Earlier this week Nintendo confirmed that Dragalia Lost will be shut down after some final story updates, to which the response of many may have been a shrug of the shoulders. The mobile exclusive was an interesting title, though, as it was the only new IP that Nintendo had invested solely into its mobile business, developed alongside CyGames. Though plenty of core gamers have an innate snobbery or antipathy towards mobile games, Dragalia was well-regarded by its fanbase.
Of course, it continues a slow but steady trend — Nintendo is making a lot less noise about mobile. Dr. Mario World bit the dust last year, and even those titles that are showing solid momentum and revenues typically tick along in the background. Nintendo still actively promotes updates to titles like Mario Kart Tour and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp on YouTube and on each game's specialist social channels, but they reside largely in that separate space which is easy to ignore if you're primarily a console gamer. It's all a far cry from when Super Mario Run was given a big push back in late 2016.
Of course, that date is a clue. Nintendo kicked off its major development and focus on mobile when the company was in more difficult times, namely the 3DS and Wii U era. Though the 3DS gradually became a reasonable success, the Wii U was a flop by any mainstream gaming console metric, and Nintendo was under pressure to deliver profits by expanding into other areas. Then, as it is now, the mobile gaming space presented an opportunity for significant income.
The marriage between Nintendo and mobile has always felt strained, with the two sides passive aggressively undermining each other
Before we dive into this topic further, we do recommend giving a read to this excellent article on GamesIndustry.biz, which explores a perspective that Nintendo is shifting to an arm's length approach to mobile. We'll likely cover some similar points before digressing, but we certainly suggest checking it out.
As mentioned above, when Nintendo embarked upon a quest to expand into mobile — at the time in partnership with DeNA — it was partly a reaction to troubled times. While the eventual revival of the 3DS helped to keep the ship on an even keel, Nintendo will have been developing Switch while dealing with a lot of doubts. It was remarkably brave, ultimately. The company had thrived with a dual approach to hardware — portable and home console — for decades, yet knew the market and its business would no longer support it. If the hybrid Switch had flopped, though, there would have been no second system to help prop up the business.
Yet despite relative success, the marriage between Nintendo and mobile has always felt strained, with the two sides passive aggressively undermining each other. The goal from the beginning was to use the mobile business to drive knowledge and interest in the company's IP and channel that expanded audience towards its consoles. Part of Nintendo's identity in the gaming market is as a distributor of polished and often child-friendly games (there are exceptions, of course). It's also a company that is not often associated with the more controversial practices in modern gaming around gacha-style gambling, excessive microtransactions and so on. The company has moved into and experimented with different forms of DLC, premium pricing etc, but in its console space has mostly avoided major controversies.
Certain standards are expected of Nintendo, and we have seen the reaction when those expectations haven't been met in console games, but especially its mobile releases. Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp has faced criticism for its excessive in-app purchases and the questionable value it delivers, with the undertone that it's not very Nintendo. Then with Super Mario Run we saw Nintendo try to go for a 'premium' pricing model, and though it generated some revenue it wasn't a sustained hit. After all, for many of us we'd sooner just play a mainline Mario game on Switch than spend money on a touchscreen alternative.
In the GamesIndustry.biz article a reasonable point is made that Nintendo's very clear strategy shift with mobile may see even more outsourcing, and perhaps not that often. Pokémon GO is an obvious example, though Nintendo's profits from its incredible success were limited as more significant parts of the pie went to developer Niantic and The Pokémon Company. Yet the only recent mobile release from Nintendo has been Pikmin Bloom, a charming AR title once again from Niantic. Nintendo's internal teams and core partners, meanwhile, have continued to focus and put together an impressive ongoing library for Switch.
We've also seen Nintendo get creative — or not, depending on your perspective — in using work done on mobile to bolster its Switch line-up. We're talking, of course, about the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass, which spruces up and adapts work primarily done for Mario Kart Tour. As we've suggested previously, this works well because many of us that devote hundreds of hours to MK8D on Switch may not play the mobile spin-off at all. So taking that content and using it as an easy-win makes sense, and of course it's bundled with Nintendo Switch Online, giving that service a stronger sense of value.
To ignore mobile, and its potential monster revenues, would be reckless and - perhaps - a tad arrogant.
Overall, though, Nintendo doesn't talk about mobile much at the moment. No wonder; the Switch is flying high, and the company has also been busy with its Theme Park expansions and the upcoming Mario movie. There's also that inherent discomfort with the mobile market, with the ingredients for a mobile smash hit not necessarily blending with Nintendo's public perception or IPs.
It'll be interesting to see what happens with Nintendo and the mobile space in the next 2-3 years, then; perhaps the "arm's length" strategy will be used and work well, with partners producing a hit app that doesn't infringe too much on Nintendo's 'core' business. Yet to ignore mobile, and its potential monster revenues, would be reckless and perhaps a tad arrogant. Nintendo is raking in the cash right now, but it's only one bad idea or disappointing launch away from its hardware business being in trouble; not at risk of collapse — Nintendo has plenty in the bank to weather a storm or two — but certainly at risk of spooking shareholders. If the Switch successor were to fail, for example, Nintendo would potentially have a period of significant difficulty adjusting its business and presumably rushing to another new system.
Let's not forget, the relative struggles of the 3DS and Wii U followed the utter dominance of DS and Wii; one hardware generation can make a big difference in fortunes. It's not just Nintendo either — Sony went from stratospheric heights with PS2 to early struggles with the initially over-priced PS3, and Microsoft took the goodwill and growing fanbase of the Xbox 360 and released the initially maligned Xbox One.
Mobile, along with the LEGO licensing deals, movie projects, theme parks, merchandising and more, play a role in keeping Nintendo steady in the event of a rocky gaming hardware generation. To move away too far from that enormous potential market after just 5-6 years would perhaps come back to haunt the company, and while the company may be focussing elsewhere at the moment, we don't see it moving away from mobile entirely, however well Nintendo consoles are selling.
Even if many of us on these pages aren't particularly interested in mobile games from Nintendo — certainly not when compared to their console output — that doesn't mean they're not potentially important for the future. The company has learned a great deal about the mobile space since the Miitomo days, and even as individual titles like Dragalia are retired, we'll be seeing the Nintendo logo appearing on mobile splash screens for a long time to come.
Comments 41
I'm generally pretty indifferent about Nintendo's mobile games except for Miitomo. I really miss it, and unfortunately, I got into it pretty close to the end of its lifespan. That's the one game that I was sad to see go away, the rest have had no effect on me at all.
Mobile gaming is a billion dollar industry, so while we bemoan that Nintendo is “pandering to casuals” they’re pandering all the way to the bank.
And while this is very much my own opinion, Games like Pokémon Unite (yes I’m aware it’s GF not Nintendo) show that the two can align.
I've been expecting Nintendogs for a while now
I would love to see them bring a full on version of Animal Crossing to mobile one day. I think that franchise is perfect for Mobile.
There are people that only listen to Vinyl albums because of a warm sound quality and to own their music.. There are people that only stream music on their phone for convenience and pay a subscription so they can taste everything. Two different consumers who both want music.
I don’t see any difference of that and Console and Mobile Gaming.
Mario kart tour is great, definitely brings recognition to its console counterpart and the ip
I feel like Nintendo could do a mobile game, either adapting an existing IP or a new one, that takes the best qualities of both Nintendo and the mobile market and makes a super long lasting project that sets a new standard.
But... Nintendo will always pull a Nintendo; that is, something from left field that no one saw coming.
Mobile can be a promotional tool for console games. Licensing can produce ancillary revenue based on the success of console games.
But it all begins and ends with console games.
I never like mobile games at all.
This what you will get from mobile games: a big regret when the games get removed permanently.
It's a fascinating topic because we all say that they won't really do much with mobile, they come out swinging with a big new game.... and then everything dies down and the cycle just kinda repeats. Super Mario Run was a intriguing if flawed first go but I honestly wouldn't mind it if they attempted another one of it's kind but this time make it a more in depth game than an auto-runner. It would be wild to see a full blown, premium game (that would be almost right at home on Switch) be made with mobile in mind because with touch alone there's a lot you could do.
It'll probably A. never happen and B. do poorly but let me believe damnit.
I will always shrug my shoulders to Mobile as a whole. If Mobile gaming died tomorrow I couldn't care less.
The problem is mobile and console gaming have very little in common, the most successful mobile games barely resemble traditional gaming experiences and I'm not convinced it makes much difference to their console side
It's far from vital. All the Nintendo mobile games I've played are trash compared to their console counterparts, especially Mario Kart Tour which controls like arse.
It's funny really as they did so much good stuff with the DS and 3DS touch screen...
Don't mind Nintendo's approach to mobile gaming since all the mobile games they put out are advertised as their own thing.
It only becomes bad when they affect the main series they're designed from in a negative way.
With that said though I never touched any Nintendo mobile games or any ones, mostly due to the fact that I just have no interest.
I’m not a massive mobile gaming fan but Mario Kart works… after a massive break I went back and the new controls are much much better and the unlocks are now fair. Really enjoy having a few races and do that daily.
I vastly preferred the concept of Super Mario Run (a single game that you pay for once) than I did other games like Fire Emblem Heroes or Mario Kart Tour (filled with microtransactions and gacha nonsense).
If Nintendo put out more mobile games I could pay for once and be done with, I'd be more interested.
@yuwarite Would Pocket Camp count?
I mean, I'm a primarily console gamer myself, but I don't see how SMR and Switch Mario entries are mutually exclusive. Not only the former tried to forego the oh so maligned microtransactions, but it also belonged to one of the few action platformer subgenres that feel comfortable on touchscreen devices while not necessarily being strictly "touchscreen alternatives" at their core (after all, many runner hits are button-controlled on consoles and PC as well). How did the public vote with their wallets, again? Yeah. Like I often say, between SMR's underwhelming revenues and MKT's apparently in-demand IAPs, we gamers have pretty much forfeited... the right to bash IAPs? Well, YMMV about the right, but the plausibility ship has definitely sailed.
Still, even Nintendo's freemiums tend to be fun. Dragalia is proving to be an interesting title and it's an undeniable bummer to hear about shutdown plans a week after I finally gave it a shot, but its relative longevity and the intent to finish the main story certainly make this a much sweeter pill to swallow, especially after the downright demotivating cases like Tales of Crestoria or the global servers of MagoReco and Symphogear XD. Meanwhile, Fire Emblem Heroes is thankfully chugging on and arguably remaining Nintendo's best mobile game to date. If more comes, I'll certainly perk up an ear, although in the case of existing IPs a lot will depend on my general resonance with the franchise at hand - for instance, I remain rather indifferent to Pocket Camp and the recent Pikmin Bloom, but I'd admittedly try pretty much anything with "Xenoblade" on it, and if Pocket Card Jockey never continues or reincarnates on Switch, I suppose mobile wouldn't be the worst alternative. But regardless of my interest, it will always be Nintendo's call what to do - or NOT do - in the domain. "Take it or leave it" is the extent of our ultimate response, and no amount of feigning social or industry-themed concerns will ever grant us more.
This info is a bit old, but it shows that Dr Mario World and Dragalia Lost were the two least successful Nintendo mobile games by revenue (and by downloads, but that isnt showed in the chart). I'm not at all shocked that both games will soon be shut down.
I used to play Miitomo to get some platinum points. Played a world or two of Super Mario Run, and it was awfully boring. Same thing with Mario Kart Tour. I only dabbled in it. Nintendo's mobile games are so heavily watered down that they don't retain what makes regular installments of their franchises so fun. That's why I'm glad Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's DLC is preserving Tour's tracks in a more playable format.
@StarPoint I just liked to play Miitomo and take stupid pictures. I think that was a thing you could do.
@MrGawain that is such a great analogy!!
People bemoaning the MKT controls just... It doesn't always work fantastic. But 90% of the time I could control my kart like it reads my mind! I think mk8 controls bad nowadays! 😂
I see these mobile games as a nice snack. I use public transit daily, so a bit of mario kart and a fire emblem battle are perfect for me!
Well... I think, that Nintendo can try to make "premium" mobile games. Like HAL Laboratory did with Working UFO(Part Time UFO) on mobile, that some time after it's initial release, was ported to Nintendo Switch with various bonuses that are not present in original mobile versions. But F2P games like Dr. Mario World, Dragalia Lost, and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp... I dislike them. But I like Working UFO. It's a good premium mobile game that worth the money.
Mobile games can be good and interesting if the developers do the right job, however, the mobile market is currently stronger for offering games as a service and not as a full game (super mario run is the example ) and it is obvious, a game that is always online and updated periodically will generate (almost often) more profits than a complete game, however, it is a game that must be constantly maintained and therefore, it generates expenses and therefore, some day the inevitable will happen and goodbye game...
With Dragalia lost, it's not the first game that I'm sad to see "goodbye", I've already seen good games end, even though they had a lot to offer (Sailor Moon drops is another example); and the saddest thing is the fact that the game celebrated its anniversary and that is its gift, a final farewell...
Sadly, Business is Business..., but it would be good if those games that have been discontinued have a chance to be remembered for future generations and better still, if they continue to keep going!
Hopefully they make a Kirby puzzle RPG on mobile devices.
@yuwarite they should at least give u the option to buy a full on version.
The ultimate goal of Mario Kart Tour and Pocket Camp is probably to convert mobile players to console players. Give them a taste of the brand in the hopes that they'll buy a Switch and full priced games. It's why they are simple versions of the real thing. It would be too obvious if there were commercials in the games for the Switch, but it is telling how MK8 Deluxe is getting MKT tracks - in addition to tempting Switch owners with DLC who didn't check out Tour. Dragalia Lost made a bit of cash but it has no brand power, ultimately. It's easy to dismiss Nintendo as out of touch, but their mobile approach makes a lot of sense. It's carefully restrained to not eat into potential Switch sales while not ignoring potential whales outside of that ecosystem, and lays inroads to convert them over.
i still think fire emblem heroes is excellent as well as mario run. mario run is simply the best mobile auto runner. also the price is super fair and no ***** microtransactions
"It's still vital." I'd argue it was never vital in the fist place for Nintendo. It's just extra money.
Honestly, where is Nintendogs on mobile? Pikmin Bloom invokes the spirit of taking your ‘pets’ out for a walk, but Nintendogs would directly hit it. A somewhat decent facsimile of the pet experience (walking, training, playing), but none of the fuss (aka smell).
Pokemon Go is the only mobile game that I truly enjoyed. Also the only one that I wouldn't rather see on dedicated game hardware.
So let’s be honest, the only “vital” mobile Nintendo game is Pokémon go.
Meanwhile Octopath on mobile is a brilliant game.
Be careful with that title picture, they might notice that Super Mario Run was released in 2016 and they haven't physically destroyed the game yet.
It's vital they dump it. Such a waste of resources.
Been playing Dragalia Lost since day one. Best conversion of RPG to mobile and they kept adding more modes and events, it honestly deserved a real game to utilize these characters.
Since it is shutting down feel they missed an opportunity there to do something like GranBlue. Get Arc System Works to make a blazing hot fighting game with all these characters with roll back and they would be in the money. Platinum or Monolithsoft could make a great ARPG or RPG with all the materials they've already made.
But I feel this series will just go into the Nintendo vault for weird cameos.
Nintendo should stick to consoles. They're mobile games are not that great. Mobile is a waste of resources. Focus on console games instead.
Loved every Nintendo mobile game so far!
@RangoonBeachbody Same here.
While I DO like SMRun, I only play the Game for the Platinum Points🥈
What I find baffling is that they don’t put the obvious candidates from their catalogue onto Mobile. We should be seeing Wario Ware, Pullblox, Nintendogs, Brain Training, Rhythm Paradise and the like. Even their visual novels that they put out from time to time. These are game series that are crying out to be on Mobile.
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