Nintendo‘s new president Shuntaro Furukawa has laid out a portion of his plan for the company, with him wanting to focus more on growing out mobile games above Nintendo Switch and 3DS software. This will be good news for fans of mobile titles such as Pokemon Go and Animal Crossing Pocket Camp, though could be concerning for those who want the company to focus more on its console games.
Expanding the company’s mobile business is a priority for Furukawa, who told Nikkei that he wants to see the company make mobile a priority from here on out. With mobile revenue only accounting for 4% of Nintendo’s posted sales for 2017, the company has a long way to go if it wants to make its smartphone games compete with its console offerings. Furukawa intends for mobile to compete with Nintendo’s other software in the future.
“From what I can see, smartphone games are the ones I want to expand the most,” Furukawa said. “The idea that something will emerge that transforms into something big, in the same manner as game consoles, is the defining motive of the Nintendo business.”
Can Nintendo create another Pokemon Go?
Furukawa noted that he didn’t know if Nintendo would experience another success similar to Pokemon Go, though that seems to be the goal for the company in the future. Considering the success of the Switch, it’s unlikely that Nintendo would move resources away from game development on the console. However, for those who aren’t interested in the company’s mobile output, Furukawa’s goal of expanding its library of mobile games isn’t exactly exciting news.
In terms of his plans for the Switch, the new president stated that he wanted to bring the console to more regions, specifically the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Hopefully, Furukawa’s interest in mobile games won’t overshadow the Switch in the future.
The Switch has remained the focus for the company since the console’s launch in March 2017. The company recently released the Nintendo Labo peripheral, which we discussed in the latest episode of the Cross-Play podcast.
