Nintendo has a whole bunch of mobile titles planned to capitalize on the success of Super Mario Run, but the success of that game and its anticipated launch plans for its next, Fire Emblem Heroes, might actually be causing its release plans to extend out a bit further than anticipated. Nintendo noted in its quarterly earnings report (via The Verge) that an Animal Crossing mobile game will be released later than anticipated, going from this coming financial quarter to Nintendo’s next fiscal year, which begins in April.
Nintendo says it needed to pad the schedule in order to “accommodate the releases and operation of these applications,” referring to Super Mario Run and Fire Emblem Heroes specifically. That likely means that Nintendo didn’t fully anticipate the ongoing commitment of resources required in running a successful mobile game which uses in-app revenue and that has required some post-release development to address user feedback.
The earnings release also notes that Fire Emblem Heroes is still on track to be released February 2, where it’ll land on Android first, and that Super Mario Run is still set for launch on Android in March. Meanwhile Animal Crossing’s mobile debut will fall sometime between April of this year and March 2018, but Nintendo’s not getting more specific than that just yet.
The Fire Emblem game is a blend of tactics and strategy with a free-to-play mechanic that will also probably require a lot of ongoing attention from Nintendo’s side in order to make it work. The game is set to debut this week, so watch out for our more detailed impressions soon.