Nintendo's DeNA mobile games deal wasn't made by a 'cornered company'

Nintendo's deal with DeNA to facilitate the creation of new games for mobile devices was not the act of a company with nowhere else to move, president Satoru Iwata has explained.

"A variety of media have written that Nintendo is cornered a number of times, but I do not think we were cornered at all," Iwata explained in a now translated Japanese Q&A held on March 17. "Needless to say, we are also aware that unless a company can deal with the rapidly changing world, it will face decline. But I would like to emphasize here that our alliance is not the result of a lack of better options for a cornered company."

Iwata continued by explaining more about how the partnership came to be.

"When I first met with Mr. Moriyasu (President & CEO DeNA), I started to wonder if there was anything we could work on together," said Iwata. "After that, the more we discussed, the more I realized that DeNA knew so many things that Nintendo did not. Mr. Moriyasu even said that DeNA did not mind remaining in the background as long as it could collaborate with Nintendo, and I came to realize that this could be a very productive opportunity as in comparison to what Nintendo might have been able to achieve by itself. We would be able to provide consumers with far more attractive offers in terms of entertainment experiences and speed.

"This is why I just said that this is not a decision made out of a lack of options. In fact, Nintendo has received a number of proposals from a variety of companies. Among them, Nintendo has pro-actively chosen DeNA."

The first Nintendo mobile game is expected to release later this year.