Nintendo Doesn’t See Much of a Future for Mario on Mobile, Miyamoto Says

Nintendo’s track record with games on mobile devices has been a little spotty, to say the very least, and that’s something that has been reflected in Mario games as well. While Mario Kart Tour got off to a strong start upon its 2019 release and still continues to be supported, other titles have been less successful, with Nintendo having confirmed that Super Mario Run performed below expectations, and Dr. Mario World getting abruptly taken down nearly a couple of years ago.

It’s unsurprising, then, that the company doesn’t see too much of a future for the property specifically where mobile devices are concerned. In a recent interview with Variety, Super Mario creator and legendary game designer Shigeru Miyamoto said as much. “Mobile apps will not be the primary path of future Mario games,” he said.

Miyamoto went on to talk about the development of Super Mario Run, and the challenges that it faced during development, with Nintendo looking to tailor the experience around mobile hardware and its requirements.

“Nintendo’s core strategy is a hardware and software integrated gaming experience,” he said. “The intuitiveness of the control is a part of the gaming experience. When we explored the opportunity of making Mario games for the mobile phone — which is a more common, generic device — it was challenging to determine what that game should be. That is why I played the role of director for Super Mario Run, to be able to translate that Nintendo hardware experience into the smart devices.”

Of course, Mario’s bread and butter has always been – and will likely continue to be – console games, and though there’s nothing new that has been announced yet on that front, Miyamoto has suggested that that could change in the future, having asked fans to “stay tuned for future Nintendo Directs.” Read more on that through here.