Nintendo: Smartphones won't kill consoles

Mobile phones and tablets may be growing in ubiquity, but their rise in popularity does not mean traditional consoles will die as a result, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has said.

"The spread of smart devices does not spell the end of game consoles. It's not that simple,” Iwata said during a news conference, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.

Iwata explained that Nintendo must find a way to use smartphones and tablets to nudge players toward the console versions of its games as a means to preserve its long-held business strategy.

“It doesn't mean that we should put Mario on smartphones,” he said.

Defending this decades-only strategy, Iwata said whatever short-term benefit Nintendo might get from releasing its franchises for mobile devices isn't worth the risk of harming its longstanding policy of offering its franchises exclusively on Nintendo devices.

He reiterated this stance during the news conference, saying good games will sell hardware. However, he did admit that customers need more convincing today because they have more entertainment options than they used to.

Iwata surprised some fans last week when he said Nintendo was considering a "new business structure" focused around smart devices as a result of dismal Wii U sales and downtrodden financial projections.

Finally, The Wall Street Journal points out that Nintendo has recently beefed up its research and development budget with the aim of surprising players will new offerings in the future.