Nintendo once had big plans to release a bunch of mobile games. In 2016, Nintendo’s then-boss Tatsumi Kimishima said four more smartphone games would debut in the following year. Nintendo took several years to reach that milestone and has since closed several of them. There’s only been one new Nintendo mobile game in the last two years: Pikmin Bloom. As Nintendo scrapped Dragalia Lost and Dr. Mario World this week, the publisher offered an update on its smartphone efforts.
“Our goal with the mobile business is to expand the number of people who have access to Nintendo,” Nintendo’s spokesperson told Axios. In countries where Nintendo Switch isn’t regularly available, this is especially true. Is Nintendo’s smartphone output dribbling? While Nintendo didn’t mention its lack of launches, the success of Switch might have eased the pressure on the company to embrace mobile gaming as an alternative – something that grew increasingly loud during the Wii U’s barren years. What’s in store for Nintendo’s mobile games?
Nintendo says it’s focused on improving our current mobile games and considering new apps in the future. After two years, Nintendo shuts down Miitomo, its first smartphone. Two years after Dr. Mario World launched, it was killed off too. Gacha-powered games like Fire Emblem Heroes, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, and Mario Kart Tour are still around. Super Mario Run, the company’s flagship mobile launch of 2016, is still available.
