Nintendo ventures into smartphones with a new web-based service

Nintendo has just launched a new web based service for users to keep a track of their achievements, watch gameplay videos and a whole lot more. Although the service doesn’t require a Nintendo Network ID, users with these credentials can upload videos and upload their scores online.

It has long been expected that Nintendo would eventually venture its way into the mobile scene, although this is only a partial entry. Shareholders and fans have urged the Japanese manufacturer to launch its titles on popular mobile platforms to curb the shrinking marketshare but to no avail.

Speaking about the launch of this new web service Nintendo President, Satoru Iwata said – “This is the layout for a smartphone. This web service will enable more people to easily watch Nintendo’s official videos, view rankings, watch videos that their friends have shared and videos of tournaments in which they have participated.
This “Mario Kart TV” (temp.) web service is available even for players without NNIDs, but by logging into the service with an NNID, they will be able to easily find their rankings, videos that their friends have shared, videos of tournaments in which they have participated, and it will be convenient to access this service through smart devices even when they are not at home.”

Nintendo is expected to bring Mario Kart 8 to its consoles sometime before the E3 conference or perhaps later as a Spring time release has been mentioned before. So the company has been careful to time the launch of this new service to coincide with the new game’s release. As you can see from the screenshot above, the service is predominantly showing Mario Kart 8 related information.
Should Nintendo have launched a full fledged mobile app rather than a web based application? Let us know.
[Nintendo via Engadget]

Posted in: android, Apple iPhone, News, Phones, Rumor