Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. News

Nintendo mobile games earn $1 billion, with Fire Emblem Heroes leading the way

By

Nintendo’s mobile games, not including Pokémon GO which had its best year ever in 2019, have collectively reached the milestone of $1 billion in revenue, led by 2017’s Fire Emblem Heroes.

Recommended Videos

Sensor Tower’s Store Intelligence data revealed that Nintendo’s mobile games have broken through the $1 billion milestone from global player spending across Apple’s App Store and the Google Play Store, with a total of 452 million downloads across the world.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

According to Sensor Tower, majority of Nintendo’s earnings from its mobile games is from Fire Emblem Heroes. The strategy RPG has taken advantage of the gacha system, in which players spend in-game items that may be purchased with real-world money to randomly acquire characters, to rake in $656 million. This is equivalent to 61% of Nintendo’s mobile revenue, and more than the earnings of all other Nintendo mobile games combined.

Related

In a distant second place is Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, with earnings of $131 million, followed by Dragalia Lost with $123 million. Mario Kart Tour, which holds the title as Nintendo’s biggest mobile launch in its first week, is only in fourth place with $86 million.

In fifth place is Super Mario Run with revenue of $76 million. The monetization model of the game is different though — unlike Fire Emblem Heroes, which offers a constant stream of revenue as players spend to improve their chances of acquiring certain characters, the first few levels of Super Mario Run are free, but then requires a one-time payment of $10 to unlock the remaining features.

Interestingly, while Super Mario Run is only in fifth place in revenue, it holds the distinction as the most downloaded Nintendo mobile game at 244 million installations, or 54% of Nintendo’s total downloads, followed by Mario Kart Tour at 147 million downloads, or 32%. Fire Emblem Heroes, meanwhile, only takes up 4%, but with an average revenue-per-download of $41, according to Sensor Tower.

Nintendo ventured into mobile games as an additional source of revenue for the company, which has struck gold with the Nintendo Switch as the hybrid console just surpassed sales of 50 million units. Nintendo is also entering the theme park industry with Super Nintendo World, which is opening this summer at Universal Studios Osaka but will also rise in Universal Studios Orlando’s Epic Universe.

Editors’ Recommendations

Topics
Aaron Mamiit
Aaron Mamiit
Contributor
Aaron received an NES and a copy of Super Mario Bros. for Christmas when he was four years old, and he has been fascinated…
New Elder Scrolls mod adds more than 160 new quests to Morrowind
A screenshot from the Abecean Shores Morrowind mod.

The Elder Scrolls VI isn't coming anytime soon, despite how badly we all want it. Even Avowed -- the next closest thing to an Elder Scrolls game we're likely to see -- isn't out until mid-February. If you need something to tide you over, a new mod for The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind adds a huge amount of content to the game that makes it worth firing up this 22-year-old gem.

Abecean Shores, a section of the much-larger and still unfinished Project Cyrodiil, is now available. If you recognize the name, then you'll probably be able to guess the setting: the shores of Cyrodiil, the Imperial homeland and the setting for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. The mod creators have added a truly ridiculous amount of content into Morrowind, including more than 160 new quests, according to PCGamesN.

Read more
EA turned down a Dead Space 4 pitch from the series’ creators
dead space interview gunner wright issac clarke flying through machinery in remake

After last year's excellent Dead Space remake, fans had hopes that EA would bring back the classic, sci-fi-inspired horror franchise for a new release. When Dead Space 2 didn't see a remake, word came out that EA had pumped the brakes on the series for the moment. Now, an interview with series co-creator Glen Schofield confirms the news we've all feared: Dead Space has likely gone the way of the dodo.

In an interview with Dan Allen Gaming, three Dead Space devs told the story of a Dead Space 4 pitch they had made to EA. The company turned it down. While disappointed, the devs seemed to take it in stride. "The industry is in a weird place right now, and people are hesitant to take chances on things," Christopher Stone said. "Take it with a grain of salt. Who knows? Maybe one day. I think we'd all love to do it."

Read more
How to get the OG Renegade Raider skin in Fortnite
Fortnite Renegade Raider skin with XP token

Fortnite skins are some of the most sought-after cosmetic items in any Battle Royale title, and thousands of skins have been released in the game to date. Among those, certain skins hold the mantle of being some of the rarest skins that the community hasn't seen since they were first released. Some of these date as far back as 2019 and haven't been brought back to the shop for over five years.

However, Epic just changed that with two of the rarest Fortnite skins and has brought them back unexpectedly, which has caused a divide in the community. The skins are Aerial Assault Trooper and Renegade Raider, which are one again available in Fortnite for players to get after eight long years.

Read more