An early, unfinished copy of tomorrow’s Nintendo Direct keynote address has leaked on the company’s US YouTube channel, and while it was quickly removed, we were able to catch a glimpse at what will likely be a major move to change the struggling company’s future.
In the humble address, Nintendo described an unprecedented partnership with tech and lifestyle powerhouse, Apple, which would include the distribution of an official ‘Smart Gamepad’ accessory. Clipping onto the back of iPhone 6 and 6 Plus devices, the official accessory, which was produced in collaboration with Nintendo, will finally take advantage of Apple’s own iOS 7 Gamepad APIs, providing a virtual touchpad and traditional A-B-X-Y buttons.
As well as hardware, the company also provided a teaser video of an upcoming iOS-only Pokemon game, which looked like a revamped re-release of Pokemon Red and Green, as well as a few other examples of original mobile games, including a Mario game which looked similar to Flappy Bird, and featured a similar gameplay mechanic. Games like this are likely the result of another recent move from the company, with a partnership with mobile game maker, DeNA.
We’ve reached out to Nintendo Australia and Apple’s PR team for comment, and will be updating this post as more news comes to hand.
[Developing]
A mockup of the Smart Cover, based on the accessory shown in the leaked video