Nintendo's next smartphone game will star well-known character
Mario company teases its next smartphone game and says it's looking into virtual reality.
If you were underwhelmed by the announcement and details of Miitomo, Nintendo's first smartphone game, the company's next one might be more intriguing. Speaking during Nintendo's latest earnings briefing, CEO Tatsumi Kimishima said the new game "will not be a communication app" like Miitomo, but instead a title that features a well-known Nintendo character, according to Bloomberg and WSJ.
Kimishima did not provide any further details regarding which franchise the character is from.
Nintendo has some of the best-known characters in all of entertainment, with a roster that includes Mario, Zelda, Link and Donkey Kong, among others.
Miitomo, which is more of a communication platform than a game, was previously expected to launch in 2015 but is now scheduled to arrive in 2016. You can read more about it here. A total of five smartphone games from Nintendo are due to launch by 2017.
Also during Nintendo's earnings briefing, The Wall Street Journal's Takashi Mochizuki asked Kimishima for his thoughts on virtual reality. He said Nintendo is looking into this category but has no specific plans in place at the moment.
I asked Kimishima: u interested in VR? He said: yes. well, as head of game firm, I guess no one can say "not interested" (to part 2)
— Takashi Mochizuki (@mochi_wsj) February 2, 2016
(cont'd) I guess Nintendo isn't planning anything VR in the near future because he said more time and efforts needed to assess technology.
— Takashi Mochizuki (@mochi_wsj) February 2, 2016
Last summer, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime didn't sound too interested in VR.
"It's not fun, and it's not social. It's just tech," he said at the time.
Nintendo's next console is currently codenamed NX and is rumored to be a console/mobile hybrid that uses "industry-leading" technology. Nintendo has said it will start to talk in a more official capacity about the console this year, but it looks like now is not the time. Unfortunately for fans, Kimishima did not share any new details on the system today, according to Mochizuki.
In terms of business performance, for the nine-month period ended December 31, Nintendo revenue declined 3.9 percent while profit slumped by a significant 36.5 percent.