Nintendo releases first mobile game, shares promptly fall

Investors aren’t impressed with Nintendo’s long-awaited first mobile game.

Shares of the Japanese video gaming giant plummeted 9% in Tokyo on Thursday, hours after the company unveiled “Miitomo,” an app that may be more of a social networking tool than a traditional game.

The app was supposed to be launched this year, but has been pushed back to March, the company said.

Nintendo shares had been steadily climbing since last March after the company reversed course by announcing it would release a number of games for smartphones and tablets.

The storied company famous for characters such as “Super Mario” and “Zelda” had long been hesitant to delve into the exploding market for mobile games. But declining game console sales forced Nintendo’s hand.

To deliver the mobile titles, Nintendo partnered with Tokyo Internet firm DeNA. Shares of DeNA fell 14.93% Thursday.

Even with Thursday’s poor showing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Nintendo shares are still up about 50% since it revealed it would make mobile games.

The company said it plans to release four more mobile apps by March 2017.

Investors Thursday may not have been sold on “Miitomo.” The game uses cartoon-like characters called Mii to promote social interaction between users.

Game players can design Mii avatars to look like themselves. The game will ask users a series of questions it will use to develop character traits, which will then be passed to other Mii “friends,” the company said.

“You may be able to find out unknown aspects about your friends or unexpected commonalities you share with your friend because ‘Miitomo’ may pick up the topics that you usually do not discuss but would be willing to answer if asked,” Nintendo’s president Tatsumi Kimishima told investors Thursday. “What we would like to realize is, through such communication, you will be able to deepen friendly relationships and have more people with whom you can play games.”

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