According to a Newswire report from Takashi Mochizuki of The Wall Street Journal, Nintendo is not interested in making excessive amounts of cash with next month's mobile release, Mario Kart Tour.
Mochizuki explains how investors in DeNA – the Japanese developer and publisher involved with the creation of this new Mario Kart game – should be aware that Nintendo "doesn't like the idea of players shelling out on in-game purchases and isn't interested in making lots of money" from a single mobile game.
He goes on to mention how investors "can expect more" from DeNA's Pokémon Masters, as The Pokémon Company is "more willing" to make money out of the smartphone business.
In the past, Nintendo has reportedly asked its development partners to limit possible microtransactions in certain games, in order to prevent its player base from spending too much and to ensure the company's brand reputation remains intact. The parent company of Cygames – CyberAgent – even said it would have made a lot more revenue from Dragalia Lost if it was in charge of the game, rather than Nintendo.
Nintendo previously stated it's more interested in making its IP widely accessible with mobile devices, in the hope the same players will grow attached and perhaps seek more substantial classic experiences. Still, it's hard to believe it's not interested in making easy money on the side of its traditional hardware and software business.
Last year, the Japanese company banked more than $348 million in mobile revenue and in the first quarter of 2019 it made $85 million. Earlier in August, it was revealed Dr. Mario World had already made $1.4 million in its first month.
[source usgamer.net]
Comments 61
Good, I'd rather they avoid them myself.
I understand that not everyone wants to pay upfront, but I'd rather do that then pay gradually over time.
Still, how wild is it to hear a game company say "Please understand, we don't want all of your money"?
It was clear that you can expect many microtransactions from The Pokemon Company ...
This is good to hear. The prolific advertisement that mobile games provide should be enough. Nintendo seems to really try to protect public perception and that's important. In the wrong hands, Nintendo's mobile games could ruin their business model.
The Pokémon Company has probably sold their own grandma already.
It must be nice to be so rich that you can afford to have principles. Most businesses just don't have an option.
Im glad they are going this approach,
Myself whould like the business model they used for Mario run the most.
Make sense. Nintendo is currently using mobile as a gateway to their I.P, not a sustainable revenue stream.
I bet their shareholders aren’t too happy with this news.
Luckily the success of the Switch is allowing them to keep their principles. If we’d had another Wii U, they may have embraced mobile business model a lot more.
Sure they did, Nintendo never overcharges for their console, hardware or games. There is no such thing as Nintendo tax.
@Kalmaro I think it's about image. Microtransactions are often predatory and nintendo wants a clean, family friendly image.
I think Nintendo just hates the concept of them. There's a reason why Nintendo strayed away from the mobile gaming market for so long. Their main reason for making mobile games at all is so that they could try and reach out to a new audience. And it seemed like originally what they wanted to do was made little 5$ or so games on the app store, as shown by Super Mario Run. But when games like Pokemon Go and Fire Emblem Heroes gathered a ton more players than that game, I think they realized that free to play games would end up attracting more people than paid games. And they just have to have some microtransactions in the games in order to make back money for the mobile titles developments/future updates.
PoGo became annoying with that.. as of now if you want 1 of each pokemon you must buy a storage..
Glad Nintendo is keeping it fair and fun.
@Liam_Doolan What is so difficult to understand about them not wanting to make easy money? Do you not feel the company has not presented themselves that way for many years now.
@Xelha
Maybe a little premature with that one!
???
The Mario Kart Tour Beta had extremely aggressive monetization, much more so than Pokemon Masters, which is quite generous with the amount of freebies offered by comparison.
It feels like this WSJ "report" was written back in early 2017 when Nintendo was just dabbling with microtransactions/gatcha in Fire Emblem Heroes, while ignoring more recent developments (Mario Kart Tour beta, Dr Mario World, Animal Crossing Pocket Camp, etc)
If done right im willing to pay, but some games are crazy with their in game prizes
@Xelha At the time of writing, the game has total sales figures of zero and has made a net profit of minus several billion yen. Furthermore, no-one has has played the final product and thus no definitive evaluation of quality exists.
I’m as wary as anyone regarding the game’s potential shortcomings, but in terms of providing an evidenced, statistically backed example of a profits-before-product mentality, I’m not sure it’s the best example to reach for.
I'd also like to remind ya'll that Nintendo is the same company that never drops the prices of their major first party software, so while we praise them for supposedly not going overboard with microtransactions in their mobile games (which is kinda questionable at this point), they have other revenue-generating tactics in its place.
Like, the sub-60 Metacritic two+ year-old 1-2 Switch is still officially a $50 game (on Amazon, it's $42). That's crazy.
Pocket camp may not be too predatory, but how come the coupon equivalent of ~8€ for one random piece of furniture isn't considered excessive?
@westman98 this is true but on the flip side it’s better to buy physical as Nintendo games always retain value I have a PS4 as well as a switch and there is nothing worse than buying the next big game which is full of micro transactions only to be offered £2 trade in I’m looking at you call of duty
So, if I got it right, for investors and the Wall Street journal, the concept of "keeping the players happy and in the conditions of keep trusting the company in the future" only translate to "this company is not willing to make money".
Gee... this is such a wrong and broken concept that I don't even know how to react...
@westman98
I actually do appreciate Nintendo pricing that way, as a 'day one' buyer it would p*** me right off to see the price tumble down.
@Maxz that’s par for the course round these parts. I’ve seen so many unreleased games slammed in here by people who haven’t even touched them.
@Manah That's another problem isn't it?
Microtransactions got to such a crazy point where many unresonable prices and services are considered very fair and not excessive at all, not just by the industry, but also by many customers.
@dew12333
I can certainly understand why Nintendo's big evergreen titles retain their high prices; they are all good/great games that continue to sell a lot well after launch.
1 2 Switch is not one of those games.
I think Nintendo intends to make it's mobile money from the just the amount of games that gross, rather than hedging its bets on just one title to be the breadwinner. Smart strategy IMO. Better to have just a couple fairly strong titles to rake in the dough as opposed to trying to make one single ultimate money maker.
Nintendo can make a lot of money selling Blue Shell at $10 a piece.
The Pokemon Company being greedy? Please tell me it ain't so.
It’s been clear that’s the strategy.... Mario run was a £10 All in wasnt it? If all games capped add ons at a tenner the world would be a better place. M
Hoping Mario Kart has a similar pay a tenner and get everything model
@Kalmaro
Please understand that we do want all of your money but we want it to come from another source. Nintendo are just careful about their image to the average consumer. Parents still see Nintendo as the more child friendly company compared to Sony and MS and I think they want to keep that. It explains some of their more shitty choices when it comes to features adults want but perhaps parents don't want for their kids. Good game chat for example
For any naysayers, just look at Dragalia Lost - the game started with nearly useless “wyrmprints” that give small abilities in the summoning pool and a cost of 1,500 in-game currency to summon. Due to player reaction they removed the prints and lowered the cost down to 1,200 currency without changing any pricing and the game is as rewarding as ever. Plus they’re always giving out free stuff.
I wasn’t big on Dr Mario World but I’m hoping Kart will impress.
Nintendo watches The Jimquisition!!
It's shocking people will still support game freak, they're becoming ea but worse
doesn't like the idea of players "shelling" out on in-game purchases!
BRILLIANT!
Shocker. TPC is showing more and more that they don't care about quality, just money.
Also, I don't think it's Game Freak pushing for this, they don't really have as much to do with spinoffs. Creatures is the one who makes money off the spinoffs, this is probably their doing.
@westman98 My local GameStop still has a copy of Pokemon Battle Revolution on shelf for $60. Well it did last time I was there (it's been awhile), but that copy sat there for years lol.
I will say, having played a ton of haha just like it, one thing FE Heroes does well is just not "feeling" abusive. They don't BOMBARD you to the point of fatigue with events and the difficulty curve doesn't crank from 2 to 25 on a 10 point scale the way most Hero Collector/gacha games do. The daily/weekly grind rotation is fairly manageable, and the drop rates aren't utterly atrocious. I have multiple teams of strong units made of a pool of popular main characters, and most similar games I struggle to keep one team "competitive" and upgraded as a f2p or light p2p player. God, I still die on the inside when I think of how much I sank into Avangers Academy (not strictly the same genre, but it was a collector with strategy combat mechanics) and what I got from it was a ton of near misses on event characters and ultimately the game shut down as Marvel apparently doesn't renew mobile licenses. FE Heroes doesn't take me over the coals and likely isn't going anywhere for awhile, so I don't mind occasionally kicking them a few bucks when I'm playing it more heavily. I actually keep meaning to jump back, with Three Houses out. I'd replaced it with Langrisser for the bulk of the year.
@westman98
I do not see how that is crazy. The price will drop but this is their IP and they have the right to price it as they see fit. This pricing strategy also benefits retailers and the game owners if they resell to friends or Game stores because you wont lose your investment fast.
What I find crazy is expecting companies who invest resources and monies in products to sell(called a business by the way) this product for what the market bears and instantly drop the price essentially devaluing the product and most likely losing money. This is bad for companies and the market as well. This cycle can not continue for long.
There are times when I'm frustrated by Nintendo's hesitance to embrace modern trends, but this definitely isn't one of them. Good on them for putting in the effort to hold on to what has built them a loyal fanbase over the years.
@Xelha Animal Crossing:amiibo Festival? Mario Tennis:Ultra Smash? Wii Music? 1-2 Switch? Chibi Robo Zip-Lash? All way worse than Pokemon Sword and Shield will likely be
@Dezzy the richest companies are the ones putting bad microtransactions in their games. EA and Activision aren't some "poor" companies who couldn't survive without microtransactions. They totally could easily, they just want even more money.
One of the only companies in the world with integrity
"The parent company of Cygames – CyberAgent – even said it would have made a lot more revenue from Dragalia Lost if it was in charge of the game, rather than Nintendo."
No, no you wouldn't have, don't even lie. You wouldn't have Nintendo's name-marketing clout, the gacha schemes would be worse, and people would be turned off by a new IP pulling that ****.
@Yorumi
To be clear, this isn't "PR". This is a WSJ report. At no point has Nintendo tried to justify their microtransaction practices in their mobile games.
But I agree that Nintendo is far from innocent when it comes to aggressively monetizing their mobile games, especially with their last 2 mobile games which are arguably more aggressively monetized than any Pokemon mobile game.
Oh good, Nintendo has decided to only screw us over with overpriced controllers, Switch docks, and games that rarely go on sale.
I applaud those saints!
Nah but in all seriousness, people are much more prone to mindless spending when it comes to microtransactions. The Switch products, on the other hand, require more thought / effort. Good on Nintendo for doing this.
Good to know. Imagine if they had made a full Animal Crossing game instead of Pocket Camp! Charge $1 for a certain amount of bells to spend in game, Charge for exclusive furniture sets, charge for upgrades to your house... That would have raked-in a ton of money. It's good that they are giving us a full Animal Crossing on Switch instead. The charm/fun of the game is exploring/collecting/doing chores to help have a hand in creating the world in the game.
I wouldn't say TPCI LOVES money, however, since they outright destroyed a prime money-maker recently in Pokémon Duel, for....no discernable reason.
Fine by me. I have nothing against microstransactions as long as they're handled reasonably, but some games take it way too far with pay-to-win models and locking important content behind them.
@NinChocolate There's already Drampa, so I suppose it's only a matter of time before we get Dramma.
Huh, you don't say!
Welcome to 2019, person who wrote that report and has been asleep for the last few years apparently.
Kids these days can make a huge bill to their parents because they don't understand how the micro-transactions work. That makes those angry parents blame Nintendo and the company needs to solve issues of returning money to the parents. Nintendo would like to make money from mobile games just as much they like to do so from ports and remasters of old games. Still I'd rather pay 60 for a remake than anything pay to win-related. I wish Nintendo made a quality mobile Mario game and slapped a pricetag on it. Now micro-transactions or pay to win-crap.
Seems like Nintendo is still the only games company out there with a soul
@EmmatheBest
Pokemon GO is TPC's prime money-maker. Every other Pokemon mobile game has failed by comparison.
@westman98 - Don't underestimate their other games. There are some gamers not into Go, but like more strategic games, like the main series or Duel. I'm sure Shuffle made a good deal too, especially since they had it going on the 3DS too. It's essentially extra income that they just flat out didn't want to take advantage of anymore.
Thats cool and all, but reports about Dr. Mario World and previews of Mario Kart Tour's economy don't really seem to fit with what I'm reading here. Not to mention Pocket Camp had lootboxes added to it post-launch. Sorry, but Nintendo isn't gonna get a pass from me just because I love their home console and games.
Fire Emblem Heroes - It is fun to get characters that you need, but it becomes a money sink.
Dragalia Lost - A fun game that has the same gacha issue as Fire Emblem Heroes.
Super Mario Run - This game is another money sink. It can be fun, but once you get to a certain point, then you need to spend money.
Pocket Camp - I refuse to spend money on this game. It is not worth it IMO.
Dr. Mario World - It is a fun game that has a stamina problem after level 20.
I hope that Mario Kart World is going to have a better money system than these other Nintendo mobile games.
Yes, releasing a bunch of gacha games at rapid pace (FEH, Dragalia Lost, Pokémon Masters and Mario Kart) which are gambling games through and through with age ratings of 3+ for PM and MK is absolutely a sign that they don't want to 'overdo' microtransactions.
This is pure bs. Nintendo don't want the stink that gacha games can kick up right now if people focus in on them because of how inherently predatory they are but they do want the absolute bank that they bring in. Theres a reason that none of the pre-release Pokémon Masters material shows anything to do with the summoning aspect.
Oh and how could I forget Animal Crossing Pocket Camp. A game where the entire gameplay is customisation and post-launch they introduced loot boxes for almost all customisation and plummeted down the amount of currency awarded by playing.
Nintendo are not the saints their PR makes them out to be, they make money though the same scummy ways that other companies do but no one complains.
I have to disagree there, they wanted to go that route but the failure of Super Mario Run and likely large push by investors caused them to go the traditional mobile route.
Bleh, I haven't touched a single one of their mobile games or any others. Doesn't matter who it is that makes a free game, I won't play it. I tried Warframe and it wasn't terrible but I came late and haven't touched it much because of seasonal things. I see the AC mobile game is a random item and mtx poopfest and am only reaffirmed in my conviction against free to play.
I'm just hoping they try more single purchase games like Super Mario Run. My main mobile venture has been Pokemon Go, and I've avoided spending anything so far, though I have had the urge to just buy coins to increase my storage space. Dabbled in Heroes and Dragalia Lost, but didn't stick around long enough to feel the gacha effect in those, so I might jump in again for first hand impressions.
That being said, I'm down with companies either avoiding it, or keeping it in games that are generally free, especially if it's relegated to phones, with the mobile market being a wasteland as it is for the foreseeable future. Just make sure that players can still progress at a reasonable rate without buying things. It's less the insistence on spending money that gets me, so much as it is the annoying grindiness I run into with the few free-to-play games I pick up. I'm down with missing out on skins, especially if I run into dopes who buy worthless cosmetics like chromas-makes me feel better about my spending habits.
Edit: Animal Crossing Pocket Camp was alright, and I got into a bit of a routine, but I'd need special currency that you get with purchases with to complete events. It was kind of relaxing, so I might look into it another time.
These people don't know what they are talking about. Nintendo has a reputation to uphold and is more than willing to protect that reputation. The day Nintendo becomes "just another developer" is the day Nintendo is actually Nintendoomed
And the way Nintendo becomes just another developer is by giving into to trend pressure and milking consumers with micro transactions.
Too late. They already went all in on Fire Emblem.
They sure seemed okay with it with Fire Emblem - the transactions in that game completely ruin the experience.
Would be better if they wouldn't do this at all!!
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