In an effort to shake up its internal research and development, Nintendo announced on Wednesday that it is merging its home console and handheld divisions next month.
First reported by the Japanese financial news organization Nikkei on Wednesday, Nintendo will spend $340 million dollars on a brand new facility in Kyoto in order to unify a team of 130 console engineers and 150 handheld engineers. The merger will be the first major restructuring move undergone by the company in nine years.
"In an effort to create more innovative and attractive products, Nintendo Co. will combine the development segments for its home video game consoles and handheld game devices," read a translation of the Nikkei report.
In addition to combining the teams' technical know-how, Nintendo is hoping to speed up development time in order to compete more effectively with tablets and smartphones. The move also makes sense considering that both of the company's current systems feature two screens as well as a touch screen. With both teams working together to come up with new ideas, Nintendo may be able to introduce innovative concepts at a quicker rate.
Smartphones and tablets are turning upside down pretty much every tech-related industry they even remotely touch. Video games have been affected for a few years now, but this news is yet another sign that even more conservative giants like Nintendo must react or face ever-worsening positions.
The merger comes only a few months after the release of Nintendo's latest flagship console, the Wii U. Although the system had a moderately successful launch, sales aren't convincing enough to suggest traditional video game makers can hold their positions against smartphones and upstart initiatives like Valve's Steam Box. To add to Nintendo's troubles, Wii U sales in Japan have dropped to concerning lows.
One of the issues plaguing the new console is a lack of games, but that doesn't look like it's getting better any time soon, either. As Nintendo revealed on Thursday, in addition to the delay of "Pikmin 3," three more titles have slipped past their intended March release dates and are slated simply for "the first half of the year." The three titles are:
- Game and Wario
- Wii Fit U
- The Wonderful 101
Nintendo hasn't released a new game since the launch of the Wii U, though it's expected that June's Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) will sport an extensive line-up of second-half titles.
