Nintendo announced last week their decision to join the current mobile gaming craze.

The Japanese game developer won't stop there, as it added that it will release four more mobile titles in 2017. Releasing five mobile games in two years doesn't sound like a lot, but Nintendo president Satoru Iwata said it's the right strategy for his company.

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"You may think it is a small number, but when we aim to make each title a hit, and because we want to thoroughly operate every one of them for a significant amount of time after their releases, this is not a small number at all and should demonstrate our serious commitment to the smart device business," Iwata told investors.

Producer of Mario Kart, Hideki Konno, would be leading development on the company's mobile games, Iwata added.

Nintendo said it has several challenges to deal with while entering the mobile game market, like fans of its Wii U platform getting used to smartphone touchscreens as replacements for game controls. The company said the unpredictability of the market could also make success difficult to achieve, so it will have to be careful about picking characters and franchises for the games.

Company's first mobile game will be available to smartphone users by the end of this year, and the rest will be available by March 2017. Other details, such as what characters will appear in the games, have yet to be revealed.

Reports said that Nintendo's first mobile game might feature Mario or Pokemon of some kind, though expect it to play much differently from Nintendo's traditional games. Nintendo is making a point of keeping mobile distinct from their core video games, with the hope that mobile games will serve as a gateway to their Nintendo 3DS and Wii U gaming consoles.

Nintendo's new membership service should be a step towards reaching that goal. Players will be able to create one Nintendo ID that will work across all Nintendo sites and platforms, much like what you see on across Sony's PlayStation brand. Expect to hear more later this year.

TagsExpect the First Mobile Game of Nintendo by 2017, Nintendo, mobile gaming, Wii, Super Mario Bros, Mario bros, Pokemon, Gaming