May 8, 2014

Nintendo to launch its first smartphone service with Mario Kart TV app

by Sayan Chakravarty

Nintendo has just published their financial results for the last fiscal year, and three years in running the Japanese company has posted huge losses totaling to a whopping $1.18 billion. So things are definitely not good with Nintendo and the poor sales of Wii U video game console has to be blamed for the dismal state of affairs. To get things back on track, the company is planning to try out a few new things that may improve the cash flow. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata announced that the company will launch its first smartphone service alongside Mario Kart 8, which arrives at the end of May. The company’s first mobile application is tentatively titled Mario Kart TV and will allows users to watch and share gameplay footage and screenshots, official and user-generated, as well as view rankings and official tips through the cross-platform interface.

The service will support PC, mobile and tablet devices, but it is not clear as of now when or if the service will reach western markets. The company also announced its plans to capitalize on the NFC reader in the Wii U GamePad by launching the Nintendo Figurine Platform (NFP). Mario Kart 8 is scheduled to launch on May 30 for Wii U. The game features 16 new courses and 16 remixed classic courses, as well as 12-player online play and four-player local multiplayer.