Home

 › 

Articles

 › 

Has Nintendo Gone on a Freemium Frenzy?

Has Nintendo Gone on a Freemium Frenzy?

I’ve reached two inevitable, inescapable conclusions recently. The first is that microtransactions in full-priced games are here to stay because no matter what we say about them, we spend a ton of money on them. The second conclusion is that mobile games are almost necessary for companies who want to stay competitive and maximize shareholder profit, especially if they have large audiences in the East. EA has proven the former point, and Konami the latter. Unfortunately, we’re here today to talk about both of these concepts as they pertain to a company that’s never had anything to do with mobile games or any historical reliance on microtransactions.

If you clicked on the title of this article then of course you know I’m talking about Nintendo. Now for the most part, almost everything Nintendo has been doing recently has been a good idea, and its newest success in the mobile market is something I’m happy about. The fact that Miitomo managed to attract of 10 million users and generate some revenue is pretty exciting; it means that Nintendo can really devote itself wholeheartedly to the mobile market and expect success and a generous ROI. The sentiment is one shared by Nintendo itself, and I (like most of you) was overjoyed to learn that we have Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem games to look forward to this fall.

The thing is, I’m really expecting and hoping for Nintendo to put out an actual , fully fleshed out Animal Crossing game, and not some kind of Happy Home Designer spin-off that asks for real-world money for decorations. I want a true Fire Emblem experience that offers the same kind of story, class evolution, and tactical combat that makes the handheld games so addictive, not a string of mini battles that deplete an energy bar that you have to pay $2 to refill if you want to keep playing. Now that we know that these next two mobile games will be free-to-play, those are legitimate concerns. Nintendo is still new to this, after all, and I could see it making the mistake of creating some kind of Frankenstein’s Monster: equal parts Pokemon Shuffle in its monetization , Miitomo in its offering of small rewards for logging in frequently, with a dash of Fire Emblem combat thrown in. I pray this doesn’t happen.

Has Nintendo Gone on a Freemium Frenzy?

What about Animal Crossing? I’m trying to imagine how a true Animal Crossing game such as New Leaf might implement in-game transactions, and I just don’t understand how that would work out – unless it’s not a true Animal Crossing game like New Leaf . There’s a chance that maybe you’ll be able to purchase bells with real-world money to speed up the progress of public works projects, and I’d probably be okay with that. New Leaf is a slow-going game, and I’m sure if you could pay $5 to round up the bells needed to pay off your home mortgage that many of you would take advantage of that opportunity.

The best case scenario, in my opinion, would be timed demos of some kind. You could download the games for free and get a taste of the early game content, but if you want to continue after a certain period of time you’re asked to pay a one-time purchase price. I’m sure many of you would disagree and complain, but I’d honestly rather pay $15 one time than be nickle-and-dimed for a year or longer. Does free-to-play Fire Emblem and Animal Crossing scare anyone else, or am I being overly cynical here? I am very willing to be pleasantly surprised, but games like Pokemon Shuffle and Pokemon Picross aren’t very reassuring. Here’s hoping Nintendo finds a suitable pricing model.

To top