Correction: This article originally interpreted Asako’s remarks to mean that all upcoming Nintendo mobile games would use different genres. That isn’t necessarily the case. We apologize for the error.
When Nintendo finally enters the mobile gaming market later this year, it will try to have something for everybody.
The company is creating five games for mobile hitting a variety of genres, according to remarks by DeNA West chief executive officer Shintaro Asako at the Pocket Gamer Connects event in San Francisco today. These games will all use existing Nintendo properties to appeal to existing gamers. The publisher revealed in March that it will expand to start building apps for iOS and Android rather than continuing building software exclusively for Nintendo hardware. With consumers spending more than $30 billion on smartphone and tablet games worldwide, this move is widely seen as the House of Mario’s attempt to stay relevant in a changing marketplace.
Asako’s statements went beyond simply mentioning that Nintendo is building five games.
“I understand some people like RPGs, casual games,” the executive said. “That’s why we decided to work together to create five games, hitting on different genre-utilizing IPs. We want to make sure out of those five IP that we can end up attracting hundreds of millions of people.”
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Beyond talking about the games themselves, Asako also reconfirmed that Nintendo is handling all of the creative work. The publisher, which is responsible for some of the most beloved games ever made, is designing the gameplay, art, and more. DeNA is only building the technology that enables these games to run as live services on mobile.
“Nintendo has by far the best gaming IP,” said Asako. “DeNA’s expertise is definitely backend.”
Nintendo still hasn’t announced its first mobile game, but it has repeatedly said they will come this year. In May, the publisher revealed that Mario Kart designer Hideki Konno is in charge of the mobile gaming division. Seeing as that is one of the best-selling Nintendo titles, it suggests that the company is taking this new initiative seriously.