Nintendo finally awakens to the modern age of games with its DeNA mobile deal

Back in November 2008, I warned Nintendo that the iPhone represented a threat to the dominance of the portable Nintendo DS gaming handheld. Seven years later, Nintendo acknowledged the threat by creating an alliance with Japan’s DeNA to make mobile games with Nintendo characters.

Well, Nintendo. I told you so. Before everybody else piles in with commentary, and before Nintendo really explains its actions, I had to say this. During the last seven years, mobile gaming on smartphones and tablets has grown to be worth as much as $30.3 billion market worldwide in 2015, according to market researcher Newzoo. And Nintendo has a zero percent share of that market. It has tested Pokémon games, but it has done little else to take advantage of the fastest-growing gaming market.