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Japanese video game maker Nintendo Co is eyeing the movie business for growth.
Company spokesman Makoto Wakae said details are undecided but the work might be a theatre release or a DVD.
The company has licensed its game characters in the past, such as with the Pokemon movies. But it’s now thinking about make its own film content.
It won’t become a full-fledged film studio. But film making is an area it has chosen for future investment of proceeds after selling its stake in the major league Seattle Mariners, according to Kyoto-based Nintendo.
The Japanese daily newspaper Asahi reported that Nintendo’s work might be 3-D animation – and it’s in talks with various film companies on a possible partnership.
Nintendo makes the Wii U home console and Nintendo 3DS hand-held machine. But it has seen its growth stagnate amid competition from smartphones and other devices, and films could revive interest in its franchise, which also includes The Legend of Zelda.
Recent Wii U sales have lagged against rivals Sony’s PlayStation 4 console and Microsoft’s Xbox One.
And after years of scoffing at the threat from smartphones, Nintendo entered an alliance with Japanese mobile game company DeNA Co to develop games for mobile devices.
It has also said its new game platform codenamed NX will be launched globally in March next year.
