Nintendo could be looking to smartphones and tablets to rescue it from its recent ill fortune, according to Satoru Iwata, the company's president. 

"We are thinking about a new business structure," Iwata said at a press conference. "Given the expansion of smart devices, we are naturally studying how smart devices can be used to grow the game-player business."

Nintendo is expecting a $240 million annual loss caused by slow demand for its Wii U console and therefore putting its back catalogue on to mobile phones could reap huge rewards. 

"The way people use their time, their lifestyles, who they are — have changed. If we stay in one place, we will become outdated," Iwata said, before going on to explain that Nintendo must change with its customers, who are also changing. 

Many outsiders have know this for some time, but it's interesting to see that the company has now started to realise this itself - not that it seems a solution is imminent.

Iwata didn't offer up any ideas on how Nintendo might reach changing customers and the company has already said that it doesn't have plans to bring its fully-fledged games to mobile.  But it might bring mini-games to the smartphone or tablet instead. "It’s not as simple as enabling Mario to move on a smartphone," Iwata said.

Nintendo is in trouble at the moment so it needs to do something. It is predicting to sell only 2.8 million Wii U consoles this financial year, 6.2 million short of its original forecast.

That would take the overall total to 6.25 million sold since November 2012. Sony on the other hand has sold 4.2 million PS4 units since November 2013. And it hasn't even launched in Japan, it's perceived home country, yet.