Fire Emblem and Animal Crossing Franchises Are Heading to Smart Devices

Soooo, waifu petting reconfirmed?

Ah, they're putting the petting minigame on smart devices, that's why it was cut out

First, amiibo Festival. Now, Micro transactions. They are really trying to kill my favorite franchise, aren't they?

I had never actually considered FE as a mobile game before... but it'd work quite well. Looking forward to both.

I don't see the appeal of playing those games on a phone instead of on a portable console, so I'm assuming these will be spin-off titles. Can't say I'm interested otherwise.

Both fit well to mobile format. I hope we´ll get Advance Wars and Wario Ware Inc. next.

Gee...remember when they said paid DLC for Animal Crossing would be a terrible idea? And now we have a free-to-start game coming, seemingly the absolute antithesis of the previous claim. How three years can change a company...

I wonder how investors will react to the news that Mario isn't the headlining game? Fire Emblem is rather niche, though considerably less so than it was before.

They'll be pleased with Animal Crossing though. New Leaf hit the 10 million sold mark!

Would there be anything interesting to offer as DLC in Animal Crossing anyways? The first game had items like Arwing, Fire Flower and actual NES games. Not much improvement in areas I care about in later titles, it's just a life simulator with simple things to do in it. I want to see how AC would work in a form I can try for free.

Wow..

All I am gonna say is that this better be some cut down version with FE still coming out on handheld.

If not then sorry guys but this will just be the first of many.

Fire Emblem Fates has sold 1.84 million LTD as of March 31st. Keep in mind it hasn't launched in Europe yet!

"And when we run out of lives, make sure to pester your Facebook friends with requests!"
"Which friends?"
"ALL OF THEM!"

Anything Fire Emblem gets my cash and my notice... and even though I doubt it will be a full game, FE is one of the few games that could work on a smartphone. If it is streamlined.

Awesome - that why we didnt fully fledged games on wii u...

Hmm, on the one hand, Mobile games. On the other, Fire Emblem. If this means not getting a FE game on the WiiU or NX then I'm annoyed, but otherwise, it will be good for drawing in new fans. Also, how long do you bet the UK will have to wait for this once the US version has launched?

I'll try them out, but free to start games usually annoy me once I reach a pay wall. I'm happy to pay for a full game, but will almost never spend money on microtransactions.

People Who want to play Nintendo games without buying a Nintendo console are getting their wishes granted...

Animal Crossing was THE most obvious choice for mobile all along. I suppose Fire Emblem fits too. There are some good mobile games in that genre already, although it does sadden me a little because the mobile numbers will destroy the good 3DS figures we recently saw for Fates and we could have seen the last FE on anything other than mobile.

"while making it more accessible in comparison to the Fire Emblem games for Nintendo's dedicated gaming systems"
I hope this is in the same way as Awakening, lots of option to make it easier that you can completely ignore if you want to play a vaguely challenging game, otherwise it's gonna get tons of hate from the FE fanbase. What am I saying, it's going to anyway.

these are the top Nintendo franchises for mobile, games that touch only controls wont be a huge issue for.

I can see Fire Emblem mobile games being smaller games that act as introductions to new games, side stories and background to certain characters. just to get people interested in a proper fire emblem on handheld or console

I'm more than happy to give Fire Emblem mobile the time of day. If a genre can work without being marred by touch screens it's probably SRPG.

As for Animal Crossing, I called that!

I can see the 3ds being dropped by Nintendo and flat 2d games being released on a Nintendo handheld device and tablets and Smartphones at the same time. So for example, a new Paper Mario game would have simultaneous releases, on all devices.

Shortly after that the Nintendo home console would go and Nintendo will make games for PlayStation.

I hope there are options to just buy outright. Can't be doing with micro transactions. I would happily pay £10-£15 for a full Mobile game (assuming it works well on a touch screen and is decent of course)

Animal Crossing on mobile? That's me out. Bah.

"Nintendo will design the latter game so that it will be connected with the world of Animal Crossing for dedicated gaming systems"

I hope this is hinting at a new Wii U Animal Crossing game...

@Ignatius_Cheese Animal Crossing NX launch title, perhaps?

Wow, saw Animal Crossing coming a mile off but Fire Emblem was a big surprise. I guess AC is their pitch to the casual apps users while FE is pitched to the gamer crowd..

I think they're finally giving the west a game where the anime nerds can pet their anime like they wanted to in Fates

I wasn't expecting fire emblem

Cool, but I want Sacred Stones or some other older Fire Emblem on my 3ds...

That's pretty damn stupid. I must be in the minority, but I don't give a rats ass about mobile gaming.

Well, this is one bit of half-decent news today, but it really all depends on what the games ultimately end up being. It's not good news yet.

Seeing as they are intended as companions to the main games on the dedicated systems I am okay with this happening, especially as this essentially confirms that there will be an Animal Crossing on the NX! The fact that they will be more like an actual game makes it that much more enticing, Miitomo is alright but I need an App with more meat on its bones!

@SaKo That was my first thought! I hope they're not planning on releasing another spinoff title. They also said dedicated gaming systems... I hope this is hinting towards a dual-release for Wii U and NX...

@zool nah.

@Luffymcduck
Yes please!
A new multi platform Advance Wars, so we can finally have online and a decent user base. I do not care for online in most franchises, but this one needs it.

And Wario minigames? Well this series felt like it was built for mobile from the very beginning, so it should be great.

Also, they just released a new FE on 3DS. I see no reason to make a new one for smart devices and not a 3DS version of it. This new FE game could very well just be a port of Awakening or Fates.

That would be a good way of giving more visibility to the franchise and making it more profitable.

Animal crossing will do insanely well it's really popular. Fire emblem too but it's not as huge just please don't turn them into a crappy pay to win. On the plus side more coins!

I hope 3DS versions of their mobile games come out. We'll definitely see games that are more or less advertising for their main console games. It'd be interesting if something was done with Rolling Western, which is actually one of the few games that are so incredibly crisp that it looks great on New3DS.

Well can't say i was surprised about animal crossing but seriously Fire emblem on mobile thats great news and both could sell really well on the mobile market.

I have no excitement for these unless it is confirmed that the games can be purchased outright, which will disable (though they shouldn't be there in the first place) micro-freaking-transactions.

They both seem a natural fit for touch controls. Fire Emblem could be a full game, but might also be a pick-up-and play title that's just a collection of individual battles. I'll check 'em both out if they're free-to-play or have demos.

I'm excited for the fire emblem game on mobile!

People were expecting Mario and Zelda but instead they got 2 games they never heard of. LOL. (Unless you are a Ninty fan, these 2 games doesn't exist to the general public)

Nintendo never do anything that people expected. You want Mario and Zelda? Nintendo said 'OK, we are not doing Mario or Zelda. that's too predictable.'

Please don't screw up Animal Crossing.
Please don't screw up Animal Crossing.
Please don't screw up Animal Crossing.
Please don't screw up Animal Crossing.

I'm not too against it just as long as they don't screw them up.

Not gonna lie, I'm actually quite looking forward to a mobile Fire Emblem game. It should be interesting to say the least.

@ericwithcheese2 Last time I remember, Kimishima said that Miitomo was going to be the only free app from Nintendo. The rest of the apps AFTER Miitomo, well, you're gonna have to buy them.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOT FIRE EMBLEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After reading the Zelda delay news, and now a mobile Fire Emblem release, I am super excited today. The announcements coming out of what I expected to be mundane financial briefings are HUGE, and exactly the news I wanted to hear, but never thought I would.

WOOOHOOOOOOO!

@bro2dragons I wish I had your optimism........
The fire emblem and animal crossing is good news, but everything else kinda stinks. And trump won 5 more states........
IS OUR WEDNESDAY CURSED!??!?!

Yay? And here I was hoping for an Animal Crossingn NX announcement at this year's E3. But nope! This is what we get instead.

Not sure how I feel about AC moving to smartphones...this probably means all items are now ACTUAL money rather than bells. Or maybe use can choose to use real money in the stalk market. Whatever it is, I just hope it doesn't ruin the AC franchise, because that is still one of my favorites.

And I hope to expect a full game for the NX but I doubt that is happening since it is moving to smartphones.

I doubt that is gonna be good! But it's FE so I'm shameless saying that I'll buy no matter what.

@Ashthearcher Yeah, I was just talking about the gaming news I woke up to. The political news is gut-wrenching.

But I love Fire Emblem and any excuse for more is good in my book. The Zelda delay means the game is going to be incredible, and I'm very glad Nintendo won't be showing NX at E3--it's just too early to show everything and with the way media has changed, it isn't as necessary for big news as it used to be.

My only (gaming) negative from today's news is the March NX release. I wish it was a few months later, so I could get my first launch-day Nintendo system, but I'm still happy for everyone else that the release is already less than a year away.

@MrGuinea Using real money for buying and selling beets would be legally considered gambling, which would put the game in some really tough territory and prohibit sales in a large portion of America. They wouldn't kill the game's potential that way.

@Ignatius_Cheese My thoughts exactly, I would and wouldn't (its a confusing day for Nintendo, all but giving up on Wii U) be surprised if it was a Wii U title, for a couple of reasons,
1) the app is coming this fall, so they would want a fresh game to coincide with that.
2) The Wii U already has the bones from Amiibo Festival (which was probably part of a full AC game but was made its own when Nintendo saw what little they had for the holiday season), so building a console AC game has probably been in the works for a while (wishful thinking).

In the end it could just be another 3ds title (but I would find that strange) or an NX launch game (to bring hype to the new system).

This is better news than Zelda Wii U getting delayed.

It's strange to see Nintendo branch out their core franchises, but this is an uncharacteristically business-savvy decision. If they eliminate a portable console and continue this strategy, this would (hopefully) reserve and fund the bulk of their franchises for the big screen.

Awesome news that Fire Emblem will be coming to smartphones.
I could not really care less about Anima Crossing, but I am happy that Nintendo are going to be putting some actual games on mobile.

I was expecting AW instead, you know, TBS games seem like a good fit for mobiles.

Anyway, these are most likely not full fledged games, Nintendo will try to attract as many smartphone users as they can to the main console games.

And btw... New (console) Animal Crossing confirmed?

I will still get these but I fully expect them to be completely terrible,, sadly

I can see them both working, and I would definitely play them.

"Nintendo will design the [Animal Crossing mobile] game so that it will be connected with the world of Animal Crossing for dedicated gaming systems. By playing both Animal Crossing games, users will find increased enjoyment."

I smell another Animal Crossing game coming this Fall.

I'm definitely interested in both. From the beginning, I thought Fire Emblem would make a great mobile game because of its controls. All you need to do is tap units and tell them where to go and what to do. It's games like that that I think are best suited to mobile entries (still prefer dedicated system versions, if that came across otherwise).

As for Animal Crossing, I'm guessing this won't be a regular Animal Crossing game, because the controls wouldn't work well. As I recall, Nintendo wasn't much in favor of awkward virtual controls (which is why they aren't releasing mobile versions of VC games). I think the Animal Crossing app will be very complimentary to the real game, but will be more like a mini-game itself. Regardless, I'm eager to see what they do with it. My love of the franchise is almost (almost) enough to make me buy Amiibo Festival, despite being fully aware of how terrible it is.

@JTMnM
Really? ...I mean, REALLY?
I can't believe anybody would realistically think that Nintendo would ever abandon handheld gaming for mobile. Not only does that go against everything that they've said about their approach to mobile, but it's two very different audiences with little overlap nowadays.

"By playing both Animal Crossing games, users will find increased enjoyment."

So...what's that all about? They surely can't mean amiibo festival or HHD?!

People are thinking this means there's a new Animal Crossing coming to a dedicated system when in reality it's probably just an update for either New Leaf or Happy Home Designer.

@bro2dragons I wasn't necessarily complaining about that if they included it. The stalk market was pretty easy and I had millions saved from it. If that was real money I'd quit my job!

Animal Crossing makes a lot of sense, and honestly so does Fire Emblem now.
I've been saying it and saying it and saying it, Fire Emblem as it is now is completely perfect for the mobile audience and mobile gameplay, with just a few minor tweaks. I'm not sure if this will be a full game, but the FE brand as a mobile game has been a long time coming since Awakening's overall design made it so popular with mainstreamers.

Maybe they'll have the option to pay a specific amount and never gave to do micro transactions, like Pokemon Picross

@Socar
Why not? Awakening and Fates were essentially mobile phone games released for 3DS exclusively instead. Their designs have been made to finally reach this point.
There's even already a mobile game called Phantom of the Kill that pretty much was an attempt to clone Awakening for mobile gamers. I expect this mobile FE to function similarly to that game.

Can Nintendo just forget about fire emblem already? They treat it as some masterpiece of a game yet every game they release just degrades the series.

@Ryu_Niiyama
It's already very streamlined as it is now on the 3DS games. They just need to add a stamina system and micro transactions like costumes, accessories, character revivals, etc.

@Yorumi

At one point I believe so. Nintendo has been saying a lot of things lately that get tossed out the window literally months later, so I'm really not surprised anymore. Remember just earlier this year, they said Zelda was coming in 2016... That didn't last long either. Wtf is going on over there? They flip flop more than a politician.

Make Fire Emblem more accessible? So Phoenix mode wasn't easy enough? Very interesting indeed. Just don't mess it up.

@AVahne Well I mean things like trimming down cutscenes or story content and I can't imagine that they would make the games as big a a traditional fire emblem game. To be honest I would expect the entire thing to be a giant skirmish mode. That way they can make a hit an run game with microtransactions without ticking off the handheld/sometimes console audience.

I don't play mobile games in general so I doubt I'll try them, especially if they aren't free to play.

@AVahne My issue isn't the mobile thing. The real problem is what they can do with this to make it profitable and whether this will make them release it exclusively on mobile games or not.

Mobile Animal Crossing.......... I'm so gonna get fired.

Not an Animal Crossing fan, but I'll probably try out Fire Emblem.

Now to just get an Android device. Nobody seems to like developing for Windows phones.

Oh boy, can't wait to have some Fire Emblem on my phone!

I'm wondering if the mobile AC game will connect with HHD like Amiibo Festival does.

Also guess this means we'll get Fire Emblem and Animal Crossing content in Miitomo at some point as cross promotion.

@Yasume

"I don't give a rats ass about mobile gaming."

Neither do I, minus the 3DS, but you need to start accepting it as it looks like it's the future.

First Zelda and now Fire Emblem?
Great. This day is going From bad to crappy.
Fire Emblem has enough recognition as it has, leave it alone. Why no make a spin off Advance Wars as a way to launch a new game in the series?

give me a mobile game where i can hang with k.k. !

Lucina's Dodgeball Training and a port of amiibo Festival anyone?

"Nintendo will design the latter game so that it will be connected with the world of Animal Crossing for dedicated gaming systems."
Please let this mean a new Animal Crossing...

@Stuffgamer1 I hear you... Troubling times to be a Nintendo fan

@Socar
Exclusivity on mobile from now on could be damaging for them. I think they think of mobile as just the third pillar for them rather than a replacement for their handhelds.
As for profitability.... Yeah....expect micro transactions for special characters (or calssic characters like Awakening's DLC), special classes, unit revivals, "energy" or "stamina" for continued playing without waiting, costumes, accessories, etc.

@Ryu_Niiyama
I can see them easily doing a successful, "modern" full FE game on mobile as there are plenty of popular mobile games with stories and some with cutscenes. Especially if the story quality is of the level of Awakening and Fates. Like I said, all aspects of FE on 3DS would work just fine on mobile almost as is.

Well... Fire Emblem is certainly unexpected.
I'm still waiting for Warioware, though

Fire Emblem is one of my very favorite Nintendo franchises, so I definitely view this as good news. I suspect it will work something like Fates, where you get a few chapters for free, then you hit the pay wall and can choose one of a few campaigns. If you finish it, you can then go back and pay to try the others from the decision point.

If you look at Fates, you can see how they have already started simplifying the franchise for this kind of application with the elimination ofweapon-breaking, a single color-based weapons triangle, and an increased focus on mini-games and DLC.

I'm not a huge Animal Crossing fan, so that is less interesting, but I might pick it up to mess around with it a bit like I did with Miitomo.

But unless they really over-cater to the lowest common denominator, Fire Emblem could be the best turn-based strategy game on mobile. Because it's Nintendo, and they tend to do things with solid quality, I'll probably dish out past the paywall, which I rarely do in mobile apps.

I've tried a number of others turn-based strategy games on the App store, but they just don't quite do it for me.

@MrGuinea I wasn't complaining, either, even if I wouldn't like the idea. I was just explaining how it COULDN'T happen because it would be a legal and logistical nightmare that would not only cost a great deal to do, but would SEVERELY limit their ability to distribute the app.

@Luffymcduck my kingdom for a new Advance Wars!

I've been warming up to mobile gaming thanks to Monster Strike and Downwell and I think both franchises are really well suited for mobile gaming (unlike Mario, Zelda, et al). Hope there optimized better than Miitomo though, that game shredded my phone.

No WarioWare? That game is perfect for mobile! D:

@Trinexx ha I love Windows phones but yeah the ecosystem is a wasteland.

Coming from somebody played a couple of DeNA more popular mobile games, I somewhat have somewhat of good idea of what the Fire emblem game might be like. It might be a FE meets Final Fantasy:Record Keeper with a Little of the Blood Brothers game thrown in. Different realms where you reenact famous battles from the games, Hero memories, Weapon relics to level up, etc. This game could be very good and the FFRK game got me wanting to play Final Fantasy again after basically abandoning the franchise after FFX, so I have faith that DeNA could do FE justice and up the series to new players.

AC and FE? Geez, that's pretty heavy. I thought they'd keep it more inclusive with DK or Mario.

I'm looking forward more to the Animal Crossing smart game than the Fire Emblem. Most of the games on my phone are the the types you check-in daily/hourly, so I can imagine AC fitting my preference more.

The funny part is they haven't done anything with the Mario franchise yet, like most guessed in the beginning.

@Yorumi Fire Emblem, and Animal Crossing are far from a main IP as far as Nintendo is concerned. I'm sure they meant Mario, Zelda, and the like. That being said I hope they don't consider pikmin a main title would love to see that on a mobile unit.

NO! Don't you do this to my Fire Emblem!

"while making it more accessible in comparison to the Fire Emblem games for Nintendo's dedicated gaming systems"
I'm concerned about this. While I think the franchises are a no brainer for mobile, especially animal crossing, I am worried that they will dumb down FE even more. What I would have liked them to do is just reduce damage on enemies/ increase your units health rather than have modes that strip away most if not all of the challenge

Let us hold a moment of silence for Fire Emblem...

Rest in shambling, undead, brain-devouring peace...

@AVahne @Ryu_Niiyama think of the Fire Emblem having a select a battle map format like most puzzle games. It might be even like Pokemon shuffle in a sense where you collect your army as you go. Which wouldn't be bad.

Not too sure about FE, but it sounds to me like AC on mobile will be a spinoff title that connects to the inevitable mainline Animal Crossing game that will be released for the NX. Granted, this "spinoff" will still likely be a game and not a social app like Miitomo.

@CrazedCavalier Goodness, you are upset. Please refrain from typing at me in caps.

In case you are unaware, your typical phones these days have greatly surpassed the 3DS's graphical capacity. This is a trend that will likely continue. Bear in mind the NX is still shrouded in mystery, and one of the rumors circulating around it cites a portable functionality.

It's also important to note Nintendo is a business and should do what's best for its business. Point of reference: remember that time Nintendo was against DLC?

@R-L-A-George I don't expect it to look like a normal game because that is harder to monetize on smartphones and runs the risk of driving away console/handheld gamers where the series lives.

@Piersen Well...Sacred Stones has been available to a small amount of users since 2011...but Nintendo is dumb and doesn't want to release those games for everyone. I guess they wanted to make that Ambassador program extra special even though I'm pretty sure most people have forgotten about it?

@JTMnM People don't buy smartphones to play games; people bought the 3DS to do just that. A $1 app and a $40 game are aimed at completely different audiences. For example: there's Monster Hunter games on mobile; they're set up fundamentally differently from the mainline games, and are only fractionally as much substantial- graphical capabilities be damned.
Also:
“For the purpose of maximizing the population that interacts with Nintendo IP, we have entered into the smart device gaming business.”
It's not an end. It's the means to an end: to promote themselves and get more people buying their systems. If anything, the 3DS has proven that there still is a market for handheld gaming devices.

@Yorumi @MoonKnight7

No, they never said that. They just said that they wouldn't port games from dedicated systems. Every game would be built from the ground up.

They were clear from the beginning that every IP was on the table for mobile games (Pokemon being an exception due to TPC having their own plans).

@AVahne
Yea you were calling it out for quite some time. Now it has come true.... Oh great, is more casualization of Fire Emblem even possible?

@SomeBitTripFan
<silence.....>

I used to love the series immensely but with the way the series has progressed, I am not excited. Don't really care about animal crossing either, but it'd probably be a good fit.

It's a good thing it's not advance wars, that series deserves a better revival than a smartphone game.

@FlameRunnerFast I know, and it pisses me off. They have several games that would be ready for a VC release, but don't release them because they think the ambassadors would be somehow cheated by the fact that someone can buy a game that they received through the program...

@CrazedCavalier Your initial statement can also be applied to PCs, too. Think about that for a moment.

Anyway, you're very confused and are apparently blind to the mobile-games market and whom it's tailored for. People don't need a dedicated portable console anymore. Need for a dedicated gaming console is also fading into obscurity as PC-integration and other forms slowly gain traction. In fact, the DISTANT FUTURE of gaming likely resides in something pertaining to a subscription service or a Steam-like platform streamed to TVs. You also failed to address the rumor I mentioned about the NX boasting some sort of "portable functionality", and if you coincide the leaks with recent reveals, it's feasible to accept that as a probable feature. ¯(ツ)/¯

Example: did you know you could purchase Dragon Quest 8 (a game with a more expensive 3DS port on its way to US shores), several of the Final Fantasies, some Square Enix mobile-exclusive JRPGs (that are actually fantastic, namely the Chaos Rings series) and many, many more fully fledged games at a reasonably 'retail' cost? I'd argue you don't because you wouldn't be making such baseless and false claims.

They certainly don't cost $1. Some of the games I mentioned are priced at the same point as their Steam equivalents. You've been drinking the Kool-Aid a little too much.

@JTMnM
I know firmly well that their are smartphone ports of various JRPG's and such, and I also know that Square Enix has released some brand-new, non-smartphone tailored titles.
That's Japan. The Western gamer market isn't going to suddenly adopt mobile, and it doesn't seem like they will anytime soon. There have been international releases, sure, but nothing more than modest successes.

The amount of flak that the Xbox One got upon reveal should also tell you that "streamboxes" aren't happening anytime soon.

And where in your original comment did you ever mention the "Nintendo Crossover" theory?
Oh wait. You didn't. And even then, console + handheld ain't going to be the most affordable route.

The quickest way for Nintendo to lose me as a customer (and the support of many 3rd party developers) would be to kill off their handheld business for mobile.
You frankly sound like the analysts who were screaming "Nintendoomed" circa 2011. I should've done what every other commenter did: ignore your comment in it's entirety.

@CrazedCavalier Just because my opinions and outlooks are unpopular doesn't exactly make them incorrect. If you honestly believe that applies in the real world, you are a very unfortunate person.

You're terrible at arguing (and actually quite unpleasant to exchange words with) because your ability to read is questionable and you're rude. Read my previous comment again and you'll find, "Bear in mind the NX is still shrouded in mystery, and one of the rumors circulating around it cites a portable functionality."

To reinforce your poor comprehension, look at the comments above defending the mobile-games market. Just because they didn't take the time to 'like' my comment or 'reply', doesn't mean it's not supported, because if you actually read: there it is.

While I've supplied evidence to disprove your claims amidst your babbling diatribe, you turn to sarcasm and fail to provide any semblance of a foundation for your argument. In other words, we're done here. Feel free to caps-type at me more with the insulting, condescending language of a grade-schooler.

Both probably will be microtransaction-heaven, and at least animal crossing may be free to play. I really don't expect much from Fire emblem. I can't imagine they do a fullscale, big-budget Fire emblem on mobile.