Nintendo refutes smartphone game claims

Mario and friends will not be appearing on smartphones in the foreseeable future, despite recent reports to the contrary.

That’s the message coming from Nintendo this afternoon after it reached out in response to claims overnight from Japanese outlet Nikkei that the company is preparing to release smartphone minigames based on its popular IP.

"Nikkei’s article contains information previously stated by Mr Iwata during past press conferences, including statements which relate to Nintendo’s willingness to make use of smart devices to promote our products,” the platform holder told Engadget.

However during such past announcements Mr Iwata has also stated that Nintendo’s intention is not to make Nintendo software available on smart devices and as such, we can confirm that there are no plans to offer minigames on smartphone devices.”

Michael Pachter earlier this month called for Nintendo to release its brands on other manufacturer’s hardware following its recent set of disastrous financials.

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, however, has said that a switch to smartphones is not the answer to the company’s problems.