Report: Nintendo Modifying Wii U to Run Smartphone Apps

Nintendo is thinking outside of the box in an effort to boost sales of its Wii U game console.

According to The Japan Times, the company is working to modify its new console so that it is compatible with smartphone applications.

Nintendo has offered professional-use conversion software to app developers, the newspaper said, so they can build smartphone games that can be played on the Wii U.

Nintendo declined to comment on the reports.

The Times suggested that the gaming company has high hopes for the smartphone software to help advance console sales. It could also increase the volume of popular game titles — considered to be one of the main reasons the Wii U has suffered from poor sales, which reached only 121,000 in the first two months of the year. (Comparatively, Microsoft's seven-year-old Xbox 360 sold more than 300,000 units in the U.S. in February alone.)

Initial Wii U sales hit 400,000 following a pre-Thanksgiving launch, pushing Nintendo's first major console release since 2006 into sold-out territory just days after it hit shelves. The success didn't last long, though, and by March, Nintendo was claiming its second consecutive annual operating loss, having dropped 36.4 billion yen ($367 million).

Nintendo managed to bounce back slightly, thanks in part to the Nintendo 3DS, which helped earn the company a net profit of about $71 million — an upswing that had more to do with positive changes in the currency market than actual product sales. Amidst the modest recovery, the game maker announced an executive shuffle that will see Satoru Iwata assume the role of Nintendo of America CEO, taking over for Tatsumi Kimishima.

There may be more to come from the company, though. According to The Japan Times, company sources claim Nintendo is developing its own new software, though no further details were provided.

For more, see PCMag's review of the Nintendo Wii U and the slideshow above. Also, check out our look at the Nintendo Wii U console teardown.

Editor's Note: This story was updated at Tuesday with comment from Nintendo.