Nintendo’s mobile games library has accumulated 650 million downloads.
As detailed in the Japanese firm’s recent corporate management report, its mobile expansion has granted even more players access to its IPs, including Animal Crossing, Fire Emblem and Mario.
The milestone has been achieved across the seven apps it has released since 2016 – Miitomo, Super Mario Run, Fire Emblem Heroes, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, Dragalia Lost, Dr Mario World, and Mario Kart Tour. Currently, the games are available in 164 countries.
Mario Kart Tour proved to be the company’s most popular mobile title in 2019, as it accumulated the most downloads. Nintendo kicked off the year right on the mobile front; the division finally crossed the $1 billion revenue threshold.
Hand in hand
There was a time when it was rumoured that Nintendo would give up on its mobile division. However, the company dismissed these claims as it explained that its mobile titles had driven players to try out games on Nintendo Switch and vice versa.
“Some of our smart device game applications share the same characters as titles for Nintendo Switch, but the gameplay is entirely different, due to interface differences between smart devices and video game systems,” said Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa.
“While mobile applications tend to provide shorter, more casual experiences, a number of consumers have gone on to develop an interest in the deeper, more immersive experiences offered by our video game systems.
“From this, we know that our mobile expansion encourages consumers to pick up Nintendo Switch hardware.”
