Nintendo and DeNA to establish joint venture company called Nintendo Systems

Nintendo and mobile games company DeNA are forming a joint venture company called Nintendo Systems that will aim to enhance the digitization of Nintendo’s business. The joint venture builds on Nintendo’s years-long partnership with DeNA that began in 2015. The two have since worked together to develop a handful of titles, including Super Mario Run, Fire Emblem Heroes, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, Mario Kart Tour, Miitomo and Pokémon Masters. Nintendo announced the news alongside its latest financial results.

The company notes that since the amount of capital of the joint venture company is greater than 10% of that of Nintendo, it will become a Specified Subsidiary of Nintendo. The new company will begin operations in April 2023 and will be based in Tokyo. Nintendo’s Tetsuya Sasaki will be the president of the new company.

Nintendo says the objective of the new venture company is to focus on research and development to strengthen the digitization of Nintendo’s business and create “value-added services to further reinforce Nintendo’s relationship with customers.”

“With the integrated hardware-software model at the core of its business, Nintendo also strives to provide enhanced experience and service outside of its dedicated gaming system,” the company said in a statement. “In order to provide this experience in a holistic manner, Nintendo is working to maintain and expand its relationship with consumers primarily through Nintendo Account.”

Nintendo, together with DeNA, has made significant strides in the mobile gaming space. Of the six titles that two have produced together, Fire Emblem Heroes has been the most successful, as it hit $1 billion in global player spending in June, according to data from Sensor Tower. As a result, Fire Emblem Heroes was Nintendo’s first mobile game to surpass $1 billion in spending. The data also shows that Mario Kart Tour brought in $293 million, while Animal Crossing brought in $287.6 million.

The company says the establishment of the joint venture company is subject to all necessary approvals, including those required by the competition laws of involved countries. Nintendo also notes that the news will have no effect on its results for this fiscal year, and that the effects it will have on future results will be incorporated into financial forecasts from the next term onward.