Nintendo Bringing ‘Animal Crossing’ And ‘Fire Emblem’ To Mobile Platforms

Wednesday morning saw a slew of announcements from Japanese video game giant Nintendo. Amongst those announcements was confirmation of Nintendo’s next two mobile titles. What’s more, Nintendo confirmed that those two games would be based on two of their most loved franchises, Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem. However, Nintendo is still largely remaining pretty hush on the details around their next two mobile releases, which are slated to release later this year, according to Nintendo.

As reported by the Verge, the announcement came during Nintendo’s yearly earnings call. As part of the announcements, Nintendo confirmed their release plans for their upcoming NX console whilst also praising the success of their first mobile application Miitomo, which released on iOS and Android last month.

It was the success of this release that has prompted Nintendo to press on with their mobile strategy, announcing that two of their most beloved franchises would be given the mobile treatment. Details around exactly what the mobile versions of Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem will entail are still pretty thin on the ground, but it’s more than fair to expect that Nintendo will elaborate on their plans closer to release in the fall. For now, though, news that Nintendo’s second and third mobile releases will focus on their more established franchises will excite fans.

According to the Wall Street Journal, it’s estimated that Nintendo is earning a weekly total of $280,000 through in-app purchases in Miitomo. With that in mind, it’s easy to see why the Japanese firm, which had previously been reluctant to embrace mobile gaming, would want to quickly press on with further releases. Nintendo has confirmed that they currently have a total of five different mobile releases planned, all developed in conjunction with mobile game developer, DeNA, who are of course responsible for Nintendo’s first mobile release, Miitomo.

Nintendo’s first mobile release, Miitomo has been described as less of a game and more of a social experiment from the gaming company. The app, which was released on iOS and Android, made use of Nintendo’s Mii character system, allowing users to ask each other questions through the experience. However, it was coupled with a good degree of Nintendo’s well-known charm, which arguably contributed towards the app’s success.

The company’s next mobile releases are already different in the respect that they’ll focus on two of Nintendo’s already well-established franchises; Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem. The latter is best known as Nintendo’s signature strategy RPG which has long been praised for its stellar storytelling and gameplay mechanics. Animal Crossing on the other hand, is undeniably one of the most inventive franchises in Nintendo’s roster. The series falls into a similar category as that of the Sims franchises, essentially simulating day to day life.

As aforementioned, Nintendo has remained pretty hush on how they’ll adapt both Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem for mobile devices. It remains to be seen whether or not Nintendo will bring full versions of their franchises to iOS and Android or if they’ll simply create experiences that complement their existing games. That being said, Nintendo has promised that the mobile Animal Crossing app will tie in with console versions of the game, suggesting that Nintendo could be preparing to release another title in the beloved life-sim series.

Only time will tell exactly what Nintendo’s next mobile releases will entail, however, the success of Miitomo suggests that Nintendo are ready to fully embrace their mobile strategy and that’s only evident by the fact that they’re preparing to bring both Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem to the platforms. With four more smartphone titles expected from Nintendo before March next year, we can expect to hear much more about Nintendo’s upcoming mobile releases in the very near future.

[Image via Nintendo]