Category: Featured News

The video game giant may soon make controllers for smartphone and tablet games.

Nintendo hinted that a mobile game controller could be in the works in the future. The company revealed at its recent 76th Annual General Meeting of Shareholders that it may be considering designing its own smart device controller. The Japanese multinational consumer electronics and software company is no stranger to developing physical game controllers. There is huge potential that the company could benefit from designing and selling these controllers. They are likely to appeal to both Nintendo fans and older gamers who’ve grown up interacting with video games via button-pushing.

Nintendo also hinted at placing its focus on developing games engineered around touch screen controls.

During the Q&A at the general meeting, Shinya Takahashi, Nintendo’s general manager of entertainment planning and development, told shareholders, “I believe Nintendo’s way of thinking is to look at whether action games are really not impossible (without a physical controller for smart device applications) to create and how we can make it happen to create such a game.”

Takahashi explained that Nintendo will focus on making the best “Nintendo-like” applications, including those that are for everyone from children to seniors. In other words, the company does not intend to pour all of its energy only into action games.

In regard to the hint about developing a mobile game controller for smart device applications, Takashi said that “it is possible that we may also develop something new by ourselves.”

Mobile game controller hints aside, Nintendo also appears to be seeking programmers for smartphone games.

Nintendo has reportedly listed job openings for programmers interested in working on the development of its mobile games. The fact that the company is seeking to hire programmers specifically for its mobile gaming endeavors reveals that it is clearly dedicated to improving its position in the mobile games market.

Nintendo’s first game for smartphones and tablets, called Miitomo, has received mixed reception. It was a huge success when it was first released but has since dramatically declined in popularity, losing many of its users. It will be interesting to see if the company has better success with its Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem titles that are due out for mobile platforms this fall.

Although a mobile game controller for Nintendo games remains only a discussion at this point, such a device could help boost the company’s success in the industry.

Mobile shopping is driving retail e-commerce sales in the UK.

UK mobile commerce will fuel the growth of e-commerce sales this year, says eMarketer. According to the most recent forecast from the independent market research company, retail electronic commerce sales in the UK for 2016 are likely to exceed £67 billion (approximately $88.7 billion). Mcommerce will account for a total of £25.2 billion ($33 billion) of these online sales.

E-commerce will represent a 22.6% share of total retail sales in the UK by 2020.

In terms of retail digital sales share of total retail sales, the UK is a world leader. Its e-commerce sales are fueled by the impressive growth of smartphone-based buying from UK consumers. Consumers in the United Kingdom have always been fast to adopt digital technologies, including embracing shopping and buying on mobile devices. The $33 billion mobile commerce prediction from eMarkter is an increase of over 25% from 2015.

This growth in UK mobile commerce retails sales is expected to continue to grow over the next few years. By 2020, mcommerce sales are predicted to surpass £42.5 billion ($56 Billion). The growing retail ecommerce market in the UK is helping to make up for the decline the nation has experienced in terms of traditional retail sales.

Most UK mobile commerce sales come from tablet devices.

Presently, tablet devices are responsible for the majority of mobile commerce sales. eMarketer notes that in 2016, £15.8 billion ($19.8 billion) will be spent via tablet commerce. This represents over 62% of total m-commerce sales.

That being said, more and more consumers are using their smartphones for shopping. According to Bill Fisher, an eMarketer senior analyst, “Smartphone usage continues to have far-reaching implications for retailers in the UK.” Fisher added that “However, more than simply driving digital retail traffic, these latest numbers show that smartphones are now increasingly driving digital sales. Getting the smartphone sales experience right is becoming more vital than ever. ”

While smartphones currently make up only 35.4% of UK mobile commerce spending, by 2020 this is forecasted to change. It is projected that smartphone-based shopping will account for 52% of spending and £22.1 billion ($29.2 billion) sales.