We’ve waited a long time to see this, and in truth, this is a heavy sign of the times we are in. Nintendo was resolute in its stand not to enter the smartphone game app market, but even they can’t deny the amount of profit that the market has. And as a follow up to last year’s announcement, Nintendo President Tatsumi Kimishima has confirmed that the Japanese gaming giant’s first smartphone game app will be coming out in March.
Last year, Nintendo confirmed – after a long period of inhibiting itself from entering the smartphone gaming sphere – that it would finally start making games for other platforms. Before that announcement, Nintendo software was only playable on Nintendo hardware (consoles). And it wasn’t jumping in with all guns blazing – the Japanese company said that it was going to “take it slow”.
Just recently, Kimishima wrote an editorial on a Japanese daily, detailing his plans for Nintendo in the next year. One of the main elements of the plan was to launch Miitomo, Nintendo’s first smartphone game, in March. The game is a social mirror – a “community simulator” – much like the company’s Tomodachi Life game for 3DS. In this app, players build their Miis, a cartoon avatar of themselves, and connect with friends. Those Miis will then go on to perform actions and develop personalities on their own, based on their interactions and environment.
Kimishima says that he is envisioning Nintendo to earn USD$855 million over “several years” – which is around four times its profit last year. Part of that is where people spend real money on Miitomo – buying clothes and cosmetic items for their Miis. Japan is one of the highest spenders of real money on game apps, and Nintendo wants to harness that and bring in the profit even from international markets. Let’s all see if this catches on.
VIA: Venture Beat
