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

[Justin]

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.

To be clear, it's been said that Nintendo has no intention to directly "port" Nintendo games over from their dedicated hardware including the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. This means you won't see Animal Crossing: New Leaf, or another pre-existing Nintendo title on mobile devices. New games will be developed and designed explicitly to make use of the strengths of the platform, while utilizing Nintendo's existing popular IP.

So, I pose the question: Should we fear for Animal Crossing's characters and brand being exploited in free to play mobile games? It's possible. I'm not against the pure existence of Animal Crossing games on mobile, but I certainly hope it's done tastefully and a step above the typical trash you'll find on the App Store these days. Let's not go down that path.

 

[Jake]

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.

 

[Justin]

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.

 

[Jake]

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

 

[Justin]

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

 

[Reindeer]

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.

 

[Justin]

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.

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.

 

[Stevey Queen]

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.

 

[Prof Gallows]

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.

 

[Bowie]

I am dreading what they do with this.

 

[JoJoCan]

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

 

[mynooka]

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.

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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!!!

 

[Hoppy~Shnell]

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.

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!

 

[oath2order]

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

 

[Naiad]

I can almost feel the upcoming iAPs

 

[DarkOnyx]

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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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!!!

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

 

[Silversea]

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.

 

[cosmic-latte]

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

 

[lars708]

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!

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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.

 

[mynooka]

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!

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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.