Games By James Plafke May. 14, 2014 11:27 am
On the heels of all the negative Nintendo news of late — the company posting a near half-a-billion dollar loss, the Wii U headed toward being Nintendo’s worst-selling non-portable console, and so on — the company is finally releasing a mobile app. In true Nintendo fashion, though, it’s not a Mario infini-runner, or some kind of mobile*Pokémon*game, and won’t help put Nintendo back into the gaming spotlight.
Though the app will not deliver Nintendo from what some say will be its inevitable destruction, it*is useful, as its express purpose is to tether your Nintendo 3DS to an Android device. The app is free, and uses WPS protocol in order to give the Nintendo 3DS online functionality while out in the wild away from WiFi. Currently, the app is only available in Japan on the Google Play store, and only works with a limited number of devices — all of which don’t appear to be on sale yet in Japan, including the Galaxy S5.
So, while the company still doesn’t seem to realize that offering mobile-only experiences that won’t directly compete with the 3DS (such as the aforementioned Mario-themed infini-runner) is one of many paths toward salvation, it at least isn’t totally ignoring the mobile scene. That’s step one, at least.
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Though the app will not deliver Nintendo from what some say will be its inevitable destruction, it*is useful, as its express purpose is to tether your Nintendo 3DS to an Android device. The app is free, and uses WPS protocol in order to give the Nintendo 3DS online functionality while out in the wild away from WiFi. Currently, the app is only available in Japan on the Google Play store, and only works with a limited number of devices — all of which don’t appear to be on sale yet in Japan, including the Galaxy S5.
- Galaxy S5 SC-04F (May 15 release)
- Xperia Z2 SO-03F (May 21 release)
- Aquos Zeta SH-04F (May 23 release)
- Arrows NX F-05F (Late May release)
- Xperia A2-SO-04F (Mid-June Release)
- Aquos Pad SH-06F (Mid-June release)
- Xperia Z2 tablet SO-05F (Mid-June release)
So, while the company still doesn’t seem to realize that offering mobile-only experiences that won’t directly compete with the 3DS (such as the aforementioned Mario-themed infini-runner) is one of many paths toward salvation, it at least isn’t totally ignoring the mobile scene. That’s step one, at least.
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