Nintendo Smartphone?
Nintendo Smartphone?
I've seen an article about Nintendo looking at smartphone integration for a possible console.
Here's something I wrote back on June 14th 2018:
Back when Animal Crossing Pocket Camp came out I joked that perhaps one of Nintendo’s next endeavors would be a phone. Is it really that far fetched?
Nintendo, especially with the Pokémon series has always wanted to have a device that you would take with you on the go. Usually these devices would count steps and have little Pokémon mini games. Recently they announced Pokémon Let’s Go Pikachu / Eevee which works in tandem with the Pokémon go app.
The farthest back I can think of that’s a good example of Nintendo wanting you to have a product to take with you places is the DS. Certain stores would receive demo carts that you could download upcoming game demos and special content from. Then with the 3DS you have street pass, where even just passing someone else with a 3DS their mii would show up in your mii plaza and depending on which games you own, also receive content for those games as well.
Now with the Switch being a hybrid on-the-go and home console I really do believe it’s the next logical step. Everyone has a cellphone. With them venturing out into mobile app games and with this constant pushing for on-the-go gaming it just feels like it’s the direction they’re heading.
Nintendo also wants “every single person” to own a switch making it more logical that they would look into the phone market.
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What do you guys think? Is it possible that Nintendo would look into making a Smartphone? Or am I pulling this out of thin air?
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I can envision a world where Nintendo has a certification program for smart phones. They could have minimum specs, a special security chip, and probably some tactile controls. This would allow them to more aggressively make cellphone games that feel like console games, without relying on third party controllers or using simplified controls.
I don’t see them making a whole cell phone platform. OS development is not there strong suit, console makers have been fairly bad at this in the past (there focus is speed and minimal overhead).
My guess is they will continue on with a switch style tablet for several more generations. Unless something new like AR or VR really takes off, I don’t see a lot of incentive to innovate anymore.
I could see a universe where Nintendo did do a full cell phone platform, but only as on aimed at children. So a highly restricted looked down system, with only Nintendo approved apps and lot of parental control. So basically a cheaper more restrictive iPhone in Pokemon and Mario colours, with matching ui.