Iwata Explains Nintendo’s Not Keen on Sharing First-Party Titles

Saturo Iwata recently explained why Nintendo will not release its games on other systems. The answer makes a lot of sense.

In an interview with CVG, Iwata explained that releaseing Nintendo games on rival systems would bring in a short-term influx of cash, but would ultimately hurt the company in the long run.

He said, "If I was to take responsibility for the company for just the next one or two years, and if I was not concerned about the long-term future of Nintendo at all, it might make sense for us to provide our important franchises for other platforms, and then we might be able to gain some short-term profit. However, I'm really responsible for the long-term future of Nintendo as well, so I would never think about providing our precious resources for other platforms at all."

Essentially, if you want Nintendo games, you're going to have to buy Nintendo hardware. This is a smart move since Nintendo jealously holds onto some of gamings greatest franchises.

So, for those of you hoping for an iOS release of your favorite SNES games, you may want to set aside your dreams gently and forget about it. For now at least.