Traditional Nintendo Games Are Coming Soon to the App Store
Nintendo is planning on bringing more “traditional” titles to mobile devices like Apple's iPhone and iPad, and is developing iOS versions of Fire Emblem and Animal Crossing, according to a recent tweet from the company.
This is great news, because it could put us a step closer to seeing the Nintendo games we actually want for iOS, like Maro and Zelda, launch on the App Store. Before now, Nintendo had launched its first iOS “game,” a social app called Miitomo, on Apple’s mobile platform, and although it was received positively, fans of the company are hoping for a more substantial release in the near future Their wishes, however, have now been answered.
The news hit the Web in a Twitter update published from Nintendo's U.S. account, @NintendoAmerica. In it, the game developer explained that more Nintendo applications are indeed coming to “smart devices” like the iPhone and iPad, “including Fire Emblem and Animal Crossing!”
More #Nintendo apps are coming to smart devices, including Fire Emblem and Animal Crossing! pic.twitter.com/ZLsHirPltM
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) 27 April 2016
However, releasing Mario, Zelda, and other high-profile Nintendo games on the App Store would be an interesting gamble for the company to make. On the one hand, this would be Nintendo giving away the best it has to offer to another platform; gamers buy Nintendo devices because of titles like Mario, and because of this, an iOS release could have the potential to damage hardware sales. Yet, at the same time, the potential revenue from an iOS release of something like Super Mario Bros. or The Legend of Zelda could prove too great a temptation for the Japan-based company to resist. It'll be interesting to see how this one plays out.
For now, you can indeed pick up Miitomo on the App Store, and it's available free of charge. It's a cute, fun game, in which players get to create their own “Mii” and interact with a virtual world. Of course, we'll keep you posted with further information concerning Nintendo's movements as we receive it.