Nintendo Sales Prove Dedicated Game Devices Are Here to Stay, Despite Smartphones

With games like Kim Kardashian: Hollywood set to make $200 million this year alone, there's no denying that mobile games are a huge business. However, Nintendo doesn't think smartphones are about to replace dedicated game devices.

"It seems that the market status of video games for dedicated platforms is increasingly being reported as pessimistic in contrast with the popularity of smartphones," Nintendo president president Satoru Iwata said at the company's Corporate Management Policy Briefing. But Iwata presented Nintendo sales numbers that contradict that pessimism, showing that dedicated video game platform still have "ample business opportunities."

For example, he said that Nintendo expects that four of its 3DS games will sell at least two million copies each in a short period of time. The first of these, Yo-Kai Watch, which was released in Japan only in July, has already sold 2.8 million copies. Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, released in September, has sold 1.88 million units so far, and is bound to cross the two million mark soon. Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, released in Japan in October, exceeded two million already as well. Nintendo is also confident that Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS sales indicate that Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire will sell two million copies shortly after their November 21 launch date as well.

"It is true that the sales of video games have been globally polarized between huge hits and ones that do not sell well, but I would like you to know that some blockbusters have consecutively emerged in the field of dedicated video game platforms," Iwata said.

Iwata made similar comments in the beginning of the year, and said that Nintendo should use smartphones to guide players to the console versions of its games as a means to preserve its long-held business strategy.

The New Nintendo 3DS, which is slated to come to the West sometime in 2015, will be region-locked, though Iwata recently said that the policy is not set-in-stone.

Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on Twitter @emanuelmaiberg.

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Filed under: Video Games

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