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Nintendo Confirms Animal Crossing, Fire Emblem Mobile Games Will Be Free To Play
All the signs were pointing to Nintendo fully embracing free-to-play (or, if as the company prefers, “free-to-start”) for its mobile offerings. A report this morning puts a fine point on it for the next two titles, though.
We’ve known that Fire Emblem and Animal Crossing are coming to smartphones and tablets as the next two Nintendo mobile games. When the publisher and its partner DeNA launch them, they will be free-to-play according to DeNA in conversation with the Wall Street Journal.
Nintendo’s first foray into mobile is the social app, Miitomo. It, too, is free-to-play with monetization in place for customization items.
Both Fire Emblem and Animal Crossing are slated to launch this fall.
[Source: Wall Street Journal]
Our Take
This is the right play for Nintendo, as free-to-play doesn’t have quite the negative connotation it used to. Yes, there are bad free-to-play games, but the model no longer directly correlates to quality. I’m eager to see if Nintendo is able to find the balance.
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