Nintendo’s free-to-play venture proves to be successful

Pokémon Shuffle racks up 2.5m downloads

MCV Staff 23rd March 2015 Publishing

Free-to-play 3DS game Pokémon Shuffle has been downloaded more than 2.5m times since launching just over a month ago.

The match-three game – which lets gamers play five sessions per day – was announced earlier this year amongst a slew of seemingly contrary announcements regarding Nintendo’s stance on mobile games. 

Two versions of Puzzle & Dragons – including a Mario-themed edition – were announced for 3DS, as well as the mobile-esque free game Pokémon Shuffle. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata also stated that rather than making games for smartphones, the platform holder planned to bring more mobile games to its own platforms.

However, last week Nintendo revealed a partnership with DeNA to bring its properties to mobile platforms. Iwata also hinted that the company will be exploring the potential of “free-to-start” mobile titles.

Given the success of Pokémon Shuffle, it’s a good bet Nintendo will take what it has learned from this title when approaching new titles for smart devices. Its first mobile title is due this year.

The download milestone for Pokémon Shuffle was announced via The Pokémon Company’s Twitter feed.

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