build for mobile technology.
“Even with highly popular IP, the odds of success are quite low if consumers cannot appreciate the quality of a game.”
Iwata added that games already associated with a dedicated game system, such as the Nintendo Wii console or 3DS portable gaming device, would not have the same play styles on smart devices, and thus, they may be considered disappointing from a consumer perspective.
Nintendo is also working on a project dubbed NX, a new console that would eliminate the hassle of the region-based gaming used on the Wii U and 3DS. Those devices currently only play games specifically for their host region. Getting rid of the lock would allow gamers to play games from around the world, thus enhancing their incorporation with the Nintendo brand.