Nintendo has generated practically $2.2 billion from cellular video games up to now

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In This Edition
– The shock launch of Fire Emblem Shadows
– Best performing Nintendo cellular video games
– Remedy points revenue warning

Hello good day!

And welcome to a different version of The Game Business. Today, we’re Nintendo’s latest return to cellular video games, with some unique information on how the corporate has carried out on this house up to now.

On the podcast, we’re joined by MobileGamer.biz founder and editor Neil Long to debate this. Neil can also be the previous editor of Official Nintendo Magazine and labored at Apple throughout Nintendo’s preliminary run of cellular video games, so is a perfect visitor for this chat.

We additionally dive into the latest challenges at Build A Rocket Boy, Remedy’s revenue warning and Supercell’s considerations about potential EU regulation.

You can hear or watch the podcast above (or by way of YouTube or your podcasting platform of alternative). Alternatively, take a look at the write-up under. Enjoy!

Last month Nintendo launched a brand-new cellular recreation: Fire Emblem Shadows.

It was a shock as a result of there hadn’t been a brand new Nintendo cellular recreation since Pikmin Bloom in 2021. Fire Emblem Shadows is considered one of simply two Nintendo cellular video games launched within the 2020s, whereas between 2016 and 2019, Nintendo had launched seven: Miitomo, Super Mario Run, Fire Emblem Heroes, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, Dragalia Lost, Mario Kart Tour and Dr Mario World.

The fates of these video games are additionally value paying consideration, too. Miitomo, Dr Mario World and Dragalia Lost have all been discontinued. Super Mario Run and Mario Kart Tour are maintained, however not obtain vital updates. Nintendo pivoted Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp right into a premium product, and is no-longer including new content material to that, both.

It seemed as if Nintendo was scaling again its cellular ambitions to deal with its Switch platform. Nintendo launched into its smartphone technique earlier than the Switch was launched, which went on to exceed all expectations (together with the corporate’s personal).

Does the discharge of Fire Emblem Shadows recommend a transfer again to cellular?

It’s value noting that regardless of Nintendo’s latest lack of cellular video games, it’s truly had some success within the sector, not less than relative to lots of different corporations. Nintendo has generated practically $2.2 billion in income throughout 9 cellular video games (Sensor Tower data).

The title that has pushed most of that’s truly Fire Emblem Shadows’ sister recreation, Fire Emblem Heroes. According to Sensor Tower, Fire Emblem Heroes has generated $1.193 billion in income, which suggests it’s considered one of Nintendo’s Top Ten most profitable video games of the final ten years.

So a lot of this income is coming from Japan. The US is the most important marketplace for Nintendo cellular recreation downloads, representing over 20% of all installs, with Japan at No.2 at 8%. But issues are reversed on the subject of income, with Japan representing practically 46% of all cash generated by Nintendo’s cellular titles (the US is at No.3 at 34% of income).

In that context, it makes strategic sense for Nintendo to deal with manufacturers, comparable to Fire Emblem, that probably attraction to its most profitable Japanese cellular viewers. However, in line with Sensor Tower, Fire Emblem Shadows has had a comparatively gradual begin, with 800,000 downloads producing $200,000. It’s value noting that Shadows is a social, multiplayer deduction recreation, and fairly totally different to its profitable sister title.

The launch of Fire Emblem Shadows could also be extra of an opportunistic, experimental launch, versus a major shift again in the direction of cellular video games. Even so, Nintendo has actively been investing in cellular during the last 12 months, simply in several methods. It launched the Nintendo Music app in October 2024 to distribute its personal soundtracks, and launched the Nintendo Today app this yr, which is a calendar designed to replace followers on Nintendo information. It has additionally launched Hey, Mario! in Japan, which is a free app aimed toward younger kids that includes taking part in round and poking Mario’s face.

And on the subject of present titles like Super Mario Run, which has 384 million downloads, or Mario Kart Tour, which has 290 million, Nintendo utilises these titles to assist promote related new releases. For instance, a sequence of challenges and in-game beauty gadgets had been added to Super Mario Run to advertise the launch of Donkey Kong Bananza on Switch 2 in July. And Mario Kart Tour obtained new costumes and karts to mark the launch of Mario Kart World on Switch 2 in June.

Nintendo’s method to cellular has actually modified. It has been taking a extra strategic (and complementary) method to growing new apps and video games, with its core groups targeted on the agency’s console enterprise.

On right this moment’s episode of The Game Business Show, we spoke to Neil Long, the founder and editor of MobileGamer.biz, who labored at Apple throughout Nintendo’s preliminary cellular releases and is the previous editor of Official Nintendo Magazine. He advised us that Nintendo has truly seen success in cellular total, however he believes that the corporate doesn’t really feel the should be as aggressive within the house as maybe it did again in 2016.

“If you look at the numbers, they’ve made billions of dollars out of mobile,” Long stated. “And for most companies that would be great, but Nintendo is a very different company. It ultimately has its core interest in selling consoles and making games for its own consoles, and not being beholden to platform holders like Apple and Google. [Nintendo doesn’t] have control over those platforms. Now Nintendo has movies and theme parks, they are in a position where they can afford to not worry about mobile too much. If the company wasn’t doing so great, like it wasn’t in 2014, 2015 and 2016, maybe they would show a bit more interest in mobile.”

The Game Business has teamed up with Sensor Tower to dive into simply how profitable (or not) Nintendo’s cellular titles are. This information consists of all Nintendo video games that generate income. Pokémon titles aren’t included on this evaluation, as these video games are owned and operated by The Pokémon Company.

The Biggest Nintendo Mobile Games (by income) – Sensor Tower

1. Fire Emblem Heroes
   Released: February 2017
   Status: Active
   Downloads: 19,000,000
   Revenue: $1,193,400,000

2. Mario Kart Tour
   Released: September 2019
   Status: Active, however no main updates
   Downloads: 290,700,000
   Revenue: $365,600,000

3. Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp
   Released: October 2017
   Status: Shifted to a premium mannequin, not up to date
   Downloads: 75,500,000
   Revenue: $349,800,000

4. Dragalia Lost
   Released: September 2018
   Status: Discontinued
   Downloads: 4,300,000
   Revenue: $167,100,000

5. Super Mario Run
   Released: September 2016
   Status: Active
   Downloads: 384,400,000
   Revenue: $96,600,000

6. Pikmin Bloom
   Released: October 2021
   Status: Active
   Downloads: 7,500,000
   Revenue: $84,800,000

7. Dr. Mario World
   Released: July 2019
   Status: Discontinued
   Downloads: 13,400,000
   Revenue: $13,800,000

8. Miitomo
   Released: March 2016
   Status: Discontinued
   Downloads: 20,800,000
   Revenue: $3,700,000

9. Fire Emblem Shadows
   Released: September 2025
   Status: Active
   Downloads: 800,000
   Revenue: $200,000

Thanks to Sensor Tower for the data.

PS5 unique Ghost of Yotei simply missed out on No.1 within the GSD European charts (digital + bodily), with opening week gross sales in-line with its predecessor: 2020’s PS4 hit Ghost of Tsushima.

Ghost of Tsushima was a shock success for Sony again in 2020, and launched in the course of the COVID-19 lockdown yr, which drove report numbers for online game gross sales.

Ghost of Yotei is the most important first-party PlayStation launch since Spider-Man 2 in October 2023.

The PS5 unique narrowly missed out on No.1, with EA Sports FC 26 holding on for a 3rd week on the prime. The soccer recreation’s customary version had solely launched the week earlier than, and gross sales are down 62% week-on-week.

New at No.3 is the Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 double pack for Nintendo Switch. It’s a comparatively tender launch for a Mario recreation, promoting round 1 / 4 of what the Super Mario 3D All-Stars assortment managed again in 2020 (TGB estimates). However, that is purely primarily based on bodily gross sales (Nintendo doesn’t share digital information with any charts agency), and it’s value noting that each video games had been available for purchase individually from the Nintendo eShop. What’s extra, the primary Galaxy recreation had already featured in that aforementioned 3D All-Stars Collection, whereas Galaxy 2 didn’t. So it might be that numerous Switch gamers selected to go digital with this launch as an alternative (and particularly, for Galaxy 2).

The Top Ten this week is stuffed with video games included within the Steam Autumn Sale. Doom Eternal (No.5) was diminished to £3.49, Far Cry Primal (No.6) had dropped to £2.49 and South Park: The Fractured But Whole was additionally on sale for £2.49.

As a outcome, new video games comparable to Silent Hill F and Sonic Racing CrossWorlds have fallen out of the Top 20 when it comes to models. However, when it comes to income they’ll nonetheless be discovered at No.7 for Silent Hill F and No.11 for Sonic Racing CrossWorlds.

European Top Ten Unit Sales (week ending October 5)

1. EA Sports FC 26 (-62%)
2. Ghost of Yotei (New)
3. Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 (New)*
4. Digimon Story: Time Stranger (New)
5. Doom Eternal (+8610%)
6. Far Cry Primal (+3060%)
7. Hogwarts Legacy (+177%)
8. Red Dead Redemption 2 (+342%)
9. South Park: The Fractured But Whole (+13256%)
10. Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles (New)

European Top Ten Revenue (week ending October 5)

1. EA Sports FC 26 (-63%)
2. Ghost of Yotei (New)
3. Digimon Story: Time Stranger (New)
4. Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 (New)*
5. Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles (New)
6. Borderlands 4 (-42%)
7. Silent Hill F (-83%)
8. Mario Kart World (+6%)
9. NBA 2K26 (-12%)
10. Assassin’s Creed Shadows (+23%)

*Digital information unavailable

For extra on the GSD information and the way to purchase the data your self. Head to gamesalesdata.com

• 2K has named former Apex Legends boss Ben Brinkman because the studio head for thirty first Union. The developer is engaged on Project ETHOS, which is a roguelike shooter that obtained combined suggestions final yr throughout a neighborhood playtest. This noticed the departure of thirty first Union founder Michael Condrey. Brinkman’s CV consists of management roles on Apex Legends and Call of Duty: Black Ops.

• Remedy issued a revenue warning after FBC Firebreak struggled to impress. The premium stay service recreation launched in June and located a robust viewers, however principally by way of PlayStation and Xbox’s subscription companies. The firm warned it’ll have a non-cash impairment of €14.9 million ($17.4 million), which represents nearly all of Firebreak’s growth, publishing and distribution prices. The developer now says it doesn’t anticipate to ship revenue progress this yr.

• Supercell CEO Ilkka Paananen has hit out at EU proposals that he says may trigger critical hurt to the European recreation trade. Taking to LinkedIn, he took goal on the EU’s Digital Fairness Act and the rules put ahead by the Consumer Protection Cooperation Network, which proposed extra strictly proscribing and controlling the shopping for and utilizing of in-game currencies.

• Next yr’s Summer Game Fest announcement occasion will happen on June 5 at a brand new venue: the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. We’ll be there.

• Former Gamer Network Editorial Director and all-round prime fella Jon Hicks has taken the vacant Editorial Director seat at GamesIndustry.biz.

• The follow-up to this yr’s smash hit Minecraft film will premiere on July 23, 2027. The first film delivered $958 million in income and induced a 30% spike in month-to-month customers to Minecraft again in April.

That’s it from us right this moment. Join us subsequent week for extra information, evaluation and opinion. And for these coming to see us at London Comic-Con subsequent Friday, I stay up for saying good day in individual!