Nintendo’s mobile efforts have been a little inconsistent so far. While games like Fire Emblem Heroes and Dragalia Lost have done reasonably well, and contributed to few hundred million dollars in annual review to Nintendo’s bottom line last year, on the whole, it is telling when Fortnite on iOS alone makes more money than all Nintendo mobile games put together.
Put simply, the company is hoping for bigger hits on mobile than what’s they have going right now. Speaking to Japanese outlet Nikkan, Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa noted that the company is currently working on multiple smartphone applications, and hopes that these new upcoming games will be “huge hits”. According to Furukawa, this is important, because he expects smartphone gaming to become a “pillar” for Nintendo, in addition to their main console business. That said, he did admit that this could take quite a while.
Personally, as long as Nintendo’s mobile games are kept separate from their console efforts, I have no issues with the company continuing to put some out. If nothing else, it quells the cries from investors who would otherwise want them to go third party.