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Nintendo's poor Wii U sales won't mean that 'Mario on smartphones' will happen any time soon

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Nintendo's poor Wii U sales won't mean that 'Mario on smartphones' will happen any time soon

After poor Wii U sales, Nintendo is rethinking its business strategy. But that won't include putting Mario, Pokemon, or Zelda on to iOS or Android.

Nintendo President, Satoru Iwata, brought this up when speaking to investors last Friday, because Nintendo revealed that Wii U sales fell under expectations last year.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Iwata acknowledged that he had misread how fast the industry had turned around due to the spread of smartphones.

Before you get excited, that won't mean that Nintendo will even start thinking about abandoning its console-centered business model.

"The spread of smart devices does not spell the end of game consoles. It's not that simple," Iwata said on Friday.

"The key is to figure out a way to use smartphones to make people aware of Nintendo's games, and encourage them to try out the console version of the games."

"It doesn't mean that we should put Mario on smartphones," Iwata concluded.

So no Zelda for iOS or Android anytime soon, then. With that in mind, you may want to check out our list of Zelda-like games available on iOS and Android right now.

Eurogamer
Chris Priestman
Chris Priestman
Anything eccentric, macabre, or just plain weird, is what Chris is all about. He turns the spotlight on the games that fly under the radar.