Nintendo’s Miyamoto Says Smartphones Won’t Be Mario’s Main Platform – Nintendo

In an interview with diverseNintendo’s legendary video game creator Shigeru Miyamoto stated that “Having Mario in smartphone games will never be the company’s primary option”. Instead, he said Nintendo’s strategy for the future is “an integrated gaming experience across hardware and software.”

Miyamoto’s comments didn’t come as a surprise, considering that Mario’s latest mobile game, Dr. Mario World was pulled from the market just two years after its release. 2016’s Super Mario Run brought in $60 million in its first year of release, while Mario Kart Tour has brought in $300 million so far. In contrast, Nintendo has earned more than $3 billion so far from Mario Kart 8 for Wii U and Switch.

Miyamoto stated that since how to control the main character is a key part of the game experience, smartphone development is an issue. “When we spotted the opportunity to make Mario games for the smartphone—a more common general device—it was hard to say what that game should be,” he said. “That’s why I took over as director of Super Mario Run, to be able to translate the Nintendo hardware experience to smart hardware.”

Miyamoto has not worked on other Nintendo smartphone initiatives, such as Animal Crossing Pocket Camp and Fire Emblem Heroes. The latter is by far Nintendo’s highest-grossing mobile game, passing $1 billion in June last year, according to SensorTower. Miyamoto declined to say when the next Super Mario game will arrive, but “The Super Mario Bros.” starring Chris Pratt is expected in theaters around the world today to lukewarm reviews.