Nintendo Retreats from Smartphone Gaming

[Tsing]

Image: Nintendo



Over the past years, Nintendo has released numerous games for Android and iOS, such as Super Mario Run, Dr. Mario World, and Mario Kart Tour. Evidently, they weren’t doing all that well, as the Japanese gaming giant has decided to pull the plug on the potentially lucrative smartphone market.



“President Shuntaro Furukawa proclaimed two years ago that smartphone games would be a $1 billion business with growth potential, building on his predecessor’s promise that Nintendo would release two to three mobile titles each year,” Bloomberg reported. “That spurred hopes among investors that the gaming powerhouse could carve out a substantial slice of the market. In May, however, the president adopted a markedly different tune, saying ‘We...

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[LeRoy_Blanchard]

What did Nintendo expect? Sub-par games for a phone equals sub-par returns.

If Nintendo actually made an effort to make good games on a smart phone, you'd be dumb to think people wouldn't buy them.

However, doing so would jeopardize their console and handheld platforms tremendously since no one would need to buy that hardware when the good games are on a device they already own.

 

[DrezKill]

GOOD. I hope they stop with all this phone nonsense.

 

[Brian_B]

Doesn't Nintendo have an ownership stake in Pokemon? Pokemon Go is a very strong mobile game.

Mario Run, today, is still a top 25 genre title according to App Annie.

I honestly don't know what Nintendo was expecting.

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