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Mario microtransactions? One investor puts pressure on Nintendo

"Just think of paying 99 cents just to get Mario to jump a little higher," writes investor Seth Fischer in a letter to Nintendo president Satoru Iwata.

Christian Nutt, Contributor

February 26, 2014

1 Min Read
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"We believe Nintendo can create very profitable games based on in-game revenue models with the right development team. Just think of paying 99 cents just to get Mario to jump a little higher."

- Investor Seth Fischer in a letter to Nintendo president Satoru Iwata. The pressure on Nintendo to make mobile games may be heating up. Seth Fischer, who runs a hedge fund that owns shares in Nintendo, has written a letter to the company's president Satoru Iwata urging him to reconsider his commitment to consoles and avoidance of mobile game development. The quote comes from a letter obtained by the Wall Street Journal in which Fischer urges Nintendo to follow in the footsteps of Candy Crush Saga developer King, which has generated massive free-to-play revenues on mobile. Of course, Fischer is just one investor, but Nintendo has already fielded many calls to move its games to mobile platforms -- which the company is so far flatly refusing to do. Late last month, Iwata confirmed that his company plans to use mobile as a marketing tool for its dedicated consoles, and not to generate revenue for Nintendo. In an investor Q&A following its results, Iwata said that "the key aspect is that Nintendo would like to establish a firm channel on smart devices through which we can connect with consumers. This channel will enable not only us but also third-party publishers to communicate all the fun content on Nintendo platforms to consumers."

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