Since launching on November 21 for Android and iOS, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp has reached 25 million downloads and earned $17 million in revenue. This is according to mobile app market intelligence from Apptopia.
Apptopia does not believe that Pocket Camp will match the success of Nintendo’s previous mobile games, Super Mario Run and Fire Emblem: Heroes. It cites a lack of a competitive multiplayer mode as a major factor, something that has driven revenues for many mobile titles, including Fire Emblem: Heroes. It’s a good start for downloads, but the revenue isn’t significant.
“Even though the revenue is not impressive, Animal Crossing had a much stronger launch than Fire Emblem did in terms of downloads,” Apptopia told GamesBeat. “It has a much stronger worldwide brand and player base, whereas Fire Emblem is more popular in Japan.”
Super Mario Run earned $75 million in its first year. It launched for iOS on December 15, 2016, with the Android version following on March 22. It attracted 215 million downloads. Super Mario Run is not a free-to-play game, instead offering a limited trial before players pay a one-time fee to unlock the full game.
Fire Emblem: Heroes launched on February 2 for Android and iOS. AppTopia projects it will reach 9.5 million downloads and $110 million in revenues during its first year.
Nintendo’s mobile push seemed like a significant moment when it started last year, but Nintendo is a very different company in 2017. The Switch debuted in March and has already sold 10 million systems, and its retro consoles have been flying off store shelves. Those successes have trumped Nintendo’s mobile efforts.
