14 DAY TRIAL // Despite the fact that The Pokemon Company, which is linked to Nintendo, has announced that it was officially endorsing a new Pokemon game that will be launched on the smartphones powered by the iOS and by Android from Google, this does not mean that more Nintendo games will be launched on devices that are not manufactured by the company.
Yasuhiro Minagawa, who is a spokesperson for Nintendo has clarified the company's stance about mobile devices by saying that it “hasn't changed and won't change.”
Nintendo has always been focused on creating video games that only work on the hardware, both home console and handhelds, that it develops, with the exclusivity boosting sales of its platforms.
Minagawa explained that at the moment Nintendo only owns about 32 percent of The Pokemon Company and, even if the two companies work very closely on video game company, the firm is free to pursue its own strategy when it comes to the growing smartphone market.
The new game is called Pokemon Iie Tap and will be based around Pokemon trading cards that a player will need to tap to the rhythm of music taken from the anime based around the same characters.
Now the video game is only set to get a Japan launch and The Pokemon Company has not talked about a date when Western markets might get it.
As the smartphone market has been growing in recent years, with both iPhones and Android-powered devices increasing their presence and promoting a gaming market that offers smaller experiences at lower prices, a number of executives from Nintendo have expressed critical views, saying that the smartphone market is a bigger threat than piracy to handheld gaming.
Nintendo is currently aiming to boost the sales of its new Nintendo 3Ds handheld, which in some areas competes directly with smartphones.
The company has also announced the Wii U, a new home console, which will arrive next year.