Nintendo Switch Versus... Smartphones?

The Nintendo Switch (and its future companions) may be killing life support for the Nintendo 3DS and the Wii U permanently. I still am mad at Nintendo's history of manipulating customers and taking away things which could be much, much better (like Miiverse), and I still am resistant on buying a Switch. However, as one who sees the marketing strategem of Nintendo, it makes me wonder...

Has Nintendo changed focus on competition? In other words, what if Nintendo is not competing with other dedicated console manufacturers as much, but rather a more versatile platform: Smartphones?

Miitomo and Other Nintendo Smartphone Apps

According to Wikipedia's sources, Satoru Iwata was against the mobile gaming industry:

"This is absolutely not under consideration, If we did this, Nintendo would cease to be Nintendo. Having a hardware development team in-house is a major strength. It's the duty of management to make use of those strengths. It's probably the correct decision in the sense that the moment we started to release games on smartphones we'd make profits. However, I believe my responsibility is not to short term profits, but to Nintendo's mid and long term competitive strength."

- Saturo Iwata to Nikkei - IGN Source​

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Regardless, Iwata did see Apple's App Store as a potential threat, calling them an enemy of the future. However, as the smartphone popularity grew, Iwata changed his viewpoint:

"On the other hand, I believe that the era has ended when people play all kinds of games only on dedicated gaming systems. For example, I think it is natural that many people feel that it is more convenient to use smart devices, as opposed to dedicated gaming systems, to play games to kill a bit of time. That is to say, there are some areas in which dedicated gaming systems were once used that now have greater potential on smart devices. On the other hand, dedicated gaming systems are developed by considering the software that is designed to run on the hardware, enabling us to make unique propositions. With that in mind, my view is that the gaming market will be segregated to a fair degree. However, this does not mean that smart devices will simply compete with dedicated gaming systems. Given their growth, I feel that we should make an effort to take advantage of their existence."

- Satoru Iwata during a Q&A session, taken from the Second Quarter Financial Results Briefing for the 74th Fiscal Term Ending March 2014 documents of Nintendo's corporate site​

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Interestingly, Iwata also mentions the NX in the documents about the partnership with DeNa:

"About the reason why I announced "NX," which is the codename for Nintendo’s dedicated game system with a brand-new concept, it is true that it has no direct relationship with our alliance announcement today. I announced it because I wanted to convey my message that Nintendo is even more passionate about and highly motivated to continue its dedicated game system business. As I mentioned today, we were able to overcome the issues concerning our business expansion on smart devices and have reached a conclusion about Nintendo’s approach and the utilization of smart devices so that we can encourage a great number of people to become acquainted with Nintendo IP. For these consumers, we would like to provide the more premium gameplay experiences on our dedicated game platforms so that they understand the overwhelming appeal of the detailed game worlds so much so that they become immersed in these worlds and even core game players can play to their heart’s content. Nintendo will firmly continue its core business. The biggest reason (why I mentioned "NX" today) was that I wanted to eliminate such misunderstandings as we made the smart device announcement today because Nintendo is pessimistic about the future for the dedicated game system business."

- Satoru Iwata during a Q&A session, taken from the Business and Capital Alliance Announcement between Nintendo and DeNa, from Nintendo's corporate site​

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Posthumously, Iwata's landmark smartphone app Miitomo was released March of 2016. This was very much brought on by the partnership Iwata had secured before with DeNa.

Nintendo Switch - Just a Small Tablet

Interestingly, Nintendo Switch, although still a dedicated platform, now has some VR capabilities thanks to the latest Labo kit:


Which oddly enough seems like Google Cardboard:


Also, consider a few more similarities:

• The Pay-to-Play Nintendo Switch Online, very much like subscription services on Google Play and iTunes.
• In-app purchases, introduced in the 3DS, much like in-app purchases in mobile apps.
• The portability of the Switch, and its tablet-like appearance.
• The hacks which allow Linux and even Android to run on it (here on GBAtemp!). Also note that by downloading the Open Source Software archives and peering into them, it uses a lot of Mozilla code.

What Does This Prove?

If you are looking for solid proof of Nintendo taking on the smartphone industry, I suggest browsing more IR Event documents and doing a bit more Googling. I'm not trying to prove anything; I just find all this curious.

What do you all think?

Additional Thoughts

Iwata Did NOT See the Switch as a Smartphone Competitor

If you will reread the document about Nintendo's partnership with DeNa, you will notice that Saturo Iwata himself said that what would be later known as the Nintendo Switch "has no direct relationship with our alliance announcement". This can simply be read as Iwata had no intentions of the Switch competing with smartphones. However, since Iwata's death, it seems that it does just that. After all, the smartphone industry has grown much more since the concept of the NX, or Switch.

Is Nintendo Still Competing with Other Dedicated Consoles?

That is still true, considering that there are a few similarities to other dedicated consoles, namely Playstation and Xbox. However, it's quite interesting to note that Nintendo Switch's form factor, among other things, do not seem to compare too closely with Playstation or Xbox. Has anyone seen an Xbox tablet? How about a Playstation smartphone? I'm talking dedicated devices, with PS or Xbox as their OS. While smartphones and tablets have apps that integrate into the consoles' features, they're not quite like the Switch. Also, while it's true that Playstation has its own VR headset, it is not stand-alone and allows for taking the device anywhere like Google Cardboard. However, the Switch is like that. Curious...