First wave of Nintendo mobile games will be free-to-play

DeNA has said that all of the games it currently has in development for Nintendo will be free-to-play.

However, it seems that at least one – and possibly more – of the five titles that have been agreed to between the pair will be a premium release.

The Wall Street Journal reports that DeNA chief executive Isao Moriyasu said in a press briefing that “games currently in the pipeline are all free to play”. However, the article author later took to Twitter to clarify that this does not mean that all five of the planned games will be free.

DeNA also reported a 50 per cent year-on-year increase in net profit for its most recent half year.

The first Nintendo-DeNA app was revealed last month. It’s called Miitomo and to all intent and purposes looks quite a lot like a lite version of 3DS title Tomodachi Life. It’s a free-to-play game with premium add-ons.

At the time it was revealed Nintendo boss Tatsumi Kimishima says future apps will be premium instead of F2P.

Shares in both companies fell following the reveal, not only due to disappointment about the nature of the title but also because it will not be released until March.

Moriyasu has subsequently said that Miitomo will have ‘rich entertainment features’, is ‘more than just a chat or communication tool’ and will receive plenty of post-launch updates.