Almost a decade after the first iPhone hit the market, Nintendo decided it was finally time to start bringing some of its popular properties to the dominant smartphone and tablet platforms. Having brought Super Mario Run to iOS last year and, three months later, to Android, Nintendo may well be preparing another two of its popular franchises to receive similar treatment.
In a report by The Wall Street Journal, it is expected that Nintendo, in conjunction with DeNA, will bring both Animal Crossing and The Legend of Zelda to mobile platforms. At present, it remains unclear as to what pricing model these mobile games would employ. However, it is currently believed that an Animal Crossing title would appear in the second half of 2017 while The Legend of Zelda would follow afterward, potentially in 2018. Unsurprisingly, sources cautioned that "the timing and order of the releases could be changed."
Having earned Nintendo $176.4 million, mobile apps represent a relatively small amount of the company"s $2.7 billion in total sales according to its third quarter report released back in January. However, Nintendo President Tatsumi Kimishima expects the gaming stalwart"s ongoing mobile interests will help increase revenue while also enticing casual gamers toward its hardware.
The rumored releases would follow on from Nintendo"s previous releases which include Miitomo, released towards the end of 2015, and Fire Emblem Heroes, released in February this year.
Source: The Wall Street Journal (Paywall) via Reddit