fire_emblem_heroes_logoNintendo announced on Wednesday that it plans to launch two or three mobile games every year, a day after the Japanese company made a one-third cut to its full-year operating profit outlook (via Reuters).

Yesterday, Nintendo was able to report its first quarterly profit in a year as its mobile games division started to generate revenue, but it wasn't enough for disappointed investors who had hoped profit from games like Super Mario Run would have grown fast enough to offset falling earnings in Nintendo's console business. Shares of Nintendo Co Ltd dropped more than 4 percent on Wednesday following the news.

Launched in December, Super Mario Run helped third-quarter revenue from mobile gaming and related merchandise reach around 7 billion yen ($61.7 million). So far downloads have hit around 78 million, although Nintendo admitted less than 10 percent of users paid the one-off $9.99 fee to unlock all of the game's features. Nintendo President Tatsumi Kimishima said it would be taking steps to make the game last longer for people who had paid as well as those had yet to do so.

"We are taking a number of steps to ensure that Super Mario Run can be enjoyed for a long time, both by those who have already made the full purchase and by those who have downloaded the application but not yet made the purchase. We are also taking steps in-game to raise the ratio of purchases among consumers downloading the application for the first time."

Putting its plans into action, Nintendo yesterday rolled out an update to Super Mario Run that includes a collection of feature additions and bug fixes, along with a new "Easy Mode".

Nintendo's next title, the tactical role-playing game Fire Emblem Heroes, launches on iOS tomorrow, and is a radical departure from Super Mario Run, not least because it will be a free-to-pay title, favoring micro transactions and in-game currency over a one-off unlock payment. However, like Super Mario Run, Heroes will require players to have a persistent internet connection in order to play.

Nintendo's other planned mobile game is a currently untitled iOS version of Animal Crossing, which is expected to launch in the next fiscal year, so anytime between April 2017 and March 2018.

Top Rated Comments

Juicy Box Avatar
89 months ago
Dear Nintendo,

Please give up on your Fisher-Price quality hardware and just focus on games. See how successful Pokemon and Mario are on iOS? There's your answer.
Goldeneye!!
AND MARIO KART!!! We should be CEO of Nintendo. We just made them a billion... next order of business please...
I said this on the forum a few months ago, but I have a great idea for Nintendo and Apple that would make lots of money.

With the popularity of the Nintendo Classic Edition, there is obviously a market for retro gaming. If Nintendo would make an App of the tvOS that was like a virtual console from the Wii and Wii U, and sell games individually by IAP, I am sure people would purchase an ATV4 just for this.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Daws001 Avatar
89 months ago
Dear Nintendo,

Please give up on your Fisher-Price quality hardware and just focus on games. See how successful Pokemon and Mario are on iOS? There's your answer.

Sincerely,

Daws001
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
5105973 Avatar
89 months ago
Dear Nintendo,

Please give up on your Fisher-Price quality hardware and just focus on games. See how successful Pokemon and Mario are on iOS? There's your answer.

Sincerely,

Daws001
Hey! I love my 3DS XL!
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
veeco3110 Avatar
89 months ago
Goldeneye!!
AND MARIO KART!!! We should be CEO of Nintendo. We just made them a billion... next order of business please...
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Speedy Dingo Avatar
89 months ago
Assuming you are being sarcastic...
I was, sorry. :p But if I sounded genuine, that's because I was channeling my inner casual App Store player who would rather fork out possible hundreds of $$ to beat a game than pay a one time fee. Case in point, Fire Emblems in-game currency;



Paying $12.99 for healing orbs is so much better than a 1-time fee to unlock a full game. :rolleyes:

Dear Nintendo,

Please give up on your Fisher-Price quality hardware and just focus on games. See how successful Pokemon and Mario are on iOS? There's your answer.

Sincerely,

Daws001
Actually no. Mario Run has 78 million downloads with less than 10% of players willing to pay for the full game. Pokémon Go was a success but IAP revenue would need to be split between 4 companies - Nintendo, game freak, niantic & Apple.
We'll have to see how Fire Emblem does with the freemium mechanic App Store players love...
I'm sure we'll just see more people whinging that they want Nintendo's full games for free with no IAP. :rolleyes: Just go buy their console and enjoy games the way they're meant to be enjoyed - with a proper controller and no IAP.

Attachment Image
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Juicy Box Avatar
89 months ago
Nintendo needs to make a freemium version where you only get 3 lives every 8 hours and for $1.99 you can buy a 3-pack of lives. The best value pack is 25 lives for $99.99. This is the norm with free games on the App Store right? Much better than $9.99 for a once-only payment with unlimited lives.
Assuming you are being sarcastic, I agree with you. Some many games I try in the App Store either have the scenario you described or a currency based system which becomes a ridiculous grind to earn, and makes it extremely hard to continue playing without buying currency.

I used to play two popular games a lot, but stopped because of the repetitive grind for currency, Real Racing 3 and Sniper.

I was happy that Nintendo had a flat price to for their Mario Run game. I was unhappy that there was not an ATV4 version though.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 17

iOS 17.2 Will Add These 12 New Features to Your iPhone

Friday December 1, 2023 12:19 pm PST by
iOS 17.2 has been in beta testing for over a month, and it should be released to all users in a few more weeks. The software update includes many new features and changes for iPhones, including the dozen that we have highlighted below. iOS 17.2 is expected to be released to the public in mid-December. To learn about even more features coming in the update, check out our full list. Journal ...
iOS 16 4 Web Push

Apple Confirms Governments Using Push Notifications to Surveil Users

Wednesday December 6, 2023 5:06 am PST by
Unidentified governments are surveilling smartphone users by tracking push notifications that move through Google's and Apple's servers, a US senator warned on Wednesday (via Reuters). In a letter to the Department of Justice, Senator Ron Wyden said foreign officials were demanding the data from the tech giants to track smartphones. The traffic flowing from apps that send push notifications...
airpods pro 2 pink

Apple Releases New AirPods Pro 2 Firmware

Tuesday December 5, 2023 11:28 am PST by
Apple today released new firmware update for both the Lightning and USB-C versions of the AirPods Pro 2. The new firmware is version 6B34, up from the 6B32 firmware introduced in November. Apple does not provide details on what features might be included in the refreshed firmware beyond "bug fixes and other improvements," so it is unclear what's new in the update, but prior software releases ...
Beyond iPhone 13 Better Blue

'All-Screen' iPhone Under-Display Camera Enters Development

Wednesday December 6, 2023 2:03 am PST by
Apple's Korean suppliers have begun developing smartphone under-display cameras (UDC), paving the way for the first iPhone with a true "all-screen" appearance. According to The Elec, LG Innotek has entered the preliminary development of the UDC, which sits under the display and does not result in a visible hole in the panel when the camera is not in use. A UDC differs from a typical front ...
magsafe blue 2

iOS 17.2 Brings Qi2 Support to iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 Models

Tuesday December 5, 2023 11:04 am PST by
The iOS 17.2 update that Apple is set to release to the public in the near future will bring support for the next-generation Qi2 wireless charging standard to the iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 models. Qi2 was mentioned in the release notes for the RC version of the update that came out today. With the addition of support for the new standard, iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 models will work with Qi2...
iphone se 4 modified flag edges

iPhone SE 4 May Reuse Existing iPhone 14 Battery

Wednesday December 6, 2023 1:17 pm PST by
Recently, MacRumors has received details on the battery currently being tested on the upcoming fourth-generation iPhone SE, and the information corroborates previous findings in relation to the device. The iPhone SE 4, known by its device identifier D59, is expected to use the exact same battery found in the base model iPhone 14. Partially assembled prototypes of the next iPhone SE have been ...
airpods pro bulbs

Black Friday Prices Return for AirPods Pro 2 With USB-C, iPad, and More

Tuesday December 5, 2023 7:30 am PST by
Today we're tracking a collection of deals that are matching - or nearly matching - the same all-time low discounts we saw during Black Friday. This includes the AirPods Pro 2 with USB-C, 9th generation iPad, and M1 MacBook Air. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the ...
instagram messenger

Instagram and Facebook Messenger Chats to Disconnect This Month

Tuesday December 5, 2023 1:57 am PST by
Meta has revealed plans to end Instagram users' ability to chat with Facebook accounts later this month, rolling back a feature that it introduced over three years ago. In September 2020, Meta (then Facebook) announced it was merging its Facebook Messenger service with Instagram direct messaging, allowing Instagram users to chat with Facebook users and vice versa using the same platform....