Nintendo Wants To Expand Their Mobile Gaming

Get ready to stomp those Goombas and head down the warp pipes on a smaller screen as Nintendo promises to increase its output on mobile phone gaming.

In a case of out with the old and in with the new as Shuntaro Furukawa takes over from Tatsumi Kimishima, Nintendo is looking to cash in on the mobile market and follow in the footsteps of the goliath that is Niantic's Pokémon GO. Given that Nintendo is known as the unofficial home to the pocket monsters, it makes sense Furukawa wants a bigger slice of the money-making pie.

Speaking to Nikkei, Furukawa outlined his plans to increase Nintendo's mobile games to $910 billion:

"From what I can see, smartphone games are the ones I want to expand the most. The idea that something will emerge that transforms into something big, in the same manner as game consoles, is the defining motive of the Nintendo business."

It wasn't just mobile games that were the focus of the interview, with Furukawa also looking to branch out further and bring the Nintendo Switch to a more diverse array of countries - outlining the likes of Asia and the Middle East as prime targets. Either way, these are exciting times for Nintendo with promises that the company will take its games on the move more than ever before.

Gamers already know that the hotly anticipated Mario Kart Tour is coming to mobiles at some point in the future, but this could just be the tip of the iceberg. The video game market is booming right now, and before his untimely death, former Nintendo president Satoru Iwata had discussed an improved focus on the market back in 2015. Since then, there has been a push toward mobile games from Nintendo thanks to the likes of Miitomo (2016), Super Mario Run (2016), and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp (2017).

While some have been critical of Furukawa's young age when compared to his predecessor, it could come in handy to help Nintendo grip the mobile gaming subset. While Sony and Microsoft have been sharing the limelight and grabbing headlines about when they could debut their next-gen consoles, Nintendo has been patiently waiting in the wings and reaping the rewards of the Nintendo Switch. Nintendo's software and hardware has been raking in the money recently, however, Furukawa isn't content resting on his laurels.

The Switch has already helped Nintendo become more mobile away from its DS models, but the company will now put more effort into specific titles for mobile phones. There is no news on what kind of games could find a new home on mobile phones, but just imagine reliving the magic of Mario 64 or Ocarina of Time while on the move. Only time will tell, but Furukawa tells gamers to watch this space when it comes to Nintendo's mobile gaming initiative.