If you missed it last night Nintendo had a Nintendo Direct presentation on one of their most beloved IPs, Animal Crossing. This game has been around for some time and is one of the more relaxing titles that they release. If you haven't played it, you play as a character that has a house and is located in the woods with friendly animal neighbors. You go around helping your neighbors out and in return getting items that you can use to decorate your house or the land around it. Think Harvest Moon with less emphasis on farming and more on getting to know the people around you.
They had announced it before the direct but this one is going to be a mobile-only launch. This isn't so surprising as we have seen titles like Fire Emblem and Mario make an appearance on your phone already. None of these games have been released as a full title game but more of a taste of the universe with some new mechanics to make the game more mobile friendly.
I think Nintendo nails the mobile market for several reasons. First, their IP is well known and they have built a great reputation for solid games. They also have an extremely large player base so even though only a small fraction of people ever make purchases for games on their phone, that small fraction is still a lot of people. I covered this a little in a post I made a month back.
On top of the fan base, they have already shown they can make a decent mobile game. Mario Run was well put together especially for a mobile game. It was short but fun and had a lot of room for mastering and improvement. They even just recently updated it with a whole new set of mini levels called 10x that I have found myself picking up and playing. Fire Emblem heroes stole a lot of my time in it was a nice light version of the game as well. I played it for some time and it's still on my phone. Neither of these titles were fully fleshed out games like we know on console but they worked for the platform they were released on.
The best part about both these titles is they were clean. Clean in that they were not bogged down with the mobile garbage that it seems every game is. Yes, there is premium currency but you by it out of enjoyment rather than a need. Its great gameplay that makes the purchase worth it. It never feels like you need it.
While they already showed there is going to be premium currency the way you can earn it in game tells me they have figured this recipe out. They can continue to be Nintendo and at the same time enter the mobile market without dirtying their name. This is done by offering what Nintendo constantly does, which is good titles. I am a fan of the Animal Crossing series and because of how Nintendo has handled themselves so far, I know it will be a fun light version of the full game. It won't be extraordinary but it also most likely won't be a letdown.
They had announced it before the direct but this one is going to be a mobile-only launch. This isn't so surprising as we have seen titles like Fire Emblem and Mario make an appearance on your phone already. None of these games have been released as a full title game but more of a taste of the universe with some new mechanics to make the game more mobile friendly.
I think Nintendo nails the mobile market for several reasons. First, their IP is well known and they have built a great reputation for solid games. They also have an extremely large player base so even though only a small fraction of people ever make purchases for games on their phone, that small fraction is still a lot of people. I covered this a little in a post I made a month back.
On top of the fan base, they have already shown they can make a decent mobile game. Mario Run was well put together especially for a mobile game. It was short but fun and had a lot of room for mastering and improvement. They even just recently updated it with a whole new set of mini levels called 10x that I have found myself picking up and playing. Fire Emblem heroes stole a lot of my time in it was a nice light version of the game as well. I played it for some time and it's still on my phone. Neither of these titles were fully fleshed out games like we know on console but they worked for the platform they were released on.
The best part about both these titles is they were clean. Clean in that they were not bogged down with the mobile garbage that it seems every game is. Yes, there is premium currency but you by it out of enjoyment rather than a need. Its great gameplay that makes the purchase worth it. It never feels like you need it.
While they already showed there is going to be premium currency the way you can earn it in game tells me they have figured this recipe out. They can continue to be Nintendo and at the same time enter the mobile market without dirtying their name. This is done by offering what Nintendo constantly does, which is good titles. I am a fan of the Animal Crossing series and because of how Nintendo has handled themselves so far, I know it will be a fun light version of the full game. It won't be extraordinary but it also most likely won't be a letdown.
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