Yesterday, Nintendo announced a new partnership with mobile games giant DeNA to bring not only a new console into existence some time in 2016, but to launch a new cross-platform membership service to replace Club Nintendo.
Details are few; the console is called NX, the two companies will not port any existing games onto smartphones, only original games; and DeNA does free to play really, really well. The room for speculation and desires are quite high.
Let's run down a list of things we hope to see come from this new partnership, especially with regards to how they will handle the next iteration of their membership service. Most of these can be summed up with 'convenience' and some heavy, heavy streamlining, but here are the specifics:
The biggest thing we want is the one that has already been announced: cross platform accessibility. Wouldn't it be nice to be hanging out at and realize, 'Hey, I really want to download that Mario Bros game!' All you have to do is fire up your phone or computer and voila, you can have the download starting immediately. Sure, the new games may only just be for mobile, but a new mobile app that lets you update your profile, manage your games and add friends at any time is a must have in this day and age. Fold the eShop, Virtual Console and Club Nintendo pages into themselves to create one, single unified and easy to navigate site and app.
As for the mobile games themselves, it's easy to guess what they'll try for. A new Dr. Mario match 3 puzzle fighter game similar to Candy Crush, a Mushroom Kingdom builder like The Simpsons: Tapped Out; a Zelda-esque Clash of Clans knock off. And card games. Card games galore!
Finally, a new Animal Crossing title with the option to murder Mr. Resetti because you know he's going to be a thorn in your side always telling you to buy more of this, buy more of that. The satisfaction alone will be worth all the grief that mole put us through over the years.
Everything is awesome and nothing is awesome about the new deal between the two companies. We can't wait to see how they will enter into the new market together. What are some other things you hope to see from both the NX and the emphasis on mobile titles and the membership service?
