Hard to say if anyone saw this coming. After completely dismissing any suggestion or question that the company would one day enter the mobile gaming market comes news that Nintendo characters will one day soon find their way onto smartphones and tablets. Not only that, but Nintendo president Satoru Iwata also announced the existence of their next dedicated game console, dubbed Nintendo NX.

And when it comes to that little nugget, more details (well, any for that matter) are expected in 2016. But, announcing a new console this early does feel a little premature. What does this mean for the Wii U? In terms of support and sales the console has been a disappointment, so this casual announcement may very well be Nintendo toying with the idea of releasing a successor sooner rather than later. But again, with no real information, we'll just have to wait and see. Although you can head on over to EB Games right now to place a deposit on and pre-order a Nintendo NX in what's clearly a parody of the entire pre-order/collectors edition/limited availability mindset the industry seems to be in right now. Or not.

As for Nintendo entering the mobile market, there's plenty of detail. First the company is partnering with Japanese mobile developer DeNA to develop original games based on Nintendo IP for smartphones and tablets. Second, that's huge. And with no restrictions on what characters can or can't be used, this means Nintendo games for smart devices separate to those available on the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. In addition to this the partnership will also bring a new Nintendo online service covering phones, tablets, PCs, the Wii U, and 3DS. Again, that's huge. And the reason why, only a day after this news broke, Nintendo share prices have risen by over 27.5%.