Following Mario's mobile success, Nintendo plans to release 2-3 new iPhone games each year...

AppleInsider

Fresh off announcing results for "Super Mario Run"-- which for now remains an exclusive to Apple's iPhone -- Nintendo will reportedly be sticking to a schedule of just two or three mobile games per year.

The Japanese game-maker's plans were revealed by Reuters, though no new titles were identified. The company is due to release "Fire Emblem: Heroes" for iOS and Android on Thursday, and "Animal Crossing" for iOS sometime in Nintendo's next financial year, April being the earliest possible timing.

"Animal Crossing" was delayed this week for the sake of "Fire Emblem," as well as the Android version of "Mario," which should arrive in March.

The trio could potentially represent Nintendo's mobile slate for 2017, though it might have room for one more if it doesn't count "Mario's" arrival on Android.

At the moment the company is focused mostly on the Switch, a new console also launching in March. The device can double as a handheld with a tablet-sized display, which should help unite Nintendo's platforms.

The company is presumably limiting its mobile releases to avoid eating into its proprietary platform sales. Unlike other console makers, it typically turns a profit on each device sold, and relies heavily on first-party games to draw people in.

For the Switch, though, some 70 in-house and third-party developers are working on 100 games, and the catalog is likely to grow from there.

Nintendo has so far generated over $53 million from "Super Mario Run," based off an unlock rate somewhere over 5 percent. While more than what analysts expected, CEO Tatsumi Kimishima is reportedly dissatisfied, having hoped for double-digit percentages.

SpamSandwich

If Nintendo were to simply convert all of their early arcade and home video games to iOS they would have a continuous revenue stream from people wanting to relive those classics. Wake up, Nintendo!

schlack

sog35 said:

Nice.

Mario Run is an awesome game. Don't let people fool you. The only idiots who said it isn't have not finished the game.

Go get all the Black Coins and then report to me. If you didn't get all the black coins you didn't finish the game. 

$53 million in revenue is awesome. It probably only cost a few million to make the game.

I think there was some confusion about the in app purchase. I suspect if they just charge $10 outright they'd get a lot more sales. The game is great. Excellent control mechanics for the phone.

dangermouse2

sog35 said:

SpamSandwich said:

If Nintendo were to simply convert all of their early arcade and home video games to iOS they would have a continuous revenue stream from people wanting to relive those classics. Wake up, Nintendo!

They will. Eventually.

People would gobble up Super Mario 1,2,3, Zelda 1,2,3 ect like no tomorrow.

Or even better?  They should charge $10 a month for a Nintendo subscription. You can play all the classics from the arcade, NES, SNES, N64 for $10 a month on iOS/AppleTV. 

And Super Mario 64, I'd buy that, YET AGAIN, for iOS in a heartbeat.

techprod1gy

I would pay $10 for each classic port. Might be steep but think of how most people spend money on lesser of things. I do like the idea of a subscription to play any of the classics also...$10 a month would be a steal for someone who appreciates gaming.

tundraboy

They will try to resist it, try to deny it even, but Nintendo will soon realize that iOS is critical to their continued survival and prosperity.  

pulseimages

I swear Nintendo has to be dragged into mobile gaming kicking and screaming!

crowley

Decent control schemes please, not on screen dpads and buttons.  Lazy ports of the back catalogue would be a big disappointment.

I'd rather have new games for a new platform than get frustrated with touch screen Link To The Past. Already been through that pain with Chrono Trigger.

flashfan207

sog35 said:

schlack said:

sog35 said:

Nice.

Mario Run is an awesome game. Don't let people fool you. The only idiots who said it isn't have not finished the game.

Go get all the Black Coins and then report to me. If you didn't get all the black coins you didn't finish the game. 

$53 million in revenue is awesome. It probably only cost a few million to make the game.

I think there was some confusion about the in app purchase. I suspect if they just charge $10 outright they'd get a lot more sales. The game is great. Excellent control mechanics for the phone.

it really is genius. One button control is really amazing for a game like this.

It is awesome, for sure. Have you played any of the Rayman games on iOS or Apple TV yet? Ubisoft did a fantastic job on those games as well. 

Fatman

The original Wii games are a good fit for porting - game size of about 4GB, graphic resolution & processing power equivalent to the iphone's. Obviously controls would need to be remapped. Nintendo could port the best looking, best selling Wii games to iOS (and AppleTV) and make money all over again. There is a whole generation of younger gamers that weren't around for the original Wii's intro 10 years ago.

misa

SpamSandwich said:

If Nintendo were to simply convert all of their early arcade and home video games to iOS they would have a continuous revenue stream from people wanting to relive those classics. Wake up, Nintendo!

They won't do this, because iOS on screen controls are joke. 

Mario Run was good because it made use of controls that are native to iOS, one tap. That's all you have.

What other games work well on iOS. Angry Birds (slingshot game), Bad Piggies (construction), Bust-a-Move aka Puzzle Bobble (a game that you move a targeting crosshair and tap to fire), and the endless rubbish farmville clones (tap to timesink.)

So if you take the logical direction, that means the best games that would work on iOS would be Mario vs Donkey Kong, Mario Maker (maybe some variation of "mario run maker") , Dr.Mario/Yoshi's cookie, Mario Paint, and maybe attempts at porting the zapper/superscope games (eg Duck Hunt, Yoshi's safari)

Now that I think about it, the game that should be on iOS is Animal Crossing, because that game has an inherent "visit your friends" mechanic. It could easily be adapted to use the location services to recognize that you're visiting a friend with your smartphone and can visit their town when you visit them. Or when kids go to school.

boltsfan17

Bring Punch Out to the Apple TV and I'll be a happy camper. 

cali

"Acquire any size company"
let's see those words put to work Tim!!

sog35 said:

schlack said:

sog35 said:

Nice.

Mario Run is an awesome game. Don't let people fool you. The only idiots who said it isn't have not finished the game.

Go get all the Black Coins and then report to me. If you didn't get all the black coins you didn't finish the game. 

$53 million in revenue is awesome. It probably only cost a few million to make the game.

I think there was some confusion about the in app purchase. I suspect if they just charge $10 outright they'd get a lot more sales. The game is great. Excellent control mechanics for the phone.

it really is genius. One button control is really amazing for a game like this.

Of course it's genius!! Miyamoto is up there with Steve Jobs and Walt Disney. He knows gaming, magic and simplicity.

Fatman said:

The original Wii games are a good fit for porting - game size of about 4GB, graphic resolution & processing power equivalent to the iphone's. Obviously controls would need to be remapped. Nintendo could port the best looking, best selling Wii games to iOS (and AppleTV) and make money all over again. There is a whole generation of younger gamers that weren't around for the original Wii's intro 10 years ago.

Nintendo themselves have a hard time bringing their own catalog of games to their own damn systems!! so I don't see this happening unless Apple acquires them.

The Wii catalog would work beautifully on Apple TV especially if Apple opens the Lightning port to third parties and allows wireless nunchuck controllers. I could cry because of how wonderful this sounds but isn't real.

P.S. The president of Nintendo would have seen double digit percentage of users buy the game if they had just charged them outright.