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I wish Nintendo treated mobile like a first-class platform. Unfortunately, I only know of one good game that they made (Super Mario Run), and they've allowed th

I wish Nintendo treated mobile like a first-class platform. Unfortunately, I only know of one good game that they made (Super Mario Run), and they've allowed their other IPs to be poisoned by pay-to-win garbage (Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, Fire Emblem, Pokemon Go).

zapzupnz 7y ago
I mean, I know why Nintendo doesn't treat mobile as a first-class platform: it isn't their hardware. More than that, though, I think Nintendo doesn't like to make sacrifices to realise their ideas, both in terms of having to support multiple hardware profiles (as opposed to three for the 3DS line [normal, large, no 2D] or the single supported home console), multiple operating systems, loss of control in terms of what content is considered appropriate, loss of control over distribution, etc. The sacrifices you have to make on mobile is subscribe to the pay-to-win model, garbage though it is, because people just won't pay a reasonable amount for a good game — Nintendo knows this all too well because of how poorly Super Mario Run did after the first month, and how few players actually paid for the game relative to the download base. Mobile is between a rock and a hard place for Nintendo whose innovation is somewhat contingent on a level of control of which most mobile developers could only dream.
- ianai 7y ago
  Do you have references on their Super MARIO run revenue? It was definitely my favorite game of theirs in a while. Still play it because it’s so simple.
  - zapzupnz 7y ago
    Here's an article on it: https://www.theverge.com/2017/10/31/16580976/super-mario-run-nintendo-downloads-profit https://www.theverge.com/2017/10/31/16580976/super-mario-run... I love it, too, and I think it's well worth the money. But I'm sure Nintendo became aware all too quickly that their traditional fan base is happy to pay any amount for Mario; most mobile users, particularly children, are either unwilling or unable.

zapzupnz 7y ago

I mean, I know why Nintendo doesn't treat mobile as a first-class platform: it isn't their hardware. More than that, though, I think Nintendo doesn't like to make sacrifices to realise their ideas, both in terms of having to support multiple hardware profiles (as opposed to three for the 3DS line [normal, large, no 2D] or the single supported home console), multiple operating systems, loss of control in terms of what content is considered appropriate, loss of control over distribution, etc. The sacrifices you have to make on mobile is subscribe to the pay-to-win model, garbage though it is, because people just won't pay a reasonable amount for a good game — Nintendo knows this all too well because of how poorly Super Mario Run did after the first month, and how few players actually paid for the game relative to the download base. Mobile is between a rock and a hard place for Nintendo whose innovation is somewhat contingent on a level of control of which most mobile developers could only dream.

ianai 7y ago
Do you have references on their Super MARIO run revenue? It was definitely my favorite game of theirs in a while. Still play it because it’s so simple.
- zapzupnz 7y ago
  Here's an article on it: https://www.theverge.com/2017/10/31/16580976/super-mario-run-nintendo-downloads-profit https://www.theverge.com/2017/10/31/16580976/super-mario-run... I love it, too, and I think it's well worth the money. But I'm sure Nintendo became aware all too quickly that their traditional fan base is happy to pay any amount for Mario; most mobile users, particularly children, are either unwilling or unable.