Nintendo considers 'new business structure' in wake of losses

Nintendo president Satoru Iwata said that the company is exploring "a new business structure" and is already "studying" how smart devices might help the once-profitable company.

Bloomberg reports that Iwata made his statements today at a press conference in Okawa, Japan, in the wake of a $335 million operating loss and reduced forecasts for sales of its console and handheld devices.

"We are thinking about a new business structure," Iwata said. "Given the expansion of smart devices, we are naturally studying how smart devices can be used to grow the game-player business. It's not as simple as enabling Mario to move on a smartphone."

According to The Wall Street Journal, Iwata said Nintendo must change because its customers are changing.

"The way people use their time, their lifestyles, who they are — have changed. If we stay in one place, we will become outdated."

Iwata said that the future of Nintendo's longstanding business pattern, which relies on Nintendo-created hardware and software, is up for debate.

"We cannot continue a business without winning," he said. "We must take a skeptical approach whether we can still simply make game players, offer them in the same way as in the past for 20,000 yen or 30,000 yen, and sell titles for a couple of thousand yen each."

Iwata's comments about smartphones and tablets aren't the first from the company. In an earnings meeting last October, a Nintendo representative said the company had no plans to bring its games to mobile platforms. Last month, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime said that the company was experimenting with "little experiences you can have on your smartphone or tablet," though as a way to bring more customers to its hardware. Last year, Nintendo branched outside of its traditional, homemade hardware and software ecosystem when it released a PC and mobile-compatible version of its Miiverse social network.