Fans of mobile gaming will be happy to hear that Nintendo has designs to launch a steady stream of mobile games in the years to come.
According to Reuters, Nintendo announced that it plans on releasing two or three mobile every year, a day after the Japanese video games maker disappointed investors with a one third cut to its full year operating profit outlook.
Nintendo Co. President Tatsumi Kimishima told reporters the company is committed to delivering more content for smartphones, noting that the success of Pokémon Go boosted sales of other Pokémon games and of 3DS handhelds.
Kimishima said interest was growing for Pokémon among young children, including those who had never played the game before but we’re now playing with parents who grew up with Pokémon. Making Nintendo games available on smart devices was also wooing younger players, he said.
In 2015, Nintendo stated it expects to release five apps by the end of March 2017. Nintendo has already confirmed that Animal Crossing the mobile game will be delayed until at least April 2017. So that leaves three titles between Miitomo, Super Mario Run, which has already released for iOS but is due out on Android in March and Fire Emblem Heroes which launches this week.
Fire Emblem Heroes, Nintendo’s first free to play mobile game will be available tomorrow on iOS and Android. There have been no details regarding the fifth mobile app Nintendo planned to release by this March.
Nintendo resisted switching to games on cellphones for years, fearing that the switch could erode sales of its consoles. But it made its big push into mobile with Super Mario Run for iOS. It has recorded 78 million downloads, according to the company.
Also Nintendo announced the production of the Wii U home console has ended for all markets. The company said earlier it planned to end Wii U production but had not given a date.