Nintendo’s upcoming mobile gaming debut

Nintendo have always been one of the key innovators in the development of video games. From pioneering tech such as the iconic Gameboy, to revolutionising controllers through their Wii nunchucks, Nintendo have shown a healthy disregard for gaming convention.

However, despite the fact that mobile gaming has overtaken console gaming, Nintendo have shown a surprising reluctance to enter the smartphone gaming arena. This is surprising as both smaller brands like Lucky Nugget Casino and gaming giants such as EA Mobile have thrived in the mobile gaming domain. However, 2016 looks to be year that Nintendo bends to convention by releasing their first mobile game – Miitomo.

The much-delayed game is expected to be released in March and will aim to deliver an entertaining blend between gaming and communication. It will do this by providing each user with a Mii avatar to communicate with friends online, and there are already plans to integrate this feature into Facebook.

Rather than being a fully-fledged game, it’s thought that Miitomo will focus on the social aspects of the online environment, perhaps providing a testing ground for Nintendo’s activities in this unknown area before introducing more familiar character such as Mario.

However, one feature of mobile gaming that has proved irresistible to Nintendo is the concept of in-app purchases. This has featured on games as far ranging as The Walking Dead: No Man’s Land to Kim Kardashian: Hollywood and has caused much annoyance for many gamers due to having to pay extra money to access new levels and features.

For a long time, it was a big question as to whether Nintendo would follow this route, or instead go the way as prescribed by online sites that offer free access to web-based games. For example, Kongregate have established a solid reputation for their brower-based games and visiting http://www.luckynuggetcasino.com/au/ can reveal a range of casino games such as fruit machines and video poker that can be played without having to throw away money in order to enjoy more games.

But it looks like Nintendo have succumbed to convention by announcing that Miitomo will be a freemium title that will include monetisation aspects by requiring users to pay money in order to purchase clothes for their avatar.

That a brand who have always had a healthy reputation for innovation would come at mobile gaming from a radically different angle is unsurprising. And the fact that it could provide Nintendo with a toe-in in the endlessly-popular social media market won’t go unnoticed either.

But as long as browser-gaming sites and online casinos continue to provide a free cross-platform gaming future, the fact that Nintendo are entering the arena of in-game purchases might cause concern for many of their long-term fans.