The maker of much Wii has historically been worried about releasing its games to mobile users because it fears that it will cannibalise its existing mobile offerings. This lead to pressure being placed on the company until it finally agreed to the switch last year.

Under a strategy announced by its previous chief executive, who died of cancer earlier this year, Nintendo had said it would introduce its first smartphone games by the end of 2015. Fans and investors had hoped it would include its best-selling videogame franchise Mario in the first lineup.

The push back is only a few months, but it is seen by investors that Nintendo is still not giving the move much priority. Shares fell ten percent when Nintendo announced the launch will be delayed until March 2016.

New Chief Executive Tatsumi Kimishima said the delay would help Nintendo concentrate on selling its existing consoles and game software during the year-end holiday season.

"The year-end is traditionally our peak season for sales," told a packed news conference, when asked about the delay. "This way, we'd be able to introduce our new applications after the holiday season is over."

He avoided commenting on whether Mario would come to smartphones, instead introducing a new social networking service-style application called "Miitomo" which would be available in March.