Nintendo feeling confident after the launches of "Super Mario Run" and "Fire Emblem: Heroes"

In an interview with Time Magazine, Mr. Kimishima discussed the strategic importance of Miitomo, Super Mario Run and Fire Emblem: Heroes. Each of the three games were elaborate experiments with different objectives. The 18 million downloads of Miitomo proved that Nintendo characters are interesting to the mobile audience, while the vastly different monetization techniques in Super Mario Run and Fire Emblem: Heroes were used to determine the best way for gaining income from users.

The results from these "probes" have been encouraging – Super Mario Run has been downloaded 78 million times on iOS, bringing in $53 million in the process. As you may know, the game doesn't have ads or in-app purchases, but does require a $10 unlocking fee for any player that wants to go past its third level. As for how many people actually committed to the purchase, Tatsumi Kimishima said:


This relatively high asking price has been described as a viable way to do business by Kimishima, but he also added that it is a “new way of monetization” that is yet to become popular.

Speaking of popular, the all too familiar “free-to-play plus in-app purchases” model has been the way to go for Fire Emblem: Heroes. 8 days after its release, the game has raked in $5 million for the Kyoto-based company.

As a result of these experiments, Nintendo has gained valuable experience and confidence in its efforts to become a major competitor on the mobile scene.

The overall ambitions for Nintendo's mobile business were also discussed in the interview. Kimishima explained that there are three main goals. The first is to push the company's IP to a large new audience that may not have experienced its ecosystem before. Secondly, Nintendo wants to make its mobile business a "pillar in and of itself," alongside its consoles and games. The last goal is to create a type of synergy by using mobile gaming to increase the sales of other titles that have the same characters.