A Q&A with Nintendo’s President Tatsumi Kimishima from last weeks investor meeting has been released and based on the questions asked, it is apparent that investors are interested on how Nintendo plans to keep its momentum going in the mobile market.
When asked why Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem were selected to be the next titles to make the move to mobile and if games like Fire Emblem can translate in to a revenue generating title for the company, Kimishima stated:
We chose Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem as titles to follow Miitomo from the viewpoint of increasing the diverse types of consumers interested in Nintendo, and widening opportunities for game play. The Animal Crossing series has been played by a wide range of consumers including children and women. I think there is a good chance that those consumers would enjoy this. As for Fire Emblem, it is not so much the width of the audience as the existence of die-hard fans who have stuck to the series for a long time. We selected two titles of different categories and IP to reach as many consumers as possible. We are not limiting the IP for the titles that will follow these two. We will continue to prepare titles using IP that many consumers are familiar with.
While Mr. Kimishima seems optimistic that both new titles will be well received by fans, he did not touch on the revenue potentials of the titles. While it is assumed that both titles will retain the “Freemium” status that Miitomo currently enjoys, it is yet to be seen how micro-transactions will play a role in both titles.
Later in the Q&A, Mr. Kimishima was asked how serious Nintendo really was on creating games for smart devices and if developers like the legendary Shigeru Miyamoto would be up to the challenge to create mobile titles.
If people are “not sure about how serious we are” about smart devices, it means that information issued from our company is not accurately conveyed, and I have to reflect on that. As we have reiterated, we want to grow smart device gaming as one of the pillars of Nintendo’s revenue stream. As for shifting managerial resources in that direction, we have very capable developers who are working on development of games for smart devices, as you already know. Of course, Mr. Miyamoto, our Creative Fellow, is also supporting the business for smart devices from a company-wide perspective. To explain the level of engagement of Mr. Miyamoto, he is having specific talks with developers of games for smart devices on what would be desirable overall. In that sense, what you see from the outside may be markedly different from what we see on the inside. As I have said, we want this to be one of the pillars of our business. Our level of engagement has not lessened, so I hope you will understand that.
Nintendo has a lot at stake with its entry into the mobile market and, based on Mr. Kimishima’s responses, it appears that Nintendo is ready to make its mark.
Written by Jason Ganos
Nintendo super fan since birth, Jason is the creator of Amiibo News and editor-in-chief at Nintendo Wire. One of his life goals is to provide the latest Nintendo news to fellow gamers with his natural know-how.
