Nintendo's Mobile Game Revenue Hit $348M In 2018

While Nintendo is still relatively new to the mobile game scene, the company hit $348M in mobile game revenue in 2018, led by the massive success of Fire Emblem Heroes. Fire Emblem Heroes has been a runaway success for the company, bringing in a whopping $230 million last year, or 66% of the company's mobile gaming revenues. Nintendo's first mobile title on the other hand, Super Mario Run, launched in December 2016 and only brought in $10 million last year, after bringing in $31 million in 2017.

Dragalia Lost is off to a pretty strong start. Despite launching at the end of Q3 2017, the game still brought in $58.4 million world-wide and continues to grow in popularity even today.

The main reason Fire Emblem Heroes and Dragalia Lost vastly out earned Super Mario Run can be attributed to their business models. Super Mario Run was a buy to play game with no micro-transactions. Pay once and that's it. Fire Emblem Heroes and Dragalia Lost on the other hand monetize like most other mobile games, micro-transactions which can tempt users to spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

Nintendo's next mobile title will be Mario Kart Tour and its set to launch by the end of March.

Further reading: Sensor Tower