Nintendo is Failing on Mobile...THIS is Why | Mobile Gaming Podcast S2E2

[@NimbleThor]

I think Tiny perfectly summed it up: Nintendo's console gamers expected something, and they didn't get it. Mobile gamers expected something, and they didn't get it either. So ultimately, nobody is perfectly happy. Thankfully, most of their games are still good 😊🙌

[@bruhname2072]

The main downside that I had with MarioKart Tour for example is that the game feels more like a mobile game than a an actual console game (graphics and gameplay wise). This game lacks polish compared to its console counterpart and the fact that you can't choose/create your own races and game modes is another downside. Also you should do a video about the downfall of Gameloft, because I didn't heard any major mobile game from them since the launch of Asphalt 9.

[@NimbleThor]

Yeah, it's definitely lacking behind its console counterpart, I agree. And oh yes, Gameloft.... Dang, they used to make great games before they went all in on monetization. Such a shame. That's a good idea, mate.

[@FoloComic]

Theyre working on consoles as I have heard.

[@bruhname2072]

@@FoloComic who ?

[@FoloComic]

@@bruhname2072 Gameloft

[@HRGiger88]

I love these videos. Is there any way you can start posting what game you're playing in the background? Or point me where to look if you already do? Keep up the great work!

[@NimbleThor]

Thanks, mate. I'm really glad to hear you're liking them. And sorry for the slow reply here - only just now saw this comment :) And yes, I'll try to remember to add that in the video somewhere - good point. In this case, the game is Catalyst Black, by the way :)

[@uncaringbear]

I played Fire Emblem Heroes for about 3 years and Animal Crossing Pocket Camp since it launched. The difference between the two games is quite stark. FEH constantly has new content and game modes released on a regular basis. Pocket Camp, on the other hand absolutely stagnates when it comes to content. Yes, they release new furniture and items regularly, but they have been running the same three events over and over for the past 4 years without change. The only new 'content' that they've released in recent years were new premium plans for players to buy. It's incredible how lazy they've been with that game, squandering a great IP. FEH has its faults, but their developers put exponentially more effort into their game compared to Pocket Camp. I suspect Intelligent Systems, the developers behind Fire Emblem, have more independence from Nintendo and their dinosaur-like strategy when it comes to mobile and thus are more willing to make the most of mobile. When it comes to their own inhouse IPs like Mario and Animal Crossing, Nintendo will always half-ass their efforts on mobile because they only care about their console efforts. Nintendo is hopelessly behind the times. If they ever wanted to have another billion dollar mobile game, they could easily do it but they're forever locked into their console mindset.

[@NimbleThor]

I think you're absolutely right that the devs behind Fire Emblem have more freedom - and maybe that's why that game succeeds where the others don't. Very good point - didn't think about that perspective. And ye, I agree - as long as they keep focusing only on their consoles, their mobile titles (at least most of them) will lack behind the competition. Such a shame...

[@LostHope84]

Mario Run was 9.99 after the free trial. It’s one of their worst attempts because of it. If it was f2p with cheap mtx for lives or something, it would be doing Pokémon go numbers. It gets no updates, no events, etc. nobody plays it anymore.

[@NimbleThor]

Yeah, I think you're right... that's probably the biggest mistake they made with Mario Run. Big missed opportunity!

[@mregg304]

Hi Nimble! Can you give suggestions on what idle games to play? Currently playing melvor and legends of idleon! Also great video! Thanks 😊

[@NimbleThor]

So sorry I didn't see this comment before now, mate. Maybe check out something like Darkzone, Almost a Hero, Idle Skilling, or Epic Monster TD?

[@timrecords6875]

Whos the other ytber speaking here, hes got alot of insight and i want to sub!

[@beaniebandit]

another great video! this is a great idea to move the podcast to this format

[@NimbleThor]

Yoo yo! Thank you, mate :D Happy to hear you like the new format too. I've started calling it "season 2, episode x" now - to indicate that it's new but still part of a series. Thanks as always for being here. I always look forward to your messages :) Have a fantastic weekend, mate.

[@HRGiger88]

Anyone know what game he's playing during this?

[@jvaq3d999]

catalyst black...

[@NimbleThor]

Thanks for the answer, I for some reason didn't see his comment :)

[@ishin7833]

This a long comment because the theme is interesting I'm not a Nintendo fan and not sure if my hypothesis is alright but let me drop in my five cents: It's all about the mobile game genre they choose and how they can apply the existing monetization practices over their existing IPs without really damaging the brand. And here's the deal: the Fire Emblem franchise fits the Gacha Hero Collector RPG genre just right! And, oh, boy, the main audience for the game is ready to pay for hero collectors. If we'll look up the revenue breakdown for Fire Emblem on iOS, then we will find,at a large portion of the player base are Japanese players (34% of the player base) and their average revenue spent is 80$ per player. That's a lot of depth a Gacha game genre can provide. And Fire Emblem can support that design very well (which also suits the Japanese whale's play style very well). Japan has produced 55% of all time LTV of Fire Emblem on iOS ($136,667,486) And if we'll look at the Mario Cart, then the numbers are a lot different. There, the average lifetime revenue for a player is ~2$, and that's probably the best thing they can do with their IP and the game genre without really damaging the brand. And I'm not even speaking about the alternatives the Nintendo fans might have. By the way, do they have rewarded ads in Mario Kart? I don't know but my bet is no. And this genre grosses a lot from ads. By the way, if they do, then maybe the real gross for those games is a lot more since the ad revenue isn't really checked that easily. And even at this point, I wouldn't claim that Mario Kart is a failure since I don't know how much traffic there is from organic sources. Maybe it's almost organic and if that's true then it's a great attempt in expanding their brand coverage while receiving quite nice money in the process. One more thing about both games. I've just checked the monthly revenue on iOS for both games (FE and MK) and they've been grossing the same amounts in the recent month but in different ways, so we probably can say that FE is in decline (revenue goes down and there are big revenue spikes from sales) and MK can grow a bit more (shows a very stable revenue trickle). The data is taken here: saas.gamerefinery.com/#/game/view/5893889904964827e51b7b57/revenue-download-estimates/ FE saas.gamerefinery.com/#/game/view/5d8b5a789890a2619afee85a/revenue-download-estimates/ MK And if we speak about what Nintendo games can bring them a lot of money without damaging the brands, then I would say they should go for the game genres that are catered to collectors and are already defined: Gacha Games, match-3 RPGs, and other stuff like that. The players in those defined genres won't be really upset with a big monetization depth. And I would try an IP that can be successfully incorporated into such genres. The Fire Emblem was a great example. I would lean toward their RPG IPs popular in Japan. Some greedy ideas that might work only because there will be a Nintendo tag on them: 1. A multiverse gacha hero collector RPG, seems legit. See this as an example of the idea: play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kabam.bullseye&hl=en&gl=US 2. Genshin Impact but Zelda. Steal the idea from the thief. Might be risky due to the astonishing success of the latter. 3. Same multiverse stuff from item 1, but it's a match3 RPG instead. play.google.com/store/search?q=empires+and+puzzles&c=apps&hl=en&gl=US

[@NimbleThor]

Awesome reply, mate :) First of all, I think you're right that the genres they pick for their IPs has a big influence on this - maybe more so than most of their other decisions. I don't think there are rewarded video ads in Mario Kart, which means they're definitely missing out on revenue (from a company perspective). You also bring up a good point about how much organic vs. paid traffic these games generate. I do think most of their users arrive there organically, which means their costs are significantly lower than other games' user acquisition costs. That's a good point. Revenue isn't everything. Regardless of revenue, I am surprised, however, that Mario Kart doesn't have more players than they do. Of course I don't know the actual player numbers, but the estimates are far off from what Nintendo could do with that game. That's my thesis, at least. Can't prove it, of course :) Uh, and I "love" those ideas. Them doing a multiverse-like gacha hero collector would have big potential. Of course, as a player, I'd rather not see them do that. But I agree it has financial potential from their perspective. But yes, a Genshin-like Zelda game would be even better. Focus the monetization on skins and you'll have a great game. We can only hope that they'll one day make that, haha :P

[@ishin7833]

​ @NimbleThor To be honest, I can't even imagine the number of people to be fans of Mario Kart and at the same time want to play the mobile versions. I would assume, that the most hardcore Mario (and Nintendo) fans that can pay for their games are older people, and not really kids. And those people, probably have a very specific vision of what a Mario game should be, so they might perceive the mobile versions of those IPs as non-purist. And they are also probably not really phone players, not a large fraction of them. And the modern kids, they'll have their own popular IPs that are more suited to them than Mario, for example. Those are my thoughts.

[@NimbleThor]

Yeah, it's a bit like how Tiny said that nobody is really happy with the games. Not because they're bad games. Just because they aren't truly made for console players and they aren't truly made for young kids either. So it falls somewhere in between. I agree 👍

[@onurag7176]

The games on the mobile don't provide the same experience as on consoles They just dont want to because if they do then people will not buy their consoles The games they provide on mobile are just crappy versions of the other

[@NimbleThor]

That's very true, yes. Unfortunately.

[@xxhierophantxx]

I like catalyst black

[@RozkoPink]

Mario kart was just agaisnt bots. U don’t play any real people

[@NimbleThor]

It WAS just against bots in the beginning, yes, but that part has changed since then :) It still uses bots to fill lobbies, but you can play other players (like your friends).

[@emiel333]

Haha, funny video. Nintendo is a brutal company. If anything they released doesn’t meet their expectations, then it’s very simple. They will take it down to the grave. As simple as that. I grew up with the Game & Watch, NES, Game Boy, SNES you know the stuff. Also Sega, Atari and dozens of other tech company’s made consoles. Still, Nintendo ruled, and they still rule. What annoys me in your respectful podcast is as follows. The Switch is still EMPEROR IN SALES. NINTENDO FOCUS ON PRODUCTS THAT IN ANY GIVEN PARADIGM MAKES THE MOST MONEY. DO YOU HAVE STOCKS? DO YOU KNOW ANYTHING IN GENERAL JAPAN ECONOMY RELATED? AT INVESTOR MEETINGS THEY PROVIDE THE STATISTICS. IF WE LOOK AT CASH ON HAND, NINTENDO IS THE RICHEST COMPANY OF JAPAN. And yes 👍 I’m triggered by this video, 😈

[@NimbleThor]

Oh yes, Nintendo is awesome - I agree with that. And the Switch is a great product :) Some of their mobile games are good too - but they just don't dominate the mobile gaming industry as they could. Lots of potential in the Nintendo IPs. It's of course partly because they fear making great mobile games would hinder Switch sales - and I think they're right in that fear. But I'd still love to see what they could do on mobile if they really wanted to. Maybe one day :)

[@Redpanda1214]

Mario kart tour and fire emblem in mobile was trash better play emulator in mobile

[@wryly8762]

Agree

[@NimbleThor]

I think many feel that way, yeah. Mario Kart Tour thankfully got better over time. But yeah, it's not the same game as on consoles.

[@starboy7151]

But Like playing a game with a phone or a Tablet is kinda Dumb not just because its alot much smaller than a 12+ inch screen in comparison with a laptop or a TV especially which is normally 19-50 inches but is actually cuz of its a touchscreen and playing games can never be so easy or simple with that kind of controls aka with virtual buttons your mind can't just be accustomed enough to sliding and moving a/with virtual joystick or virtual cross buttons nor xyza buttons or whatever it is called but but but using games with a gyro movement Sensor kinda is quite abit fun cause its more natural for what it is and how it works for example a driving or racing game I had played Games Like jetpack joyride which is a simple touch game which works decent with a touch screen cuz its simple and all you need to do is tap to do a jump or fly and release to walk/run subway surfer a fun game too with simular controla but you can swipe Left and right with obstacles such aa trains and a track bar That You can jump over with a security guard chasing closely right behind you however best game I had played on a mobile is zomebie highway which is you drive and has weapons That You can kill zombies with as they jump towards your vehicle to Get Them off it uses a motion/movement sensor for Driving Left or right

[@emiel333]

So your name is Ravel? Eyes 2 cm from the 100 INCH 8K TV?! HAHAHA 😛