In an interview with CNN, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime said that the video game giant has “no desire to get into telephony.” This comes hot off the news of the “successful” 3DS launch in the US and Sony Ericsson’s recent launch of the PlayStation-focused Xperia Play in 11 global markets. Instead, Nintendo believes that it can offer exciting and engaging new forms of gameplay – through its proven software franchises such as Super Mario, Zelda and Metroid as well as through innovative tech such as the 3DS’s glasses-free 3D. Fils-Aime says Nintendo doesn’t feel it can have a competitive advantage in the cellphone market. Whatever could that mean? Critics will likely point at Apple’s iPhone and App Store as the culprit. Fils-Aime has a point. Going head to head with the App Store’s cheap games would devalue the $40 asking price that 3DS games command. In most cases, Nintendo’s first-party games sell well, so why would it go into a market where dollar games like Angry Birds and Doodle Jump rule? It won’t. If Nintendo did join the battle for smartphone domination, it’d lose for sure, and Nintendo hates losing.
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