Depending on how you view the modern day Nintendo, last week’s news of the company’s partnership with DeNa to migrate their beloved roster of IP to mobile platforms was either a long time coming or a genuine surprise. It was not, however, a knee-jerk decision, as president Satoru Iwata points out, nor did the move spawn from “a lack of better options for a cornered company.”
Speaking during a Q&A session (via GameSpot), The Big N’s head honcho spoke candidly about Nintendo’s decision to go mobile, how DeNa proved to be the perfect candidate for the partnership, and how the deal is ultimately a sign of the company’s ability to adapt, rather than out-and-out weakness.
“A variety of media have written that Nintendo is cornered a number of times, but I do not think we were cornered at all,” he said. “Needless to say, we are also aware that unless a company can deal with the rapidly changing world, it will face decline. But I would like to emphasize here that our alliance [with DeNA] is not the result of a lack of better options for a cornered company. DeNA knew so many things that Nintendo did not.”
“This is why I just said that this is not a decision made out of a lack of options. In fact, Nintendo has received a number of proposals from a variety of companies. Among them, Nintendo has proactively chosen DeNA.”
The Japanese company’s mobile venture was one of three huge announcements that came last week, with one being early details about Nintendo’s nascent new hardware, the Nintendo NX. Of course, not much is known about the device at this early stage, but the company has since hinted that it plans to surprise people when it eventually launches by changing video game life.