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Forums - Nintendo - The Nintendo Phone -- How It Could Work

Soundwave on 16 December 2013
Fifaguy360 said:
Soundwave said:
NiKKoM said:
So at which market would Nintendo aim with this? Parents with kids? They'll buy them an iPod touch... or a cheap tablet..


Primarily the Japanese market and people looking for a Android phone with a quality build but without a ridiculous markup. Teens/adults who want to have a little "real" gaming fun to go with all the usual Android features they expect from a phone. And yes sure, kids who are getting their first phone, why not. 

In fact, I would probably considering limiting quantities of the phone in the US/Europe at first. Roll it out in Japan first and see how it does.

Like I said, keep expectations reasonable, this would not be something that would compete with the iPhone or Galaxy at all. iPhone sells like 30-50 million in quarter. This is something that could still earn Nintendo a big, fat profit selling a modest 2-3 million a quarter worldwide. 

Wouldn't be an android because that would mean Nintendo's software will go on Android and they won't do that. It will be a proprietary OS with it's own app market like 3DS/Wii/Wii U.

The Nintendo games would only be available through the eShop and playable on the Nintendo phone. So no, they wouldn't be available on other Android devices. It would definitely be a heavily forked/customized version of Android in that sense, not your vanilla Android. 

Nintendo wouldn't develop their OS for a litany of reasons ... no one would buy a phone with no apps, developers wouldn't make apps for such a phone, it would cost Nintendo a lot of money to design such an OS, and with all the patent wars going on, I don't think Nintendo would even want to get involved with that. They could be liable for lawsuits and easily bullied out of the market by MS/Apple/etc. under threat of being sued. Let Google deal with those headaches, if you use Android you can basically say "well take it up with Google, it's technically not our OS". That stuff is way out of Nintendo's league. 



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d2wi on 16 December 2013

I don't think a phone could support an Android and Nintendo OS, not enough power or space I think.



FromDK on 16 December 2013

The Nintendo Phone will happen.. for sure

There are soon 1.000 000 000 android phones.. why should nintendo try to sell 100+ next gen.. (and that would be hard) when this "casual market" is there all ready..?

What i mean is.. make a nintendo android shop.. and then sell games like the mini games in new super mario ds, and other.. braintraining..cooking mama and so games.. to the 1 billion curent smart phone owners.

On top of that.. Make the Nphone.. with buttons.. And 3ds games and future AAA titles only to be played on that.

That would mean.. 2 handheld platforms..

One that sells via Google shop.. to all smart phones owners.. smaller games designet to work with touch.. (and offcourse nintendo would also do AAA phone games and see how they sell)

And another who sells via nintendo android shop.. designet (only capable) to run on Nphone..