[Source] After years of resistance in launching full-fledged mobile games on the reason that the move will hurt its hardware sales, Nintendo has formed an alliance today with mobile games developer DeNA. The deal aims at “the joint development and operation of gaming applications for smart devices and joint development of a new multi-device membership service for the global market.”
DeNA operates the Mobage platform and has more than 30 million users in Japan. The companies announced they would go beyond publishing titles 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.” A new membership service for this collaboration will begin as early as fall this year.
The alliance is executed through a ¥22 billion (around USD 181 million) share swap, with Nintendo taking a 10% stake in DeNA in exchange for 1.24% of its own treasury shares. The deal will be finalized on April 2, the payment date for the shares. Update: All Nintendo IP will be eligible for development, and only new original games optimized for smart device functionality will be created.
