Super Mario Run – Nintendo is not interested in fishing for whales

Freemium games like Fire Emblem Heroes are going to be the exception, not the rule, when it comes to Nintendo apps.

Nintendo has admitted that smartphone app Super Mario Run, which has only recently been released for Android, did not meet sales expectations. But the company is refusing to admit its pricing was a mistake.

Rather than a freemium model, where the game is free and you have to pay for in-game items or the chance to immediately play again, Super Mario Run requires just a one-off fee of £7.99.

Although that seems more than fair to most gamers, since there’s no temptation to spend over the odds with in-app purchases, many casual gamers consider it a rip-off and the game has a surprisingly low user rating.




The more recent Fire Emblem Heroes is a freemium game though, and according to the Nikkei Asian Review it has enjoyed the long-term success that has eluded Super Mario Run.

But Nintendo is sticking to its guns and has said that Fire Emblem Heroes is the ‘outlier’, not Super Mario Run. ‘We honestly prefer the Super Mario Run model’, a spokesperson is quoted as saying.

Nintendo’s argument to their shareholders is that the primary goal of the apps is not to make money, but to raise awareness of its consoles games and its characters in general.

They worry that trying to fleece customers with microtransactions undermines the value of those characters, and ultimately Nintendo’s business as a whole.

All of which seems very wise, but it’s a surprising comment to make given the next smartphone app is set to be based on Animal Crossing, which you’d imagine as being better suited to the freemium model than any other Nintendo franchise.

So the question is will Nintendo be able to resist the temptation? Or will it be two outliers to one?

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