# Nintendo bringing its IP to mobile devices – should we fear for Animal Crossing?



## Justin (Mar 17, 2015)

The following is an article I wrote and posted over at TBT's sister site ACNewLeaf.com a bit ago. I think it definitely merits some discussion so I'm posting it over here as well.

http://www.acnewleaf.com/2015/03/17...acter-ip-mobile-devices-fear-animal-crossing/



> It's happening at long last. Nintendo has just announced today a new agreement with Japanese mobile game company DeNA to bring Nintendo's intellectual property, including characters, to mobile devices. This new deal includes the potential for any and all Nintendo IPs to be developed for mobile devices in collaboration with DeNA. There will be no exceptions to any individual IP: the deal covers them all, including Animal Crossing.
> 
> This doesn't mean for certain that we should all be assuming that an Animal Crossing mobile game is on the way, but the possibility is very real and open now. If I were looking at Nintendo's grand library of IPs and deciding which had the most potential on mobile, Animal Crossing would be ripe at the top of list. Since the release of Animal Crossing: New Leaf, we've seen how expansive the audience for Animal Crossing has become and the large appeal of it to that audience, not to mention generally massive in Japan.
> 
> ...


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## Jake (Mar 17, 2015)

if it wasn't for the no porting i could see them porting the GC version to mobile.

i dont think theyre going to make a completely new AC title just for mobile though. I could see a spin off type of thing like that sweet day for the wiiU, but that's it.

Even if they did, I doubt it'd interest me because i dont care for mobile gaming.


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## Justin (Mar 17, 2015)

Jake. said:


> if it wasn't for the no porting i could see them porting the GC version to mobile.
> 
> i dont think theyre going to make a completely new AC title just for mobile though. I could see a spin off type of thing like that sweet day for the wiiU, but that's it.
> 
> Even if they did, I doubt it'd interest me because i dont care for mobile gaming.



Yeah, that's generally what I'm expecting, regarding the spin off comment. I don't think there would be a full game either. What I mean is, let's hope that whatever spin off they may create, is tasteful and doesn't stoop to the level of everything else out there.


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## Jake (Mar 17, 2015)

Justin said:


> What I mean is, let's hope that whatever spin off they may create, is tasteful and doesn't stoop to the level of everything else out there.



i would try feel u but i cant because i really dont know enough about mobile gaming to know how **** it actually is LOL


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## Justin (Mar 17, 2015)

Jake. said:


> i would try feel u but i cant because i really dont know enough about mobile gaming to know how **** it actually is LOL



Maybe it's better that you keep it that way


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## Reindeer (Mar 17, 2015)

I think it should be noted that DeNA is not just a mobile game company, but rather one that deals with a multitude of things, including global (e-)commerce, advertising, mobile portals and the like. The mobile gaming part of them is most notable in Mobage. Nintendo was looking for a way to expand their IPs, but also do so without taking too much of a risk. That's how they came to the collaboration with DeNA.

They also mention that the applications won't be released en masse, so as not to suffer from a huge quality drop. Instead they'll focus on each application accordingly, and continue supporting it after its initial release.


With how much flak Nintendo has been getting about not releasing their IPs on non-Nintendo devices (because there's so many Halo and Uncharted games available for Android and iOS obviously), this seems like a somewhat forced step for them to take. I think Nintendo also knows they have a huge amount of strong IPs, and they can sell some of the applications by name alone, but the fact that they're thinking more about the quality than the quantity should be put on the foreground.

Apart from that, as long as the quality of the games from the IPs used doesn't suffer, I don't see a problem with it. Nintendo is able to survive in a changing market, and people can stop complaining about not being able to play Mario on their dumb phone.


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## Justin (Mar 17, 2015)

Reindeer said:


> I think it should be noted that DeNA is not just a mobile game company, but rather one that deals with a multitude of things, including global (e-)commerce, advertising, mobile portals and the like. The mobile gaming part of them is most notable in Mobage. Nintendo was looking for a way to expand their IPs, but also do so without taking too much of a risk. That's how they came to the collaboration with DeNA.
> 
> They also mention that the applications won't be released en masse, so as not to suffer from a huge quality drop. Instead they'll focus on each application accordingly, and continue supporting it after its initial release.
> 
> ...



I agree with most of this. There's massive potential in them doing this, it could turn out really great and print money for them. But it could also turn out disastrous for them if the quality is poor. Potentially ruining their good brand name and IPs for the sake of nothing. It's gonna be fun to watch and see how it turns out.


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## Stevey Queen (Mar 17, 2015)

I don't know why they are bothering. Nobody wants a big main game on a smart phone and whatever else falls under the category of a mobile game. And I doubt very many people would buy a spin-off.


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## Prof Gallows (Mar 17, 2015)

Capn Sugarplum McQueen said:


> I don't know why they are bothering. Nobody wants a big main game on a smart phone and whatever else falls under the category of a mobile game. And I doubt very many people would buy a spin-off.



I don't really think they're going to be making main games on anything other than a Nintendo console. This is more like them expanding their reach. Which like Justin said, is really hit or miss. Tons of potential for them to make awesome games that would give the app market a kick in the head because app games are a joke. But it also could go bad if they don't really do it right.

Think things like Pokemon Shuffle. That's new and it's essentially an app game on the 3DS, microtransactions and all included. It's actually a really well done game for being as simple as it is and would flipping kill if it were on mobile devices. But it still goes to say that it looks like it had much more work put into it than most app games typically do.

But back to the original concern is that Nintendo likely won't put a huge focus on this. They're dedicated to their fundamentals, which is home/handheld console gaming on their own systems.


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## Bowie (Mar 17, 2015)

I am dreading what they do with this.


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## JoJoCan (Mar 17, 2015)

I would actually like to play animal crossing on my phone, I always have my phone, But I rarely carry my 3ds with me.


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## mynooka (Mar 17, 2015)

I think there's a greater chance you'll see Animal Crossing spin-off games.  Something like Animal Crossing: Sweet Day, like what was on Nintendoland.  I think the main core games will still be primarily on the consoles, however.

I know 3rd parties have done this but if Nintendo had an official Animal Crossing app that you could keep track of catalog and your town as well as share aspects of the game with others, (without having to have your 3DS with you) that would be cool.

- - - Post Merge - - -

OMG!  I just realized.  They'll probably start having villagers text you while you're not playing the game 

"Come back :'( we miss you!" 

Oh no, the guilt is real!!!


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## Hoppy~Shnell (Mar 17, 2015)

I think it's a good thing that they are expanding their horizons. I can imagine applications like Miiverse and a form of Flipnote Hatena becoming mobile apps. 


mynooka said:


> OMG!  I just realized.  They'll probably start having villagers text you while you're not playing the game
> 
> "Come back :'( we miss you!"
> 
> Oh no, the guilt is real!!!


That would be awesome!


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## oath2order (Mar 17, 2015)

Reading this, my first thought was the return of the Pokewalker as a mobile app.


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## Naiad (Mar 17, 2015)

I can almost feel the upcoming iAPs


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## DarkOnyx (Mar 17, 2015)

Hopefully AC,LOZ, and all of those bigger titles don't head pver to Mobile. Mobile games include unfinished ones, very buggy games, very laggy games, pay to win games, and games with an advertisement every ten minutes.

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mynooka said:


> I think there's a greater chance you'll see Animal Crossing spin-off games.  Something like Animal Crossing: Sweet Day, like what was on Nintendoland.  I think the main core games will still be primarily on the consoles, however.
> 
> I know 3rd parties have done this but if Nintendo had an official Animal Crossing app that you could keep track of catalog and your town as well as share aspects of the game with others, (without having to have your 3DS with you) that would be cool.
> 
> ...



If I get villager alerts, I would uninstall. Reminds me of constant alerts from Tomogotchi.


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## Silversea (Mar 18, 2015)

If a "freemium" AKA free but you have to pay for things AC game comes out I think I might freak. A lot.

Please no more Pokemon Shuffle nonsenical chaos.


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## cosmic-latte (Mar 18, 2015)

It has potential but honestly playing on a phone will never replace the quality of playing on a 3DS.


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## lars708 (Mar 18, 2015)

I hope they make like an extra expansion to your console games with the apps, like that you can earn Animal Crossing Bells by catching bugs on a mobile device and transfer your earned bells to your Bellpoint savings account thing! Or maybe you could do like minigames with Villagers to earn special app-only items? Who knows.... I think it would work though!

- - - Post Merge - - -

Lol complete opposite for me Shayne i always carry my DS with me and never my phone (it is crazy i know). But i do not think they will make Animal Crossing for mobile devices since a lot of devices will not be able to handle it and that would make them lose too much customers.

- - - Post Merge - - -

I also think that a lot of die-hard Nintendo fans have cheap phones because of the fact that they spend all their money on Nintendo stuff. That might also be a reason why Nintendo would not make a mobile installment because fans couldn't keep up otherwise.


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## mynooka (Mar 18, 2015)

Silversea said:


> If a "freemium" AKA free but you have to pay for things AC game comes out I think I might freak. A lot.
> 
> Please no more Pokemon Shuffle nonsenical chaos.




Tom Nook has had enough of your play money.  He wants that real cash now! 

- - - Post Merge - - -

My issue with mobile gaming is how attached it would be to my phone.  I despise when apps say they need permission to access a ton of info on my phone.

I don't care how good a game is, if it says it needs access to my photos, contacts, internet, etc. I'll be like nope!  Sorry!  I have no reason to trust you lol especially in this NSA day and age we live in.


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## Yoshisaur (Mar 18, 2015)

Meh. Not that long ago I was praising Nintendo for not going to mobile. I always thought it would devalue the characters and the franchise as a whole. I hope they can push past the many problems that mobile games have and PLEASE PLEASE no freemium games. (Glaring at you Pokemon Shuffle) 

I really am scared they'll all be similar to Pokemon Shuffle where they just take a concept that already exists and put their characters in them. Instead of Doodle Jump or Sonic Jump we'll have Yoshi Jump and Toad Run instead of Temple Run. Angry Goomba coming 2016 to an app store near you!


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## princesse (Mar 18, 2015)

While this sounds like a good idea, it could have disastrous outcome. If this were to happen, more than likely there would be in-app purchases (ex. for bells, exclusive villagers, etc.) Some people could jailbreak/root their phones in order to get more bells and items. I am also wondering if the "spin-off" (if it ever happened anyways) would still have codes for people to visit. This sounds pretty interesting though, it sounds pretty cool.


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## Hypno KK (Mar 19, 2015)

Even if they do, who cares? People who are obsessed or bored will buy it and the rest of us won't. At most they'll probably develop spin-off games or something. Even if they release a main game for it, it probably won't be a phone exclusive so I don't think it matters.


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## Jesusfreakette (Mar 19, 2015)

I'm frankly looking forward to what Nintendo will do! They've made so many great games, and I'm looking forward to a Nintendo-quality game in the App Store. There are already quite a few AC knock-offs on IOS, and while they're not bad, they're not Animal Crossing. A high quality AC I consistently have with me sounds spectacular.

While admittedly this is new territory for the Big N, and as such will come with risks, they've historically been innovators when they enter uncharted territory - for instance, high quality touch screen, or motion-control games. I have no idea what they'll do with an app game, but I'm willing to bet it's introduction will improve the average quality in the App Store. They're certainly not the kind of game-makers to bring us those low-quality, highly-addictive apps.

Animal Crossing has always been spectacular. They've already switched platforms multiple times, and I loved it every time. Nintendo has always been my favorite game-maker, across many different platforms, series, and styles. My expectations remain as they have been since I started playing video games: Nintendo will bring us creative, fun, imaginative games.

That's what my expectations will be until Nintendo decides to change that.


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## lars708 (Mar 20, 2015)

Jesusfreakette said:


> I'm frankly looking forward to what Nintendo will do! They've made so many great games, and I'm looking forward to a Nintendo-quality game in the App Store. There are already quite a few AC knock-offs on IOS, and while they're not bad, they're not Animal Crossing. A high quality AC I consistently have with me sounds spectacular.
> 
> While admittedly this is new territory for the Big N, and as such will come with risks, they've historically been innovators when they enter uncharted territory - for instance, high quality touch screen, or motion-control games. I have no idea what they'll do with an app game, but I'm willing to bet it's introduction will improve the average quality in the App Store. They're certainly not the kind of game-makers to bring us those low-quality, highly-addictive apps.
> 
> ...



Those low-quality apps are available in the e-Shop though, made by Nintendo. It is the awful free to play pok?mon shuffle! You even can buy hearts to play levels! C'mon Nintendo, you do not have the copy the whole Candy Crush concept!


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## matt (Mar 20, 2015)

I will not be buying games for my smartphone nor tablet regardless of the games being from Nintendo.
I prefer to buy my games from the game shop and play them on a console. I hope the NX will stand tall and enthusiate Nintendo to make more console games


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## Jesusfreakette (Mar 20, 2015)

lars708 said:


> Those low-quality apps are available in the e-Shop though, made by Nintendo. It is the awful free to play pok?mon shuffle! You even can buy hearts to play levels! C'mon Nintendo, you do not have the copy the whole Candy Crush concept!



Hahaaaa, ya, I was hoping that would be a fluke...! I agree Shuffle was terrible, and a bad sign if that's what everything will be like. However, just like I don't enjoy _everything_ Nintendo puts out, but I still love certain games of it, I'm hoping their app store games will be the same.

But ya, I agree, if Shuffle is going to be an indicator... bummer. Still hoping it's a fluke.

EDIT: Oh! I thought of a great example of an older series successfully building an app: the Professor Layton series, the Layton Brothers. That was a fun game with or without the Layton name attached. And the Phoenix Wright port to iOS has been one of my favorite apps I've played!

My overall point wasn't that everything would be great: just like we don't enjoy all the games. My point was that there is a lot of potential for great games, and with a well-known, high-quality company like Nintendo, who have successfully created a lot of series in occasionally challenging situations, I'm pretty confident they'll find some measure of success. Historically, they've always managed!


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## SarahsNY (Mar 22, 2015)

I could see this working with Animal Crossing if it were similar to how the Gamecube and Gameboy Advanced were handled in Population: Growing!, like you could play minigames or whatever on your phone and make bells, and then use internet connection to sync those bells to your copy of New Leaf. I don't play mobile games, but it seems like a neat little time-waster that helps you out in-game. If they did do something like that I just hope that they won't use that crappy lives system that other mobile games tend to use.


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## Silas James Reel (Mar 23, 2015)

My thoughts:


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## matt (Mar 23, 2015)

Silas James Reel said:


> My thoughts:



Lmbo yes that is what would happen.

If Nintendo went mobile, I doubt id be with Nintendo any more. ID get the nx


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## MagsyPies (Mar 23, 2015)

Please, please no IAP's. I just want to pay once and have access to a full game with no premium currency and ig money that can be earned. If nintendo can do this, they've won the App Store


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## Mercedes (Mar 23, 2015)

I hope we get ac mobile but it plays like a normal ac game


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