Nintendo announced a companion app for the upcoming racer Mario Kart 8 with Mario Kart TV last week during a Nintendo Direct detailing every feature of the new game. Now it's been revealed that Nintendo will launch Kart TV for mobile devices marking Nintendo's first foray into mobile platforms.
While Nintendo has been adamant about not developing games for smartphones or tablets (let's not forget that Nintendo boss Satoru Iwata famously punched an investor in the face, and drew blood over it) this tie-in app may be a step in the opposite direction for the company. Nintendo announced in a financial briefing that it is “planning to release the first versions of an application that specifically shows how Nintendo can utilize smart devices within this year.”
So has Nintendo finally committed to the mobile market? It's hard to say at this time but Mario Kart TV seems like the tip of the spear, or rather, a toe tentatively dipped into a market that Nintendo admits it knows little about.
"The smartphone market is probably more competitive than the console business," Nintendo Boss Satoru Iwata told Bloomberg. "We have had a console business for 30 years, and I don't think we can just transfer that over onto a smartphone model.”
Mario Kart TV will let Mario Kart 8 players record and share videos on the Wii U platform, PC and mobile devices to be released after launch. Gamers will also be able to directly upload to YouTube. Mario Kart 8 is set to drop on May 30 for Wii U.
