Miyamoto: “Mobile apps won’t be the mainstay of future Mario games”
Posted on April 4, 2023 by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Mobile, News
After earlier resistance to putting content on mobile devices, several years ago Nintendo started branching out and playing around with different apps that you can experience on a smart device. Mario even got in on the action with Super Mario Run, which is available on iOS and Android. However, Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto has indicated that mobile will not be Mario’s home in the future.
Miyamoto said Variety in an interview: “Mobile apps will not be the mainstay of future Mario games.”
Miyamoto reiterated Nintendo’s strategy of having “an integrated hardware and software gaming experience”. When you were working on Super Mario Run, “it was a challenge to figure out what this game should be.”
Miyamoto said:
“First, Nintendo’s core strategy is an integrated hardware and software gaming experience. Control intuition is part of the gaming experience. When we explored the possibility of making Mario games for the mobile phone, which is a more mainstream generic device, it was hard to figure out what this game should be. That’s why I took on the role of director of Super Mario Run, so I could translate that Nintendo hardware experience to smart devices.”
One thing that Miyamoto acknowledged is that when Mario games are on mobile, “it opens the door for more viewers to experience the game, and it also expands the Mario gaming experience, where you don’t have only need your thumb on one hand”.
As for when we’ll see the next big Mario game, Miyamoto joked, “All I can say is keep an eye out for future Nintendo Directs.”