Crave Talk: Nintendo must make a mobile phone
Tags: nintendo, wi fi, mobile phone, gaming
Playing games on a mobile phone is about as enjoyable as untangling a pair of headphones when you're stuck in the middle of a train during rush hour. The quality of titles available is very low, and today's phones simply aren't designed for fast, reliable button pressing. Don't get me wrong -- things are getting better -- but for the love of thumb-tapping, Nintendo must make a mobile phone.
Before you go stark raving bonkers screaming at your monitor, it's really not that crazy an idea. For starters, most mobile phone manufacturers -- in particular Nokia -- are taking gaming very seriously. This could dramatically affect the market, in the same way that the massive proliferation of music phones persuaded Apple to make the iPhone.
Then there are the Sony PSP phone rumours, which if true, could prove a genuine challenge to Nintendo's future portable consoles. But Nintendo has always been a proactive company, and these reasons alone aren't why I think Nintendo should make a mobile phone -- or, perhaps more feasibly, partner up with a mobile manufacturer.
The problem with teaming up with another company would be that the final product would most likely be a diluted version of what Nintendo first had in mind. It would be better for Nintendo to heavily invest in mobile and develop its own in-house team. Of course, this would be a massive financial risk, and could potentially bring the company to its knees if the 'Nintenphone' didn't live up to expectations. Too many games companies have fallen by the wayside after ill-advised hardware development.
But Nintendo has demonstrated with the DS and Wii that it understands usability and aesthetics to such an extent that any phone it would produce would not only look beautiful, but would also be extremely usable in terms of hardware and software (obviously much better than my crudely Photoshopped image).
You only have to look at the DS to realise that it already has the potential to be a PDA. At the moment you can use your DS (via an extra cartridge) to listen to music and browse the Internet over Wi-Fi using an Opera-based browser. Would it be that much of a leap to turn it into a mobile phone?
Nintendo also understands casual, time-limited gaming better than any other company. If it could continue the quality of games it has produced for the DS on to a mobile, it would easily be the best phone gaming experience ever created. And that's the point: Nintendo makes consoles and is extremely good at it, so who would you rather have making your gaming phone?
Before Apple made its music phone, many sceptics said it would be terrible, because it has no understanding of the market. And although the iPhone's not perfect, it's certainly one of the best music phones out there, which speaks volumes. No, Nintendo doesn't have any experience in manufacturing phones, but it certainly has the fanbase and cachet to extract great deals from mobile networks, as Apple did. Who's to say it couldn't do an Apple -- and create something special? -Andrew Lim
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RandyWed 21 November, 2007 4:36pm
This would be awesome other then the fact that you would retarted talking into it, unless they added Bluetooth for a wireless headset. They would also have to come up with a better name. Nintenphone just sounds funky. Teaming up with Google and using Android might be a great way to get Nintendo's name into a major ad firm (Google Ads) and hit the Market strong.
AnonymousWed 21 November, 2007 9:16pm
Seems like the natural progression of things to me. It wouldn't take a significant hardware power increase to support a phone as part of a DS-like portable. Nintendo just needs to add some flash memory to the DS, video and audio file support and presto, you have a iPhone killer.
AnonymousFri 23 November, 2007 12:54pm
Would like to see a Duel screen flip phone/ gaming system. Im sure if Nintendo wanted to they would make something cool.
Syreeta WrightTue 27 November, 2007 1:46pm
It's funny, but I was thinking about this today. Obviously it would need a whole new design, but I think Nintendo making a phone would be a great idea. Who wouldn't want to play some Mario while on the bus? I mean, if you look at Sega Japan's website (if you can read Japanese that is), you'll find a whole mess of games from Sonic to Chu Chu Rocket, from NiGHTS to Puyo Puyo all made especially for mobiles only in Japan. If Sega and Nintendo worked on something (maybe grab Panasonic into it, after all there IS a special "Sonic" version of one of their phones), I don't see why it couldn't happen.
But of course Sony and Microsoft will HAVE to make some ludicrously priced handset to compete with it that will claim to do everything except make you breakfast in the morning... ^_^
DavidWed 28 November, 2007 12:42pm
I think it's a great idea. I love playing Nintendo games on my hacked iPhone and loved it on my Pocket PC before that. The Nintenfone would be awesome.
I already have a PSP plus my iPhone has a GBA and NES and I'd still consider getting a Nintendo phone because nobody does portable gaming devices better than Nintendo.
I think it was Shigeru Miyamoto that says Nintendo "don't do easy" when they explained they wouldn't just bring out sequels to Wii play or wii Sports. So although making the Nintendo Phone although not easy is just the sort of challenge Nintendo could/would/should take on.
AnonymousFri 14 December, 2007 11:06pm
If nintendo made a phone, it would probably be the most kickass thing since the wii and ds, imagine the potential i rekon it'd be a iPhone killer for sure. nintendo arent about graphics n shizz, they think inovation something new. Nintendo is a billion £ company.. they will rul the world one day, and the nintenfone will own lol
AnonymousMon 3 March, 2008 7:13pm
I thought that too. I'm wondering if Nintendo are too commited to gaming though. I mean they could have put music and video as a main feature of the DS but instead focused on great games and use of the touch screen. It may happen but I think it will be a limited edition partnership kind of thing. The risk with that approach is that Nintendo may not invest enough money and time into the gaming part and it will just become another Ngage. I think they definitely have the potential though. Perhaps you will be able to buy a phone add-on with the next handheld they make, a bit like the DS add-ons in Japan.
AnonymousTue 13 May, 2008 12:41pm
if nintendo wanted to make a phone im sure they would have by now although it would be awes
AnonymousThu 25 September, 2008 7:12pm
This is a fake. I saw a google version of this and buttons are EXACTLY the same.
AnonymousFri 3 October, 2008 11:34am
If they could make a 32GB DSfone with Nokia, BskyB and Google then they could be on to something
Nokia for Music, BskyB for inbuilt digital and Google for the browser. and if it had an outside touchscreen then it wouldn't look that bad
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6.6
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Rory Reid (CNET.co.uk)Wed 21 November, 2007 3:47pm
WTF?