Nintendo has a big year ahead of them in 2016. President Kimoshima, who took over after the unfortunate passing of President Iwata last summer, spoke to a Japanese newspaper to outline a five point plan for the company’s operations through the end of the year.
The information was translated on Twitter by user @serkantoto. The highlights of the plan are listed below.
“Kimishima says Nintendo wants to surprise fans with new ideas – not build on old ones. Nintendo will in 2016 release “details” on the NX.”
This is obviously the biggest deal here. The NX needs to be a success and Nintendo knows it. We will definitely hear details sooner rather than later and I am willing to bet that will include a 2016 release date. What will the console details be? No real idea, but man will it be exciting to find out.
“Kimishima claims the expansion to smartphones and theme parks, but also to movies and TV animes (via character licensing) is progressing.”
There were some rumors flying around last year that a Legend of Zelda show was in development for Netflix, but nothing came of them. Nintendo has some amazing characters in their roster so these could end up being some cool cartoons and/or movies.
“He says it’s vital for Nintendo to experiment with new business models. He confirms the first smartphone app will be rolled out in March.”
Mobile games are going to be a big part of the future for Nintendo. MiiTomo might not be a game in a traditional sense, but it will be the beginning of a very big transition for their business. Here’s hoping it goes well when it arrives.
“Kimishima promises smartphone apps with Nintendo’s famous characters in 2016. He wants to bring the company’s financials to a new level.”
Nintendo’s Arsenal of characters is massive and a suite of mobile games based around them have the potential to be serious hits.
Nintendo has said in he past that nothing is off limits regarding their characters being brought to the mobile space.
“The plan is to bring profits to 100 billion yen ($855 million) in “several years”. [Note: that would be 4x of last year’s profit.]”
I’ll be honest. I don’t know if this number is feasible. But, the launch of a new console and the release of a bunch of mobile games could help.
