Nintendo has been a company looking to innovate the video game medium with their line of consoles. It seems like with each new iteration, and the focus is bringing out a new means of enjoying video games. For instance, we can look back upon the massive hit of the Nintendo Wii’s motion controls to the current hybrid console platform with the Nintendo Switch as an example. However, it wasn’t too long ago that the thought process for Nintendo was delivering thrilling experiences for their IPs on the mobile phone medium. As a result, we saw a few games hit the digital marketplaces for Android and iOS.
Since then, it looks like there has been a focus on transitioning away from the mobile marketplace. Recently, Variety had the chance to speak with legendary developer Shigeru Miyamoto. With the focus on Mario and the upcoming film Super Mario Bros. Movie, the topic of mobile phones came up. According to the developer, mobile apps will not be the primary path of future Mario games. It doesn’t appear that the avenue is making too much sense for the folks over at Nintendo in spending too much time bringing out new mobile game apps. We have even seen some apps get removed just years after being released into the marketplace from Nintendo, including the 2019 launch of Dr. Mario World.
Mobile apps will not be the primary path of future Mario games.
Shigeru Miyamoto – Variety
Shigeru Miyamoto went on to say that Nintendo’s core strategy is a hardware and software-integrated gaming experience. According to Miyamoto, the intuitiveness of the controls is part of the gaming experience. That’s why he took on the opportunity of making a Mario game for the mobile phone. Because it was a generic device, the challenge was how to present a new experience for a Mario game on the platform. That’s where we received Super Mario Run.
So while we might not see any new Mario games focused on the mobile platform, it doesn’t mean that Nintendo is quite ready to unveil when we might see the Nintendo icon grace the Nintendo Switch platform again. When asked when we could see the next mainline Mario game, Miyamoto only stated that we’d have to stay tuned for future Nintendo Directs. It’s been a good while since we had a new mainline Mario game in the marketplace. It was 2017 after all that Super Mario Odyssey launched into the marketplace. Perhaps we’ll get some kind of new Mario title reveal this June when we start to see more showcases pop up.
