Earlier this year the upper ranks of Nintendo’s management decided it was time to embrace mobile games and freemium content. But as is typical with Nintendo, they intend to tackle these markets and games in their own way.
The first game to embrace this revenue model was Pokemon Shuffle on the 3DS. Satoru Iwata insists that this and other games Nintendo has lined up are not free-to-play. Instead, they are free-to-start, which is a better descriptor to be fair. You can start playing, and continue playing for free, but there are certain limits (limited lives, timers, currency) that can be overcome by spending some real-world cash on a regular basis.
Pokemon Shuffle must have gone down well, as Nintendo has announced it is set to release the title on non-Nintendo hardware. Notably, both iOS and Android app stores will be getting the game later this year.
Shuffle is basically a Candy Crush clone and therefore when combined with the ever-popular Pokemon IP should do very well on mobile devices. It’s fair to predict Nintendo will make millions from it due to the massive userbase going mobile unlocks, but also fair to expect some parents to be surprised and angry when they see how much their kids are spending in the game.
Pokemon games have never had in-app purchases before, andShuffle isn’t exactly cheap. The 3DS version charges $0.99 for a single jewel, $8.99 for a 12, or $47.99 for 75. That pricing probably won’t change for the mobile versions. There’s also a second currency you can purchase in the form of coins, which can also be slowly win by playing.
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