Nintendo to launch cross-platform video app along with Mario Kart 8

The saying, “Desperate time calls for desperate measures” quite aptly describes the current situation of Nintendo. The **company is back in red due after posting huge loss** ; the rising popularity of rival gaming consoles adding to its woes. Now the Japanese videogame giant is having another go at reviving its fortune and is tentatively looking towards the smartphone segment   According to  The Verge, Nintendo will be launching its smartphone service, tentatively dubbed Mario Kart TV, along with its Mario Kart 8 game which will hit the market this month. The app will have cross platform interface and will enable users to watch official videos, create gameplay footage, share them and also view rankings. The report further says, “The company also intends to finally capitalize on the NFC reader in the Wii U GamePad by launching the Nintendo Figurine Platform, or NFP.”   The Nintendo Figurine Platform allows players to interact with figures within a game using these figurines, and also possibly use them across various Nintendo games. The company is expected to come out with more details at Electronic Entertainment Expo which will be held in June.   Nintendo relies on the popularity of its franchises, such as Mario and Zelda, to drive sales of its hardware. Some analysts say Nintendo is missing out, however, by not releasing a version of its games for smartphones or tablets, which now exceed 1 billion in use and account for a rising proportion of games played. But president Satoru Iwata has long maintained that the value of Nintendo’s games and consoles comes from their in-house development and allowing other companies to develop games or licensing in-house games for other devices would affect their quality.