Mobile phone games maker DeNA and Nintendo have entered a “business and capital alliance for the joint development and operation of gaming applications for smart devices” the two companies announced today.
The two companies believe they can create new business opportunities by combining their strengths, and will jointly operate new game applications developed specifically for smart devices. These applications will feature Nintendo IP.
In addition to developing and operating smartphone games together, DeNA and Nintendo will also develop a new “core system,” which they say will be compatible with a variety of smartphones and tablets, as well as Nintendo’s own dedicated videogame platforms. A new membership service utilizing this system will launch in Fall 2015.
As part of their new partnership, DeNA is to allocate 15,081,000 of its treasury shares (corresponding to 10.0% of its issued shares, having a total value of about 22 billion yen) to Nintendo by means of a third-party allocation, and Nintendo is to acquire such shares in DeNa. At the same time, Nintendo is to allocate 1,759,400 of its treasury shares (corresponding to 1.24% of its issues shares, having a total value of about 22 billion yen) to DeNA, and DeNA is to acquire such shares in Nintendo.
Nintendo says this new alliance is not expected to have any effect on its business performance for the remainder of the fiscal year, which ends March 31st, 2015. “The expected impact upon future business performance is to be reflected in the forecasts of financial results for the next fiscal year onwards,” the company said in a statement.
Nintendo and DeNA are expected to announce further details during a “Business and Capital Alliance Announcement” press conference, which will be held in Japan at 5 pm today. The event will be livestreamed and you can watch it using the embed below. [Update: The presentation has ended. Watch it below, starting around the 32:00 mark.]
