Nintendo’s first all-new IP specifically created for the mobile platform has suddenly seen a big upswing in revenue after a slow start. Dragalia Lost now tops Animal Crossing over the same two-week period when only a week ago its sluggish performance had caused a drop in Nintendo share prices.
The reverse of fortunes will surely come as a relief to investors who have long felt that the mobile market held big promise for Nintendo. So far, even the release of household names such as Mario and Animal Crossing haven’t really gained any major traction. Dragalia Lost perhaps represented a more concerted effort to purpose-build a product for the platform that wouldn’t feel like a spin-off mobile port.
But new IPs are always likely to struggle in the games industry, and early signs suggested that Dragalia Lost was struggling without the brand recognition of other Nintendo products. This latest report from Sensor Tower, however, shows a big change over the past seven days. Dragalia Lost has now surpassed Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp by nearly $4 million over the same two week period across both the US and Japan.
The report notes that the lion’s share of spending has come from Japan, with 69% of revenue attributed to the region. That shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise given that it’s a title that was designed to appeal to eastern gamers.
In terms of platform, iOS users are the dominant force with 60% of total spending. Dragalia Lost is ranked No. 19 on the App Store in Japan and 512 for the US by revenue.
Although the game is still well behind Super Mario Odyssey and Fire Emblem Heroes as Nintendo’s most successful mobile titles, the fact that Dragalia Lost is succeeding as a new IP is certainly promising. We’ll have to see whether the trend continues before we can safely say that Nintendo is onto something for certain.
