Miyamoto: Future Mario games will not primarily be released for smartphones

Future Super Mario games will not primarily come to smartphones, says Shigeru Miyamoto, the character’s creator. Nintendo tried with smartphone games with Mario, but it didn’t work as well as on its own platforms.

Miyamoto does not immediately rule out the possibility of Mario games for smartphones, but he says in an interview with Variety that future Mario games will not primarily come to smartphones. Three Mario games have been released for smartphones so far: Super Mario Run, Mario Kart Tour and Dr. Mario World. The latter disappeared from download stores two years after its release. Super Mario Run and Mario Kart Tour are still there and did generate revenue for Nintendo, but much less than versions for the Switch.

According to Miyamoto, Mario games perform better on Nintendo’s own consoles. “Nintendo’s strategy is an integrated gaming experience of hardware and software. The intuitive controls are part of that experience. When we explored the possibility of Mario games for smartphones, which is a generic device, it was difficult to determine what the game should are.”

While Run and Tour were developed with the limited input of a smartphone screen as a start, that is no longer the start of a Mario game development. “We’re trying to define what the gameplay is and what the methodology is first, and then we’ll figure out which device that fits.”