Despite analyst views, Nintendo is still keeping franchises off smartphones and tablets

One of Nintendo’s most-recent high points – from a business perspective – was when the company churned out a profit of 555.2 billion yen for the year ending in March 31, 2009. This was also when the DS, Wii, and Mario franchise were all leading the way in terms of financial success.

Yet as of late, Nintendo hasn’t been able to reach the same kind of heights it achieved a few years ago. The Wii U has been struggling thus far, and overall business has seen a slight decline.

Nintendo has always been a hardware and software maker, but some analysts feel that this tradition should be broken. Among major overseas analysts, one of their sentiments is, “If Nintendo decided to cut loose from its hardware and software, their profit shares may increase 2 to 3 times.” Some also believe that if Nintendo considered leaving the hardware business and brought some of its IPs – such as Mario and Zelda – to smartphones, the company could experience a dramatic recovery.

Nintendo, however, is against such a move, with company officials expressing: “Performance is temporarily getting better, you can’t get a true feel for Mario on smartphone or tablet, and this would also lead to a decrease in brand value over the long term.”