Nintendo appears to be slowing down its mobile releases as its Switch hardware and software sales continue to see impressive growth.
As reported by Bloomberg (via Gamespot), mobile games consultant Serkan Toto noted that Nintendo’s “enormous success on console reduced the need and the pressure to put resources into mobile” and that the company now has an empty mobile pipeline.
The report also claims that DeNA president Isao Moriyasu believes the developer won’t be releasing any new games based on Nintendo IP until the end of the current fiscal year.
Slowing down
Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa told shareholders back in May that “we are not necessarily looking to continue releasing many new applications for the mobile market”, and that its mobile strategy is more a way to spread awareness of its IP than it is another major revenue stream.
It is true that Nintendo has perhaps not seen the revenues it expected from its mobile outings. Its best performing game, Fire Emblem Heroes, reached an estimated $656 million in revenues after three years on the market, and its mobile revenues currently only make up 4% of the company’s overall business.
All that said, it seems unlikely the company will step away from mobile development entirely, and it could instead focus on releasing an evergreen mobile title for each of its major IP to boost Switch game sales. Its mobile entries do seem to be boosted by its console releases – just look at the recent boost in Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp downloads.
