Nintendo to Serve Up a Free-to-Play Game by March, Platform Unknown
posted Monday Jun 17, 2013 by Nicholas DiMeo
Since Nintendo didn't hold a big press conference this year like Microsoft and Sony, largely to them not having a console to release, what was Nintendo doing during E3 this year? Aside from holding several private events to talk about games (Bayonetta!) and future roadmaps for the Wii U and 3DS, the company also chose to announce that they are taking on a new path in their gaming world.
During an analyst briefing, Nintendo said they are pushing forward with their first free-to-play game some time before March of 2014, their fiscal year. As of right now, we are unsure as to what platform, or even what game it will be. What we do know is Nintendo said that there will be a big focus on DLC, expansions and free-to-play titles moving forward, which they hope will improve digital sales on both the Wii U and 3DS.
What we also know is what franchises the F2P game won't be for: Mario and Pokemon. Nintendo's CEO Satoru Iwata commented specifically on those two franchises, saying that they "already have good relationship in those brands" so they see no need in trying something uncertain in them that could potentially cause disaster.
David Gibson, an analyst who was in on the briefing, said,
Nintendo plans to boost digital sales with launches like new super luigi u but also the first free to play game. Nintendo free to play game will be released this fy but will not be Mario or Pokemon game as already have good relationship in those brands. FY is fiscal year ending march 2014. Nintendo analyst briefing comments earlier were from President Iwata and FTP game platform not clear but was said when talking about WiiU
This could either mean we'll see a brand new IP that is free to get started with, a resurrection of another, older franchise or even a successful brand that will take on the F2P beast. Either way, it's definitely new territory for Nintendo and could lead to future success if done the right way. At any rate, it's time to speculate. What game would you like to see free-to-play? Let us know in the comments below.
