USgamer Community Question: What Other Franchises Should Nintendo Bring to Mobile?

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Nintendo’s throwing a lot of energy into Super Mario Run, the upcoming running game for iOS. The game was in good form on Jimmy Fallon this week, and there’s little doubt it’ll be a smash hit when it hits the App Store on December 15. We already know there’s a Fire Emblem mobile game on the way, as well as an Animal Crossing game, but what Nintendo franchise would you personally love to see on mobile platforms -- assuming Nintendo gives said franchise the care it deserves during the transition process?

Jeremy Parish, Editor-in-Chief

I know this is kind of me being a dick, but I'd love to see Nintendo turn Metroid into some sort of super-casual social game. Just to make people step back and appreciate how good they had it with Federation Force. It wasn't bad, people!

Jaz Rignall, Editor-at-Large

My answer is really boring, but I think that the Brain Age games, aka Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training: How Old is Your Brain, would work perfectly for mobile. They're already halfway there - the series was released exclusively on DS and 3DS - so converting them to work on mobile phones should be really straightforward.

It's clear that these games have very high appeal. The original Brain Age sold over 19 million copies worldwide, and the sequel shifted almost 15 million units, and I think that they'd do gangbusters if they were released on the likes of iOS and Google Play.

Whether or not the games do actually help train your brain is open to question. Nintendo always refers to them as an "entertainment product 'inspired' by Kawashima's work in the neurosciences," but either way they're really fun puzzlers that can be enjoyed pretty much by anyone who likes solving problems. They're also designed to be played minutes at a time, making them perfect mobile gaming fodder.

Like I said, boring answer. But one that makes a lot of business sense methinks.

Mike Williams, Associate Editor

I know i'm not the only one who realizes that Punch-Out would play very well on a mobile platform. Other than the fact that Nintendo isn't really using the brand these days, there's no reason for Punch-Out not make the jump. You could get to the core of the game - punching and dodging boxers - pretty easily on any multi-touch screen.

You lose the precision in timing since your input is touch, but you gain precision in targeting. Instead of being stuck with four quadrants of attack, you can open things up a bit. Actually target specific points on your opponent's body.

Plus, Punch-Out's general sports theme plays well with free-to-play! Nintendo can offer up an ever-growing roster of boxers to face up against. It can also offer new looks for those boxers or Little Mac, getting into the customization game. Let's be honest, my idea is the best.

Nadia Oxford, Staff Writer

I’m super-duper glad to live in a world where everyone loves Fire Emblem, but I kind of feel like the Advance Wars games were quietly garroted to make room for the fantasy-style strategy series. Nintendo: Why not both? Was a pact made with a demon that disallows both Advance Wars and Fire Emblem to exist at the same time in the West? That’s lame.

Turn-based strategy games don’t require quick reflexes, so I don’t see why a mobile device’s touch screen is doomed to be a bad choice for Nintendo’s upcoming Fire Emblem mobile title. In fact, games like the excellent Warbits is currently eating Advance Wars’ lunch on iOS and Android. Things shouldn’t be this way. C’mon Nintendo, give me back my tanks and candy-coated war games!