We might not see any more mobile Mario games in the future

Nintendo doesn’t have the most robust catalog of games on the Google Play and iOS stores. The games it did publish have been pretty notable, and that prompts us to think that there are more coming down the pipeline. However, it doesn’t seem like that’ll be the case. Nintendo doesn’t plan on making more Mario mobile games in the near future.

There are only a handful of Nintendo apps on the app stores, and even fewer that star our favorite Italian plumber. There’s Super Mario Run and Mario Kart Tour. Both are pretty solid titles, and you can still play them. With how well-made those games are, we were all thinking that Mario had a comfortable place on our phones.

That won’t be the case, as Mobile Mario games aren’t in the company’s plans

Shigeru Miyamoto, Mario’s creator recently did an interview with Variety about the upcoming Mario Movie (in theaters April 14th). When he was asked about the company’s future plans for Mario on the small screens, he stated “Mobile apps will not be the primary path of future Mario games,”.

That’s a bummer to hear because Nintendo was able to give us some fun Mario titles. It’s understandable, however, as Mario has always been a console juggernaut. Its main console titles do well to the point where Nintendo doesn’t feel immediate pressure to venture deep into the mobile gaming world. The company is most likely working on its next Mario console title at the moment.

Also, the company has its hands full with making video content. Last year, Nintendo purchased an animation studio called Dynamo Pictures. The deal was completed in October, so we can expect original animations from the company sometime in the future.

There’s one thing to note

In the interview, Miyamoto specifically refers to mobile Mario games. However, he didn’t refer to Nintendo games as a whole. This means that we can’t rule out more Nintendo properties making their way to mobile devices. You probably shouldn’t hold your breath for a new Fire Emblem or Donkey Kong game, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility.