Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa had an interesting chat with TIME where he touched a few business topics about the way he sees and runs the company, and in particular is worth giving a look at how he and his team work about microtransactions in mobile games.
Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa had an interesting chat with TIME, where he touched a few business topics about the way he sees and runs the company. In particular, the thing worth reading at how he and his team work about microtransactions in mobile games.
As you might know, Nintendo has released multiple mobile titles, but every one of them has put on the table a different monetization model: some have been free-to-start, others have been entirely free with in-app purchases, and others again, like Mario Kart Tour, have introduced the concept of a monthly subscription.
This particular case has been quite controversial as the Gold Pass provides users with content they’ll only get subscribing (the 200cc mode was what made people a bit disappointed, specifically).
“In terms of monetization, that’s something that we decided on an app basis,” said Furukawa. “It’s something we decide looking at the game content of each app, as well as the IP used and the player that we’re targeting.”
He added that “we also look at how we can best have the players enjoy the game, as well as how they would be comfortable in spending money.”
As pointed out by TIME, Nintendo made $92 million from smartphone and tablet games in the latest quarter, below expectations but up 10% year-over-year.
