It's no secret that, at the tailend of Wii and following slow 3DS sales, Nintendo is in a difficult position.

As a result, the company was forced into an unprecedented 40 percent price cut for the handheld a mere four months after release, after posting a $324 million net loss in its most recent quarter.

In response, Bloomberg reports that Nintendo's investors are increasingly concerned by company's sliding fortunes, and have started pressuring the Japanese powerhouse to develop software for non-proprietary platforms such as Apple's iOS.

"Smartphones are the new battlefield for the gaming industry," Ohki, a fund manager at Tokyo-based Stats Investment Management Co told the website.  

"Nintendo should try to either buy its way into this platform or develop something totally new."

Growing unrest

The report notes that share prices briefly soared after a former Nintendo unit announced the development of an iPhone title, only to collapse again after Nintendo formally denied any change of strategy.

It adds that MF Global FXA Securities responded at the time by urging its clients to sell their stock, "because a management once feted for creative out-of-box thinking have just shown how behind the times they are".

Reversing fortunes

It's not hard to see why investors might wish to see Nintendo exploit the iOS platform; Apple - which was on the verge of bankruptcy 10 years ago - is now the world's most valuable company on the basis of market capitalisation. 

Nintendo's Q1 2011 loss stands in stark contrast, though the company remains adamant that its cut-price 3DS will still meet sales targets.

The firm's reluctance to consider thirdparty development may have something to do with the fate of former arch-rival Sega, which switched to a new software-only strategy after the firm's last console, Dreamcast, failed to make a mark.

[source: Bloomberg]