The passing of then-Nintendo president Satoru Iwata in 2015 was a tough one to stomach: He was the company’s leader since he became president in 2002. But still, Nintendo had to move on, naming Tatsumi Kimishima, who was the the president of Nintendo of America from 2002 to 2006, as his successor. Now there’s even more turnover in the president position, as Kimishima announced recently that he would retire in June. Taking his place is Shuntaro Furukawa, who is a board member for both Nintendo and The Pokémon Company, and he has some big plans.
In a new interview with Nikkei (via IGN), Furukawa says he wants Nintendo to have a much bigger presence on your phone, saying he wants Nintendo’s mobile games to be a 100 billion yen (over $910 million) business: “From what I can see, smartphone games are the ones I want to expand the most. The idea that something will emerge that transforms into something big, in the same manner as game consoles, is the defining motive of the Nintendo business.”
There’s already evidence of this mindset: It was previously reported that Mario Kart Tour, a mobile game, is aiming for a March 2019 release, and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp was released in late 2017. Nintendo had some major mobile success stories with Pokémon Go and Super Mario Run, so the potential for some hit phone games is definitely there. All that’s left to do now is see if an increased focus on the mobile market can turn that part of Nintendo’s strategy into a near-billion-dollar business.
What Nintendo characters would you like to see get their own games on your phone? Or rather, do you think Nintendo could launch a major franchise on mobile? Let’s speculate in the comments below!
Featured image: Nintendo
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