Nintendo's First Smartphone Game Is A Flop

The latest data from TickerTags indicates that Nintendo Co., Ltd (ADR) NTDOY’s first venture into mobile gaming isn’t going very well.

TickerTags monitors social media sites to identify trends by searching for words or phrases that appear together in social media content, such as tweets.

So far, Nintendo’s first attempt to capitalize on the explosive growth in mobile gaming hasn’t generated the type of social media buzz that the company was hoping for. Nintendo released Miitomo, its first smartphone game, on March 31. Incredibly, organic social media mentions of Miitomo are down 98 percent in the roughly two months since the game’s launch.

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Miitomo is a social game in which players interact with friends by asking and answering questions via avatars. The avatars, called Miis, can be upgraded with Miitomo Coins, which can be earned or purchased by the player.

Although Miitomo quickly generated more than three million downloads, many users either couldn’t understand how the game worked or simply lost interest.

The social media numbers support a Survey Monkey report that the game’s weekly average users have nosedived 74 percent from its peak less than two months after the game’s release.

If Nintendo wants to get in on the lucrative mobile gaming business, it looks like the company will be forced back to the drawing board.

Disclosure: The author holds no position in the stocks mentioned.