DeNA is an online Japanese mobile gaming platform founded in 1999. The company will work with Nintendo to “develop a new core system” that will power devices across all form factors. A new membership service will also be offered later this year as a joint venture.
Nintendo’s press release explains: Nintendo and DeNA expect to develop a new core system compatible with a variety of devices including PCs, smartphones and tablets as well as Nintendo’s dedicated video game systems, and are to jointly develop a membership service utilizing this system, with a launch targeted for the fall of 2015. The companies expect to further enhance their customer relationships through the membership service.
The new partnership will bring Nintendo’s famous characters onto smartphones for the first time. A huge market that Nintendo has formerly taken no involvement in, now all of the company’s intellectual property is open for development.
Interestingly, Nintendo’s existing catalogue of titles will not be ported to handheld devices. Instead, the emphasis is on creating all-new titles designed to run on phones and tablets.
Later in the press conference Nintendo announced its development of a new dedicated games console. Dubbed Project NX, reference was made only in passing and no more details will be released until next year.
The company’s current Wii U product has failed to gain traction in a market dominated by Sony’s PlayStation 4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One. Project NX is designed to give Nintendo more appeal globally as it plays catch-up to the offers of its competitors. It is intended to deliver a “brand-new concept” but no more details on this were given.
Nintendo and DeNA have acquired stakes in each other as part of the new deal. Nintendo has obtained 10% of DeNA while the latter has got 2.4% of the worldwide gaming brand.
