Chris Martin reveals why Nintendo let you play games such as Super Mario and Zelda on an iPhone or iPad
The Nintendo Wii U arrived about a year ahead of its next-generation console rivals – the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. It’s had a di cult time, with a lack of interest leading to poor sales. It’s a tough battle to fi ght, but Nintendo has some serious ammunition up its sleeve giving gamers reasons to invest – the games. The main one is Super Mario 3D World, which has had rave reviews.
If you want to play the latest Mario game, then you’ll have to buy a Wii U because it’s exclusive to Nintendo’s console. There are many other games on the way, too, including Mario Kart 8, Super Smash Bros, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze and a new Zelda game. The same is true of Nintendo’s DS handheld range which has exclusives like Mario Kart 7, Luigi’s Mansion 2, Animal Crossing, Pokemon XY and Zelda: A link between worlds.
It would be brilliant if these games were available on other platforms, especially smartphones and tablets, but don’t be surprised if this never happens. Nintendo’s much loved franchises are the fi rm’s big lure or selling point and there are a lot of them. So if Nintendo was to make app versions of its games, gamers would have fewer, or no, reasons to buy its hardware (the 3DS and 2DS are selling well). It would also make far less profit on mobile versions of its games compared to console versions.
