Despite the company making a major point of trying to establish itself in the mobile gaming scene,Nintendohasn’t exactly been making many fans when it comes to releasing many of its most popular mobile games. Titles likeAnimal Crossing: Pocket Campand especiallyMario Kart Tourhave been marred by controversy ever since their respective release dates, with fans noting that Nintendo’s approach to microtransactions has been nothing short of exploitative.
It seems Nintendo is done trying to insert itself into such a potentially lucrative market, however, with recent reports claiming that the company is taking a step back from mobile gaming. Reported by Bloomberg, it seems this is due to Nintendo being underwhelmed by the financial results of its recent titles, choosing instead to chase the success of games likeAnimal Crossing: New Horizons,which pulled insane numbers on the Switch.
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According to mobile games consultant, Serkan Toto, “since the release of Mario Kart Tour in fall 2019, Nintendo’s mobile pipeline is empty,” with the industry insider citing “in a sense, Nintendo’s enormous success on console reduced the need and the pressure to put resources into mobile.” Of course, Nintendo originally planned to release three mobile titles a year, with games likeAnimal Crossing: Pocket Camp, Mario Kart Tour,andSuper Mario Runall factoring into this new bid to carve out a solid slice of the mobile market.
Naturally, it makes sense for Nintendo to abandon the mobile market due to the fact its console games are currently selling like hotcakes while the negative press that followed its mobile gamesreflected badly on the company. As many will no doubt recall,Mario Kart Tourwas a particularly scrutinized endeavorfor the company, with the app asking players for hefty microtransactions despite advertising itself as being free to play. It was this mentality that became a heavily criticized standard for most of Nintendo’s titles, with many calling the company’s model out for being deceitful.
Regardless, Nintendo is far from doing badly when it comes to video game sales, so it seems it’ll do just fine without its proposed entries into the mobile market.Animal Crossing: New Horizonshas become a landmark success for the company, quickly slotting into the best selling games of all time on the console, while the likes ofPokemon SwordandShield, as well asThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the WildandMario Kart 8 Deluxe Edition,have all been incredibly successful financially.
