What games should Nintendo put on Mobile?

[skywake]

So the big news is that Nintendo has teamed up with DeNA to start putting their IP on mobile. They specifically said in the announcement that they didn't want to kill their business selling premium content on dedicated hardware. They also said that they were not going to go down the heavily exploitative versions of the free-to-play route. They also said that these games wouldn't simply be ports of existing games, it'd be entirely new content. So given all that (or if you wish ignoring all that) what do you reckon we'll get? What do you WANT to see?

 

Here's what I want to see......

 

Some Nintendo themed match-3 puzzle games

As much as I hate to admit it I'm really, really into their little free-to-play game on 3DS called Pokemon Shuffle. It's basically the same old candy-crush style game, including the limited amount of turns that slowly replenish, except with Pokemon. The same rock-paper-scissors style thing that's in Pokemon exists so that when you match three or more water Pokemon while facing a rock? It's super effective. At the end of the level you have a chance to catch that Pokemon. What your chances are depends on how well you did.

 

Advance Wars 

I love Advance Wars, it's fantastic. But the problem with the game is that it's kinda impossible to find half an hour to sit down with someone and play with. If it was mobile? I could have it in my pocket and receive notification when my opponent has taken a turn. I'd then spend about a minute taking my turn and then wait for my opponent to take a move. I've played quite a few mobile strategy games that work like this but none of them have been quite as good as Advance Wars. Make it cross-buy and cross-play across mobile, portable and console? I'm already sold. Just don't abuse the micro-transactions.

 

Companion Apps

I don't want to see dumbed down, micro-transaction laden mobile versions of Animal Crossing or Pokemon. But if they were to make little companion apps and do them well? I wouldn't mind an item trading post linked to social media for Animal Crossing. Maybe some way to find a good deal on some furniture and then re-arrange my furniture? Or an app that lets me trade and battle Pokemon online? As long as the games don't become "pay to win" I don't have a problem with it.

 

Brain Training, Nintendogs, Rhythm Heaven

You might not care about them but these games were basically built for mobile. Put them on iOS for a couple of bucks, in some cases paired back and in others add some largely-cosmetic micro-transactions. Easy as. These games never seemed like dedicated hardware was their home.

[Thebman712]

all of them

if nintendo released a ds/phone it would be amazing

and if they just put nintendo games on mobile, they would make a killing

[Happypap55]

I think it making HD versions of older games would be really cool. Mario Kart 64 and OoT ran like a charm on my Xperia Z1.

[XTankSlayerX]

What we want: All the games

 

What we're going to get: Games no one likes, no ports.

[RevoltTrain]

ALL OF THE GAMES

[skywake]

IMO Nintendo putting their classic games on mobile for $1 each with virtual buttons would be a pretty horrible thing. Mario 64 or Ocarina of Time HD remakes on PC for $10 including cross-buy for their own platforms? I'd be first in line. Mobile? meh. Not to mention that if you could get a dodgy, free to play version of Mario Kart on mobile why would you buy a 3DS? They'd be putting a rope around their necks.

[Happypap55]

IMO Nintendo putting their classic games on mobile for $1 each with virtual buttons would be a pretty horrible thing. Mario 64 or Ocarina of Time HD remakes on PC for $10 including cross-buy for their own platforms? I'd be first in line. Mobile? meh. Not to mention that if you could get a dodgy, free to play version of Mario Kart on mobile why would you buy a 3DS? They'd be putting a rope around their necks.

You can hook Bluetooth controllers up to your phone really easily and get a clip for a few dollars that puts it right ontop of your controller.

http://www.amazon.ca/Nyko-Smart-Clip-PlayStation-4/dp/B00FLLFGO8 This is a more expensive one, but it's the same thing.

[skywake]

You can hook Bluetooth controllers up to your phone really easily and get a clip for a few dollars that puts it right ontop of your controller.

You can but most people don't. Also I'd wager that they'll still want to sell tens of millions of copies of portable versions of Mario Kart, Mario, Pokemon, Zelda and Animal Crossing for $40 each. This is an attempt to expand their audience in the hopes of pushing people up to their more premium software. They don't want to water their content down so that people move the other way.

[Dredgy]

2D platformer....I'm assuming every knows which one. 

[Dredgy]

IMO Nintendo putting their classic games on mobile for $1 each with virtual buttons would be a pretty horrible thing. Mario 64 or Ocarina of Time HD remakes on PC for $10 including cross-buy for their own platforms? I'd be first in line. Mobile? meh. Not to mention that if you could get a dodgy, free to play version of Mario Kart on mobile why would you buy a 3DS? They'd be putting a rope around their necks.

 

Make that $40, and I'd still be on board.

[GhettoDetonator]

Every game! All of the games! it would be amazing

[skywake]

Here's some bits of interview with Nintendo's CEO Iwata on what they expect to make, big points highlighted in bold:

Full interview: http://time.com/3748920/nintendo-mobile-games/

 

In the digital world, content has the tendency to lose value, and especially on smart devices, we recognize that it is challenging to maintain the value of our content. It is because of this recognition that we have maintained our careful stance. However, we have been seriously and continuously considering how we should make use of smart devices. We made the announcement yesterday because we finally found solutions to the problems we identified. More specifically, we will not merely port games developed for our dedicated game systems to smart devices just as they are—we will develop brand new software which perfectly matches the play style and control mechanisms of smart devices.

 

We have come to the stage where we can say that we will be able to develop and operate software which, in the end, will not hurt the value of Nintendo IP but, rather, will become an opportunity for the great number of people around the world who own smart devices—but do not have interest in dedicated video game hardware—to be interested in Nintendo IP and eventually to become fans of our dedicated game systems. Yesterday, we finally came to the stage where we were able to announce the alliance with DeNA, which plays a key role in these solutions.

 

Nintendo does not intend to choose payment methods that may hurt Nintendo’s brand image or our IP, which parents feel comfortable letting their children play with. Also, it’s even more important for us to consider how we can get as many people around the world as possible to play Nintendo smart device apps, rather than to consider which payment system will earn the most money.

 

I have never intended to dismiss the entertainment experiences that people are enjoying on smart devices or any other media. On the other hand, my understanding is that, on smart devices, the main demand is for very accessible games which smart device users can easily start and easily finish. These are not necessarily the characteristics that people demand from games for dedicated video game systems. Actually, this is one of the reasons why we believe that we should not port games for dedicated game systems to smart devices just as they are because doing so will not fully satisfy the needs of the smart device consumers. In other words, even when multiple systems can run games, I believe the entertainment experiences that the consumers demand vary from system to system.

 

Most mobile game makers who have yielded tangible business results appear to be dependent on a single hit title. For Nintendo, being able to make use of the enormous IP library that we have carefully nurtured for more than 30 years is a major strength. We would like to create several hit titles simultaneously by effectively leveraging the appeal of Nintendo IP, which many people around the world are familiar with. On the other hand, as I said during our telephone interview, the value of content generally tends to weaken in the digital world, and especially on smart devices, it is not easy to maintain the value of content. We aim to explore ways where we will not devalue Nintendo IP and, rather, we can further improve the value.

 

The reason why I announced “NX,” which by the way, is not directly related to our alliance with DeNA, was because I wanted to avoid any misunderstandings such as, “Nintendo might have lost its passion for the dedicated game system business,” and because I wanted many people to understand that Nintendo will continue its dedicated game system business with even stronger passion and motivation. I am sorry, but as I said during the press conference yesterday, we cannot make any further announcements about “NX” until next year.