It has not been a good week for the folks at Nintendo as the company has decided to cut its sales expectations by $6.8 million in the wake of a disappointing holiday sales season that saw forced the Japanese game maker to abandon its previous projections of earning $9.6 million to just $2.8 million.
In a press conference that was held on Friday, and translated by The Wall Street Journal, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata explained that any move to release key franchises such as Mario, Zelda or Pokemon on smartphones would likely have a negative impact on the company's only successful selling bit of hardware, the Nintendo 3DS handheld device.
"The spread of smart devices does not spell the end of game consoles. It's not that simple," he said. "It doesn't mean that we should put Mario on smartphones."
The company refusing to release some of its more popular titles onto smartphones and tablets might be a major misstep as its consoles are clearly not selling at a rate that's high enough to sustain the company. While the fear of cannibalizing its own business with the 3DS might be a legitimate concern, with no plan B in the pipeline, Nintendo might be circling the drain.
It's worth noting that while Nintendo refuses to release games on smartphones and the like, the Pokemon Company has previously experimented with releasing products on different platforms. Last year the company came out with a Pokedex app that launched in Japan.
Following the announcement of both Nintendo's plans and the fact that it had failed to reach its sales projections, forcing the company to downgrade its forecast for the fiscal year ending in March 31, 2014, Iwata apologized to the company's investors but noted that he will not be resigning, nor will he be making any major management changes in the near future.
Tell us what you think, is Nintendo making the right call by trying to sail through the storm or is it time for the company to really shake things up and begin looking at new innovations and possibly new management? Comment and share your thoughts with us below.
