The CEO of DeNA, Nintendo's partner in their new mobile gaming venture, recently explained that the partnership will initially result in five games across different genres:

Shintaro Asako said:

"I understand some people like RPGs, casual games. That's why we decided to work together to create five games, hitting on different genre-utilizing IPs".

The first game will be released before the end of 2015, with the additional four games scheduled to hit prior to March, 2017.

Are you planning to pick up some or all of these games? What IPs would you like to see used? What genres are you most interested in? If you were to get these games, what device would you play them on?

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What do I want to see:

1. That they be decent, if not good.
2. That they appear on 3DS in some form.


I don't care for my mobile as a gaming device. Even if I had a smart phone. Which I don't.

I suppose they could put it on tablets, but still...I prefer my 3DS.

I guess this stuff really isn't aimed at me

I'd like to see the whole project scrapped.

Are you planning to pick up some or all of these games?
Definitely not sight unseen. Phone games don't really appeal to me usually. I'm skeptical but still interested in seeing what comes of this partnership.

What IPs would you like to see used?
I was thinking/hoping that this would be the new Art Style line. More than any other Nintendo-related property, those games seem the best kind to translate to smartphone. Simple but novel, addicting but not endless. But the comment about "different genre-utilizing IPs" makes me think they're going to slap Zelda and Fire Emblem onto Match 3 games. Which would be fine if Match 3 games appealed to me, but they usually don't.

Erm I mean DON'T DESECRATE SACRED METROID WITH THIS BLASPHEMY


What genres are you most interested in?
Puzzle, I guess, since that's the only genre that I've had a good experience with on phones.


If you were to get these games, what device would you play them on?
My smartphone....right? Wait, is this some kind of trick question?

TheOldManFromZelda said:

I'd like to see the whole project scrapped.

That.

But since that isn't happening, I'd like to see them be tiny fun little games that don't take the resources away from other games. And just focus on the touch screen / tilt controls because dear god fake buttons on phones are horrible.

Shadowlink said:

2. That they appear on 3DS in some form.

This too.

@nate38

You could play them on your IPad or Android tablet as well.

The only mobile game I play is Hearthstone. It's free, it's fun, and I like card games like that.

I guess I'd be interested in a game like that. Match 3 games do nothing for me.

Are you planning to pick up some or all of these games?
Definitely a wait and see attitude on these. Assuming there are free versions I will check those out certainly.

What IPs would you like to see used?
The best IPs for this type of gaming are going to be the ones that don't rely on precise complex controls and tight reflexes. I'm thinking Fire Emblem, Advance Wars, Animal Crossing, Pokemon. All of those have potential to not sacrifice too much in the reduction of control inputs.

What genres are you most interested in?
Turn based strategy, RPGs.

If you were to get these games, what device would you play them on?
iPhone 6

I'm intrigued that he specifically mentioned RPGs. I wonder what IP it will be and assuming it's a real RPG, I wonder if they'll put it on 3DS as well since it will probably be something of a big production. Even if it's exclusive to mobile, I could be interested in that, assuming I get an Android phone when I get back to the states.

Since I don't have mobile devices like this and don't want them, my selfish answer would be that I hope they are games I don't care about.

If they are games I care about and they end up good, then I hope they also release them on 3DS. Which they might do, since they did release Pokémon Shuffle on both 3DS and mobile, even if the 3DS one came first.

No genre preference.

I'm not personally the biggest fan of mobile games, but I do occasionally partake in the better ones, and I think Nintendo has some franchises that are very well suited towards the platform. The fact that they will be focusing on so few titles rather than flooding the market with a lot of crap is promising.

If Nintendo gets this right, it's going to make them billions of dollars and possibly even help reshape the mobile market. They don't have to worry about their software getting lost in the crowd, as everybody already recognizes their IP and reputation for quality, and I don't think any other company has as much potential to change the pervasive mindset of a lot of users in the market that games should always be free or dirt cheap... a premium experience is worth a premium price.

Of course they are going to experiment with all sorts of pricing models and they can't bust into the space so late without playing by some of the rules that have already been established, but it's my single greatest hope that they can release some of their software at an upfront, fair price, millions of people will bite, and we can start to see an end to some of the toxic practices that have dragged mobile games down so far. If it isn't happening with Mario, Pokemon, Zelda, and Donkey Kong, it just isn't happening.

As for some specific ideas of experiences that I'd like to see?

A return of their "expanded audience" titles that were a huge success on DS. Nintendo practically invented some of the experiences that are now so popular on mobile such as Brain Age and Nintendogs and I see no reason not to recapture that audience in the market they have moved to. Puzzle games like Dr. Mario would fit in very well here as well and could certainly be offered at a single, cheap price.

I think they should make a Mario Kart Mobile game, as it has been proven that the series works with motion controls, though it may not be the ideal way to play. The game would no doubt feel like a lighter, perhaps simpler version of what we get on our systems, but that's okay. Mario Kart Arcade is pretty different too. I think that this franchise in particular is where releasing a game at a flat, fair price could really shine. The popularity of Mario Kart is undeniable. Millions of people would bite and the word would spread. This might even change some people's attitude of paying for mobile games alone. They could, of course, still have some DLC tracks and microtransactions for optional little crap. That's just a reality of the industry now.

Animal Crossing and even Pokemon are franchises that would work very well on phones, but I don't think it's necessarily the best idea to give people the full blown experience. After all, Nintendo's aim here is to lure people over to their dedicated hardware. Give them a taste of these franchises. Maybe this is where Happy Home Maker should have been.

Finally, one completely original idea that I had, which is probably too specific to ever happen, is a Donkey Kong Mine Kart, Barrel Blast, and Rocket Barrel Game (tentative title). All of these types of activities in the DKC games are as simple as pushing a single button yet they have enough depth to provide an entire game's worth of fun and engaging gameplay. Hell, the rocket levels are like a much more fun, polished Floppy Bird long before Floppy Bird was a thing.

What about Mario? I don't know... something has to be done with the guy, obviously, but I don't know the right way to go. I'll leave that to Nintendo to brainstorm and get right. A traditional platformer would obviously be pretty crap without any buttons.

Easy with those roundtables there, buddy... pace yourself...

Nintendo on mobile, eh? I dunno. The thought kind of brings me down. But Nintendo kind of invented mobile gaming with Wario Ware.

I wouldn't mind some expanded Wario-Ware-esque type stuff which could also hit the 3DS. Fun, but with simple inputs. Maybe a Kirby Labyrinth game. I dunno.

I'd love to see some classic Nintendo gameplay.

By which I mean, Hanafuda.

@Anand

WarioWare! We're long overdue for a new one and this is the perfect place for it right now.

@Hinph
Haha, I was actually scanning through the thread looking for Wario Ware. Almost shocked to find no hits.

C'mon, guys! Skate Forever invented endless runners!

Wario invented gaming!

I'd like to see Nintendo play to the strengths of the platform.

For the past few years I've had an iOS title or two show up in every one of my GOTY Top 10 lists and I can assure you that none of them used "traditional" virtual stick/button controls.

The mobile platform can produce absolute gems and hopefully Nintendo can use both their patented Magic (tm.) and smarts when adopting this new platform (i.e. don't simply dump console/handheld roms into the marketplace, or some variant of cross-migration).

I'm 100% on board if their efforts can at least rival the better games mobile has given us to date.

@Anand

I mentioned WarioWare as a natural fit for their mobile games in another recent thread and didn't want to sound like a broken record. Definitely would be a good match.

Also, Vib-Ribbon invented endless runners:

@New Forms

I think they have the potential to dominate the market, and I don't think that is at all a hyperbolic statement. Their content is going to stand out like a shining beacon of light in a vast sea of diarrhea and farts (where there are some islands of quality). I'm actually a little bit frightened by how much money I predict this is going to make them, but asking them to stay out of the market is asking them to throw away literally billions of dollars. The quarterly losses stop here, guys.

Good games can absolutely work on this platform, and we all know that Nintendo is very good at coming up with new ideas that cater to specific hardware gimmicks. There will definitely be something that everybody can find to enjoy eventually. They put Hideki Konno in charge of the mobile department, so they are clearly taking this very seriously.

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@Jargon
I finally grabbed Vib Ribbon on PSN. It's interesting. I don't think I'd call it a 'runner'. Kind of reminds me more of Rez, or something.

Also, the rest of the game was kind of a letdown compared to the tutorial song. It was amazing.

@Hinph

I agree 100%.

They're going to need to be creative in adopting an entirely new paradigm of game design. They've conquered home consoles, they've conquered the handheld. There's no limit to what they can do on mobile. As long as they go about it smartly. I believed they've said themselves that they're not going to just dump roms on the platform, so as long as they stick to that and create original content best suited for the platform then they'll be golden. Them bitches gonna be rich!

Hell, even some traditional-gaming luddites might even cross over to the dark side and **gasp!** enjoy the mobile experience.