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Mario Is Moving Away from Mobile Games, Reveals Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto

variety.com

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Re: Mario Is Moving Away from Mobile Games, Reveals Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto

#51

Post by brucethemoose2 »

bakugo wrote: post #36
zug_zug wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well I don't think it's a failure because it didn't generate enough money, I think it's a failure because it a certain class of microtransaction-centric game does brand damage to perhaps the premiere game brand in the world.

> a certain class of microtransaction-centric game does brand damage How? The target audiences for games like Mario aren't going to suddenly stop liking it because a predatory mobile game exists in the same series.

They did generate some bad press, but I dunno how much of that translates to actual brand damage.

Maybe Nintendo didn't like the trajectory, or the potential for brand damage to their treasured IP, even if the mobile games weren't even denting the reputation yet.

Re: Mario Is Moving Away from Mobile Games, Reveals Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto

#52

Post by CDSlice »

jgon wrote: post #23

Mario Run flaming out in the mobile space should be looked at as a pretty harsh indictment of the whole mobile gaming landscape. The premier gaming franchise in the world, in a pretty well made game, with a fairly non-exploitative monetization scheme couldn't make it. All the big publishers salivate looking at the number of possible players and profits that mobile provides but if your aim is to win out via quality ga…

> The mobile gaming landscape is not a place for quality

I’d rephrase that as the mobile gaming landscape is not a place for traditional monetization models. Genshin Impact is primarily a mobile game and although the anime aesthetic may not be for everyone it is easily a AAA quality open world game that has been a resounding financial success, making over $3.6B in just two years. However, it uses the gacha monetization model to fund its live service development instead of the traditional “buy the main game once and then pay for any expansions you want” model.

Re: Mario Is Moving Away from Mobile Games, Reveals Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto

#53

Post by crazygringo »

ShamelessC wrote: post #21
asdff wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This could have been the perfect opportunity to flip the mobile model. Screw it, charge $30 for the game and let it be a one time purchase, no micro transactions aside from content like new maps years from now, and no free version. People will still buy it because its mariokart, just like they buy the $60 version for their $300 switch, or how they buy skyrim 4x for each platform it gets rereleased on. These major dev…

That’s what they did with the Super Mario Run. Don’t ever change HN /s

Exactly. Super Mario Run did not make the expected return because people just didn't buy it. Not enough for it to be the success Nintendo needed. Only 3% of people who downloaded it bought the full version, when they'd been expecting 10% conversion. Only $60 million in a year and a half.

In contrast, Mario Kart Tour made $200 million in its first year and a half with microtransactions.

So Nintendo tried. But it's not the way consumers wanted to pay for it.

Re: Mario Is Moving Away from Mobile Games, Reveals Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto

#54

Post by AraceliHarker »

zug_zug wrote: post #4
brucethemoose2 wrote: post #3

> Mario Kart Tour has generated $300 million Its crazy how this is considered a "failure" for Nintendo. Then again, they spend more developing the "game" part of Mario Kart Tour than most mobile games, so maybe it isnt really worth it when a match 3 game can make twice as much?

Well I don't think it's a failure because it didn't generate enough money, I think it's a failure because it a certain class of microtransaction-centric game does brand damage to perhaps the premiere game brand in the world.

Nintendo tried various ways of monetizing their mobile games, from gacha to pay-per-play to time-saving. But the irony is that their most profitable game is Fire Emblem Heroes, which uses the gacha system.

Re: Mario Is Moving Away from Mobile Games, Reveals Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto

#55

Post by AraceliHarker »

awelxtr wrote: post #35
asdff wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This could have been the perfect opportunity to flip the mobile model. Screw it, charge $30 for the game and let it be a one time purchase, no micro transactions aside from content like new maps years from now, and no free version. People will still buy it because its mariokart, just like they buy the $60 version for their $300 switch, or how they buy skyrim 4x for each platform it gets rereleased on. These major dev…

While thank god the offerings of premium games are becoming more numerous by the year a minuscule minority go to the play store to spend money and Nintendo knows that. It's curious to see square enix spitting $15 games one after the other after so much time, maybe they have found their niche?

I learned from the third-quarter financial results for the fiscal year ending March 2023 that Square Enix's small and medium-sized games were disappointing in terms of sales for the publisher.

Forspoken Sales Have Been “Lackluster”, Square Enix Confirmed; Mid-Sized Games Haven’t Performed Well https://wccftech.com/forspoken-sales-have-been-lackluster-sq...

Re: Mario Is Moving Away from Mobile Games, Reveals Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto

#56

Post by AraceliHarker »

Mr. Miyamoto says that "Nintendo's core strategy is a hardware and software integrated gaming experience". But I don't buy it. I don't think that the success of Switch had anything to do with the Joy-Con, which offered me nothing but gimmicky games like 1-2-3 Switch or ARMS or Nintendo Labo. No, what I liked about Switch was the simple fact that I could pay once and play rich games on both handheld and console modes, unlike the smartphone games that nickel-and-dime me every time. I hope that the successor of Switch will be more orthodox and less gimmicky.

Re: Mario Is Moving Away from Mobile Games, Reveals Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto

#57

Post by AraceliHarker »

dragontamer wrote: post #13

Isn't "Fire Emblem: Heroes" doing pretty well in the mobile space though? Decidedly not "Mario", but still Nintendo. There's also Pokemon: GO, though "The Pokemon Company" is only partially controlled by Nintendo. (The non-nintendo bits could be pushing mobile gaming). I'd be surprised if Nintendo pulled out entirely --- I can see how Fire Emblem's brand works better with microtransactions than Mario does.

I know that Fire Emblem Heroes is very profitable because it uses the gacha system. But I also know that it is a drop in the ocean compared to Nintendo's own console game business.

Re: Mario Is Moving Away from Mobile Games, Reveals Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto

#58

Post by fortissimohn »

asdff wrote: post #12
parker_mountain wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a mild inclusion of a luxury car brand. I don't think it really hurt nintendo.

My head is spinning trying to fit Mario's GLE purchase into the canon

You don't remember the crossover episode with Dominic Toretto?

Re: Mario Is Moving Away from Mobile Games, Reveals Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto

#60

Post by asdff »

awelxtr wrote: post #35
asdff wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This could have been the perfect opportunity to flip the mobile model. Screw it, charge $30 for the game and let it be a one time purchase, no micro transactions aside from content like new maps years from now, and no free version. People will still buy it because its mariokart, just like they buy the $60 version for their $300 switch, or how they buy skyrim 4x for each platform it gets rereleased on. These major dev…

While thank god the offerings of premium games are becoming more numerous by the year a minuscule minority go to the play store to spend money and Nintendo knows that. It's curious to see square enix spitting $15 games one after the other after so much time, maybe they have found their niche?

I feel like it being nintendo, its a different economic context than it being a random game dev with no clout or recognizable IP. If people want to play a game on the iphone, they can find a thousand plus competitors of similar games. If they want to play mario, or pokemon, or legend of zelda, they have to get it from nintendo, and will pay whatever nintendo asks. It seems square enix might have realized this if they are in this $15 model now.
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