Nintendo: We're considering how to use mobile in our business

- Nintendo president Satoru Iwata admits that the mobile games space is far eclipsing traditional dedicated hardware -- although he maintains that Nintendo currently has no plans to bring its games to mobile. As part of an Investors' Q&A session, Iwata noted that some of the areas in which dedicated consoles and handhelds used to hold the upper-hand with regarding to playing video games, "now have greater potential on smart devices." Yet Iwata believes that dedicated systems can still provide unique experiences that mobile cannot. "With that in mind, my view is that the gaming market will be segregated to a fair degree," he added. But rather than compete with mobile games, Nintendo is looking to use smart devices to its advantage, such as providing the Wii U's Miiverse networking service on mobile. "Starting with this attempt, we are discussing among us how we can expand the use of smart devices to help drive the business of dedicated gaming systems," he continued. "We also know that many watch Nintendo Direct on their smart devices. Rather than simply viewing smart devices as competitors, we should consider ways in which we can use them for our business." Later, when asked whether Nintendo will ever consider releasing games for smart devices, Iwata said that "at the moment" the company has no such plans. Iwata also discussed the topic of digital game pricing, including the sort of pricing models found on the App Store right now, noting, "There are some people who insist that digital products tend to become cheaper and eventually become very close to being offered for free. In other words, deflation in prices in the digital business can increase if you are not careful enough."