On the heels of Nintendo’s exciting announcement about Super Mario Run comes some rather disappointing news. Both the Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem mobile games pushed back their release dates.
In their press release announcing the new Mario mobile game, Nintendo also added that these previously announced projects would be delayed. Both free-to-play games were scheduled to come out in the next few months. They are now expected sometime around March 2017.
Of course, this seems to be due to Super Mario Run taking precedent for Nintendo over any other mobile game projects. In fact, Nintendo released a statement saying,
“Based on a variety of factors, we felt it was most appropriate for Super Mario Run to launch ahead of these other two apps.”
It does seem to make sense to lead Nintendo’s latest mobile march with Super Mario Run. The Mario series of games star as one of Nintendo’s most famous franchises, since the start of Nintendo’s consoles. On the other hand, Animal Crossing seems a lesser-known franchise. While loved by many, it is not as easily recognized around the world. And Fire Emblem has only recently become more popular because of the Nintendo 3DS games released. In terms of money, leading with Mario makes perfect sense. However, many fans are disappointed to learn of the delay for these other games.
Nintendo announced back in 2015 that they planned to release five mobile games within the next two years. Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem were the first on their list. Now that they have been pushed back, it is unclear whether Nintendo will have time to meet their goal by the end of their fiscal year.
What do you think? Are you more excited for Super Mario Run, or these other two Nintendo projects? Let us know in the comments! And stay tuned to The Nerd Stash for all your comic, gaming and movie news!