Games is the biggest category of apps in Apple’s App Stores, but don’t expect to be able to download Nintendo games to your iPad, iPhone, or iPod anytime soon. The Loop is reporting that despite pressure from investors, Nintendo isn’t planning to develop games for iOS devices, according to comments from Nintendo president Satoru Iwata.
“This is absolutely not under consideration,” he told Japanese news site Nikkei after a 3DS press conference. “If we did this, Nintendo would cease to be Nintendo. Having a hardware development team in-house is a major strength. It’s the duty of management to make use of those strengths. It’s probably the correct decision in the sense that the moment we started to release games on smartphones we’d make profits. However, I believe my responsibility is not to short term profits, but to Nintendo’s mid and long term competitive strength.”
But as the tablet space continues to grow, will Nintendo have to reverse its stance to remain competitive?
“Collectively, iPad gamers are showing slightly decreased involvement with gaming on home consoles, mobile phones, and Nintendo handheld consoles,” Interpret analyst Jason Preston said in a statement. “These facts imply that iPad game developers and publishers can definitely reach a new audience on the iPad.”
Additionally, sales of the Nintendo 3DS have been lackluster. In August, the company was forced to drop the price of its newest handheld device from $249.99 to $169.99 in order to boost sales of the console just under six months after it launched.
On top of that, game sales are also down. GigaOm noted that in its July earnings report, Nintedo posted its first quarterly operating loss in its history.
However, Iwata isn’t worried. He told Nikkei that he thinks Nintendo has a proven business model, evidence of which will be delivered when the holiday shopping season rolls around.