Nintendo eyes smartphone apps to save Wii U

Will smartphone apps turn out to be the savior of Nintendo's floundering Wii U console?

 

The Japanese gaming firm may be gambling on this as it offered professional-use conversion software for app developers to port games to Wii U, Japan Times reported.

 

Quoting its sources, Japan Times said Nintendo hopes the smartphone apps will help boost console sales, and in turn will lead to an increase in popular game titles for them.

 

But the sources also said Nintendo will also focus on developing its own new software.

 

Wii U had not been the success Nintendo expected it to be, and even helped widen the firm’s operating loss in fiscal 2012, Japan Times said.

 

One reason was a lack of popular games, the report said.

 

However, Japan Times said Nintendo may release a new title in the popular "Pocket Monster" series in October for the portable 3DS.

 

Nintendo President Satoru Iwata also said some new titles will be produced for the Wii U starting summer.

 

'Bold but sensible'

 

A separate article on The Next Web said this could be a "bold but sensible move" for the Wii U, which has a 6.2-inch touchscreen display and a traditional button configuration.

 

This could be a "perfect fit for many titles offered on Android and iOS," it said.

 

"If the video game giant can find a way of persuading high-profile and indie smartphone developers alike to develop for Wii U specifically, however, the console could be given a much-needed shot in the arm," it said. — TJD, GMA News