5 crucial reasons Nintendo should make games for mobiles
Nintendo is and always will be a proud company, known for innovation and producing top quality games and devices for decades. But now the firm is facing an unstable future, with forecasts slashed and sales of its latest console - the polarising Wii U - way lower than expected for this time. Can Nintendo claw its way back into the mainstream and dominate the industry once again? It's hard to say, but here are five crucial reasons why Nintendo should consider placing its amazing brands like Mario and Zelda onto mobiles and tablets.
1) Make us fall in love with the classics all over again
Remember playing the original Mario for the first time? Remember the simplistic jumping mechanic, the pleasant music, the dreaded Goombas? Of course you do, those are experiences that probably made you fall in love with gaming. Putting the classics on the Apple or Google Play stores for a reasonable price would reunite thousands and thousands of fans like me with some superb titles and make us fall in love all over again.
2) A much, much, much bigger audience
It's been years since I've even engaged in the humble charms of Mario and co because right now I don't own a Nintendo branded gaming device. This is true for many people who would love to take part in some classic Nintendo gaming but simply don't have the hardware. But everyone has a smartphone or tablet, and I guarantee within a few days the definitive titles would shoot straight to the top of the app store charts.
3) They don't have to be straight ports
If Nintendo doesn't want to port its old titles to mobile devices that's fine, but at least give us some original spin-offs instead. A unique Donkey Kong game for smartphones that promotes upcoming Wii U title Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze in the process? That sounds like a win-win all round, and there are thousands of possibilities with dozens of rich worlds and stories to explore.
4) Nintendo should follow its audience
Remember those gazillion Wii consoles that were sold over its lifetime? At one point pretty much every family around had a Wii in their household, due to the fun party games that everyone could enjoy with the motion controllers. Now hardly anyone is picking up a Wii U and it's obvious the audience has moved on... to mobile devices. Those Wii players are now enjoying Angry Birds and Candy Crush, but they could be playing far superior products.
5) A chance to create a Nintendo tablet for kids
This one might be pushing it slightly, but someone in the company must have considered creating a Nintendo tablet for kids. This way Nintendo wouldn't even have to become a third-party publisher, they'd continue to create games for their own devices and in the process they could appeal to a younger audience. Put some educational apps on there too and parents would be rushing to stores to pick one up for their little one.