Nintendo's quest for mobile success has had its ups and downs to date. It's enjoyed a modest share of (pocket) monster profits from Pokémon GO, while it has released three main games / apps of its own. The two most recent have had varied success, but Nintendo has confirmed a notable landmark for one in particular.
It's confirmed that Super Mario Run has passed 200 million downloads, with over 90% of those outside of Japan. It's also highlighted an increase in players following the recent major update (and discount). Nintendo does admit, however, that monetising the game (through its one-off purchase) is still an issue, as the game has "not yet reached an acceptable profit point".
Nintendo states that it is, however, "on track" with its profit targets for Fire Emblem Heroes, with promotions and updates also leading to an increase in active users. The company is also keen to point out that sales (through microtransactions) are gradually improving outside of Japan.
Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp seems to be off to a strong start in Australia, too, and that's an IP with undoubted potential for success on Mobile ahead of its late November global release. Overall, driven by Super Mario Run and Fire Emblem Heroes, Nintendo reported revenue of 17.9 billion Yen (approx $158 million) from mobile in its Q2 financial report.
It's interesting to see the steady evolution of Nintendo's efforts on Mobile; it still has the target of releasing 2-3 titles each year.
For now we await the global release of Pocket Camp - do you think it'll be a success?
[source nintendo.co.jp]
Comments 33
I thought it was a lot of fun for a while. Looks great on the iPad too.
Well deserved. Nintendo entered the app business like a boss.
Eat your heart out, King!
Still haven't and dont plan on dl'ing it to my phone. The iPad was more then enough to let me know I didn't need another 2d Mario.
I hate cell phone games. I really really hate them generally. I think they are almost a cancer on the industry. Microtransaction plagued, touch screen only, dumbed down games designed for 5 minute bursts...
But I like Nintendo too much to wish them anything but success. And I wont lie, I played Fire Emblem Heroes and all it's dumbed down gatchapon glory/cancer. And I probably will get Animal Crossing when it comes out. But by like 100000% I would hope they work toward releasing Animal Crossing on Switch next year. Or at least by early 2019.
Only 200 million downloads?
200 million downloads seems like a lot, but I wonder how many of those downloads actually paid for the game. I don't think it's a lot and I'm not surprised.
I love the game, but €10 is just too much. Luckily I bought the game with that discount.
"as the game has not yet reached an acceptable profit point".
How much money did the development take? It uses the same New Super Mario Bros. U assets and the number of levels is not mind-blowing.
If Nintendo is making money with the other games, Fire Emblem and likely Animal Crossing soon why they don't consider releasing their bigger games on more platforms? The mobile market is fiercer competence for Switch than the other consoles (Xbox One and PS4) so I don't get why they release games for mobile phones and tablets but not for home consoles.
Yes AC mobile will be succesful; I just hope that it doesn't detract from ppl buying AC on Switch when it arrives.
I wonder why Nintendo didn't release the basic Mario Run game as a complete, free download and then tack-on outfits to spice up the gameplay? Put the Tanooki, Frog Mario, Raccoon Mario, and many other outfits (including Cappy) in as $1.49 or $1.99 add-ons?
The rule of drug dealing (and online gaming) is to get them hooked and THEN reel them in with extras, not charge up front. I know they don't want to compete with their handheld business, but endless runners like Mario Run are a natural for phone gaming but almost useless on true handheld consoles like the Switch.
Learn from your mistakes, Nintendo, and I think you can find a very profitable niche. (Why there isn't yet a Mario Party, Doctor Mario, or Yoshi's Cookie I have no idea.)
@BlueOcean
"... why they don't consider releasing their bigger games on more platforms?"
Because a large part of Nintendo's allure is that you can ONLY get their AAA titles on their systems. That way, they can also ensure a revenue stream from licensing 3rd party titles and they have more control over the user experience. This is also why Sony and Microsoft continue to release consoles; it's all about control.
The day Nintendo starts releasing its games on rival platforms--other than mobile, which really isn't the same audience--is the day they go the way of SEGA. I hope that never, ever happens.
I hope Nintendo's strategy for mobile remains the same in that it's bit-size gateway games for their actual consoles...
Honestly I think the game is fantastic.
I wonder if odyssey will make more people buy the game.
“I beat the 3D one but I’m still on a mario kick...”
It’s a bummer that the sales model for Mario Run has been comparatively unsuccessful. I appreciated that they had you pay a single fee to unlock everything instead of microtransactioning you to death. Since disappointingly few people purchased the full game, I expect all future Nintendo smart device games to adopt the microtransaction model, which is upsetting.
To me the game was worth the $5. It's a nice little distraction in spots where carrying around and whipping out a 3DS or Switch isn't really viable and you want to play it in few minute little bursts.
@Heavyarms55 I think that’s the point of mobile games. They aren’t supposed to compare to console games, they’re just fun when you’re on the train or waiting in line or something.
That is their purpose, and Nintendo apps fulfill this purpose amazingly. So you’re criticizing them for fulfilling their purpose and exceeding standards.
FEH is one of the best, if not the best app I’ve played. I’ve probably put in around 50-100 hours into it, although it’s tough to gauge. And all for free too!
That doesn’t compare to the 300+ hours I’ve put into Awakening and Fates, but it’s impressive and illustrates that Nintendo apps get the job done.
Hitherto non-paying users about ripe for conversion it seems.
I sometimes imagine if they went the f2p route, extra Rally Tickets would have been one of the things that have a price on it. At least this way you have more in-game currency and item than you can handle compared to f2p games.
I hope that Nintendo will still be generous with in-game currency and items like they have with FE Heroes, Super Mario Run, and somewhat miitomo if they didn’t charge for extra poster spot in a room. Bonus point for using MyNintendo coins in its place of cash, but not too much.
Well deserved. Super Mario Run is really good, sadly a lot of "gamers" can't see past the mobile part and dismiss it without even trying it. But I've enjoyed it so much and even my wife who'd never got close to 50% completion on a regular Mario game has pretty much 100% SMR and still keeps playing it.
@Heavyarms55 You're confusing the games with the marketplace they occupy. I agree that the way monetization directly impacts gameplay is an abomination for people who consider gaming a hobby and not just a way to pass the time, but there are plenty of quality games available that you can simply buy, that don't have IAPs, and that, thanks to the overwhelming power of the demand side of the market, are actually quite cheap for the content you get. Good luck finding them, however; discoverability is a nightmare in mobile gaming, which is another reason to criticize the marketplace. But once you have discovered them, you'll find games just as worthy of love as their handheld and console counterparts.
@Snaplocket And that’s what’s so unfortunate. Most of those people spend more than 10 bucks on those free-to-play games over time, but the thought of spending it up front and never having to pay again somehow seems like too much money. It’s stupid.
Though they didn’t make much money off Mario Run, I imagine the boost to brand and character recognition is invaluable. I reckon something like Animal Crossing mobile is going to have a very clear trail leading people to purchase the full Switch game.
@Snaplocket And this is one of the many, many reasons why I loathe the mobile gaming market. I want to play the new Animal Crossing, but I don’t want to have microtransactions crammed down my throat. I also don’t want to wait to play the game. I would much rather pay upfront to play the game when and how I want to. It doesn’t look like that’s ever going to happen on mobile. And unfortunately for people like me, mobile games tend to rake in far more cash than traditionally sold games on dedicated gaming consoles. Everybody loses.
@AirElephant I understand your point and I used to think like you but now I think that their games would reach a much bigger audience and that they wouldn't be hampered by dated hardware. What would be wrong in Nintendo releasing games for the other platforms? Yes, they wouldn't get money from license fees and perhaps their own hardware wouldn't sell so well but I think it would be beneficial in the long term, for users at least, and Nintendo would sell more software, where the big money is. Users wouldn't need to buy a Switch for one or two games, something that most people think twice.
@AirElephant I unfortunately have to agree with you on that. Nintendo tried their free to start approach on mobile games (similar to Stretchmo and Rusty's Real Deal Baseball) but that just doesn't work on mobile. When people see free, they want free. Even then, $10 for this type of experience is too much. I know $10 isn't that much but people forget about price relativity based on platform. $10 for an endless runner is almost like $30-$40 for a port of a flash game on consoles.
Fire Emblem Heroes is the best mobile game.
@Snaplocket Here’s hoping Nintendo makes a full-featured Switch Animal Crossing and it outperforms the mobile one, then.
As much as I like Mario games in general, that game didn't do it for me. I can see it's well done for what it is, I just reached the conclusion that playing on mobile isn't for me. There are other ways to pass the time and when it comes to gaming, consoles and PC experiences are just way more satisfying.
Never downloaded it. It ticked me off that Nintendo made droid users wait forever for it.
Bring on Animal Crossing Pocket Camp!
The only thing I care about is that Nintendo contiunally adds new content to Animal Crossing Pocket Camp so I never get bored. Kind of how they did with Fire Emblem Heroes.
@BlueOcean I think Nintendo is using the mobile market to reach you, the blue ocean. They want to reach new markets like China and consumers and attract them to their console. It is a part of their global strategy.
@roboshort Okay
"as Nintendo Seeks Mobile Success"
As Nintendo HAS mobile success, apparently!
I hope animal crossing will be great!
2-3 mobile Nintendo games each year is cool.
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