Mario, Just Another Plumber
As Nintendo begins its transition to mobile, Mario and his friends are heading into retirement.
If you’re around my age (born circa 1986), you probably remember turning on the NES (or a bootlegged version if you’re from Taiwan) at your cousin’s house where the only game around was Super Mario Bros. With Goombas and shells coming from any direction, you’ve learned to perfect every move.
Super Mario Bros. was an unforgiving game — it was simply Game Over when you ran out of lives. And despite Nintendo’s portfolio of hardcore games at the time, the company enjoyed decades of success riding on Mario’s coattails. Over time, Nintendo transformed itself into a casual gaming company with the Wii (which, mind you, was the most successful console of its generation) — so much so that I’ve purchased a Wii for my 60-something, tech illiterate parents. And while Mario has become one of the most recognizable gaming icons today, Nintendo’s success is primarily attributed to its uncanny ability to innovate and reimagine player interactions.
Gaming, Reimagined
Nintendo has rarely competed on its technology alone. In fact, Nintendo’s most innovative systems have often carried outdated hardware. With that said, the company has consistently delighted its players in the way it approaches games and devices with existing technology:
- The NES Duck Hunt popularized the Light Gun Shooter genre and became one of the most successful Nintendo games.
- Mario 64 became one of the earliest open-world 3D game, helping players reimagine traditional platformer games.
- The Nintendo Wii captivated its audience with the handheld pointing device — the first to incorporate a gyro sensor in game consoles and becoming Nintendo’s best selling console.
- The Nintendo DS became the first handheld game console to include a touch device, predating the arrival of the Apple iPhone. It’s now the Nintendo’s best selling handheld game console.
The Mobile Nintendo and a Distant Dream
It wasn’t surprising when Nintendo announced its decision to head towards mobile. Since the introduction of the iPhone, casual gamers have been steadily migrating to mobile platforms. Though the company’s decision is admirable, albeit 8 years too late, Nintendo is better off focusing on innovations for its consoles rather than half-assing its way into mobile.
“Now that we have decided how we will make use of smart devices, we have come to hold an even stronger passion and vision for the dedicated video game system business than ever before. Nintendo will continue to focus on dedicated games as a core business, [though] many may misunderstand [this partnership with DeNA] and think this announcement is because we are pessimistic of the video games industry” - Nintendo President Satoru Iwata
Mobile: A Cultural Transformation
Traditional gaming is much like art rather than science — with little data to back the design decisions. Understandably so, traditional console/PC developers struggle when they shift to mobile because the analytical, data-driven, and iterative approach to mobile game design is a huge cultural change. Mobile can’t simply be an afterthought. While Nintendo intends to have its mobile division be an extension of its current portfolio to improve audience reach, such move will require the executive team to let the mobile guys have free rein, and allowing them to translate the true Nintendo experience onto mobile.
While one can argue that players can move up/down the gaming stack (from mobile to console, and vice versa), such consumer purchasing behavior won’t come to fruition because of the drastically different use case. In most cases, mobile gamers are killing time and console gamers are devoting time to gaming. It’s not conceivable that players who are used to freemium games would be compelled to spend upwards of $200 for a premium experience in console and one game. The challenge is in getting users to commit, and many users can’t even commit to relationships that are more than a few weeks long.
Nintendo will be a big fish in a very large pond (ocean), and its ability to truly succeed in mobile will depend on whether it can find new, untapped interactions in mobile games.
Brand <> Profit
While I agree that Nintendo’s mobile games will be amazingly efficient at acquiring users, retention and monetization will prove to be much bigger headaches for Nintendo. In the 90's, Sonic the Hedgehog was as equally ubiquitous as Mario. Today, Sonic is a tired relic from the past. Despite over 50M downloads for Sonic Dash on the Google Play Store (and other Sonic games with equally impressive downloads), none of Sega’s games are close being in the top 50 paid, free, or grossing apps. In fact, Sega just recently announced that it will be pulling games from the app stores. As a Nintendo fan myself, I would hate to see a Mario reskinned as another endless runner. Mario doesn’t run from Goombas — he destroys Goombas.
At the core, Nintendo will have to deliver on its products to succeed in mobile. Is DeNA the right partner to work with, given that the company has traditionally developed web games (Mobage, DeNA’s mobile gaming subsidiary, is primarily a distribution platform)? How will Nintendo find innovation in mobile, when popular game mechanics are the low hanging fruits (no more connect 3 games, please)? Can Nintendo successfully balance its innovation in both mobile and consoles, or will mobile be a distraction to consoles?
Nintendo’s innovations were always inherently polarizing and unexpected, and Mario rarely blew competitors out of the water with killer technology. He didn’t need to go to college because he’s a hacker and a tinkerer. Rather than getting an engineering degree and becoming mainstream, he’ll need to find inspiration again in the everyday — it’s just that this time, I’m not sure if the mushroom will be enough.
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