Nintendo’s Mobile Games Will Draw In 150 To 200 Million, Believes DeNA West CEO

DeNA West’s CEO is extremely confident of the high interest in Nintendo’s mobile games.

Shintaro Asako spoke in a new interview, and revealed he believes at least 150 to 200 million people will try out Nintendo’s games, even if they are paid.

Hundreds of millions of people have bought Nintendo consoles. Those are people who decided to spend a minimum of $200 just to get access to Nintendo IP. That number is already twice as big as the Candy Crush total user base. Not only that, every single person buying Nintendo devices spends an average of about $100 per year on software. So I have no question that when Nintendo’s mobile games come out, at least 150 or 200 million people will try it. These people are super core Nintendo fans who used to spending $150 to $250 just to access the content. Let’s say only 10% end up playing, and then those users pay $3 a month, that’s still perhaps a $60 million dollar a month game.

Asako also thinks it makes sense for Nintendo to do heavy mass marketing for these mobile games. There is no need to make too much evaluations or studies if it’s worthwhile, simply because Nintendo’s brand is so strong, and fans have been clamoring for this for years.

While Asako’s enthusiasm is infectious, the dipping profits of even the biggest mobile devs, including Zynga, Rovio, King, and to a degree DeNA itself, should serve to be a sign of more skepticism as Nintendo’s impact in mobile may be similarly short lived.

What do you think of Nintendo’s prospects in mobile? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.