The Nintendo cell phone

[orthicviper]

Would you buy one if Nintendo made one? Would it be a killer product? I think it'd be a killer product! I think it'd kill so much that Nintendo could start stealing even the most loyal android and apple phone customers. If people had a choice between bringing around a boring android or apple phone, or a nintendo one with physical buttons to play awesome nintendo games, then there'd be millions who'd make the "right" choice. There were 13.36 million people who bought a Wii U so I guarantee at least 10 million would buy this phone. 

 

But if nintendo doesn't want to make this killer product, maybe they could gain a lot by making their games exclusive to android. The google play store gets a 30% cut of apps sold there but nintendo could probably get that closer to 0%. Maybe Google would even pay them additional money just for how this could hurt Apple sales and boost sales of android phones. They could do the opposite and go with Apple instead but their users are far smaller though they pay more for software. I could be overestimating Nintendo's brand value as maybe they've burned too many of us to be an influential force outside their normal realm of under powered consoles but I think if they set themselves up right they could be a strong influence in a war between android and apple. 

 

I think this idea would have worked best back when the sony PSP first came out and I actually never got why nintendo and sony just didn't make their current and future handhelds as cell phones back then but I don't think it is too late. There was the Xperia Play phone that played playstation one games. But maybe people weren't interested in old games and wanted new games, but I just don't think that phone was advertised well and didn't have high availability and is not an indication people aren't interested in a well known brand making a cell phone to have a great portable game experience. 

[kitsunebi]

Would I buy one?  No.  But then, I've never installed a single game on my smartphone in the last 4 years, so I'm clearly not the intended customer.  Would it be successful, though?  Undoubtedly.  The Japanese love smartphones and mobile gaming.

 

The problem of course is that if Nintendo went this route, they'd be killing off all of their current streams of revenue.  If you could play all of Nintendo's games on a smartphone, no one would need another Nintendo portable.  They wouldn't need the Switch, either.  Which is why Nintendo has been so reluctant to enter the mobile gaming market.  Will that change in the future?  Perhaps.  They've already begun dipping their toes.  But to fully embrace mobile gaming to the extent of designing their own phone, I think they'd first have to reach the point where they're willing to completely abandon their home and portable consoles.

[twiztor]

if Nintendo made a phone, i'm sure someone would get upset that it wasn't the most powerful phone. they would post long paragraphs about how they could've used this other brand of chips that is more powerful and less expensive. How if they "really wanted to compete" they needed to upgrade everything and instead of catering to 'phone peasants' they need to adjust and instead market to the PC kings.

 

just razzing.

a Nintendo-brand phone i think would actually be a terrible idea. they've never dabbled in the phone market, they don't have a network, they don't have a userbase for this undertaking, i see it being a massive failure. 

[Data]

Nintendo should think of a way to use smartphones to generate revenue by interacting with their toy and card line.  They could also sell skins for smartphones to decorate them with Toadstool and what not.

 

Smartphones have gotten mature enough that people I think will soon realize that a smartphone is used for phone calls and other stuff you're used to.  If you want a good experience with videogames, then you will need to carry the extra device.

[MisterXiado]

BlackBerry succeeded through communication.

Samsung succeeded through innovation.

HTC succeeded through imagination.

Apple succeded through immitation.

[te72]

I have a Casio G'zone Brigade. I've had this phone for 6 years as of next month. Pretty sure I could take a swing at it with a golf club, but I wouldn't wanna risk breaking one of my clubs...

 

I'm obviously not in the market for a phone that plays videogames, but I have no doubt that if anyone could sell one, it would be Nintendo. I like the idea of the Xperia, in theory at least, but I don't use a phone for anything other than communication.

 

Either way, if they did make it, they would be wise to avoid making it look anything like a taco.