DeNA revenues for Q3 2017 fell below expectations after the company reported ¥30.1 billion ($277 million) - excluding sports - in sales during the quarter.

Lower than expected virtual currency sales resulted in revenues falling five per cent year-on-year, also down two per cent quarter-on-quarter.

Including its sports initiatives, which includes baseball, the company brought in ¥32.8 billion ($301 million) in revenue.

Operating profit for the quarter stood at ¥12.6 billion ($116 million), up 265 per cent year-on-year and 73 per cent quarter-on-quarter.

Fruitful partnership

Despite falling below expectations, DeNA’s partnership with Nintendo is still proving fruitful. Super Mario Run passed 200 million downloads during the last quarter and still maintains 20 million monthly active users.

Fire Emblem Heroes meanwhile, the most successful game of the partnership so far, has grown its number of active users.

As well as the launch of Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp in Q3, noted as a highlight for the quarter, DeNA has announced it’s now developing Mario Kart Tour for mobile. The game is set to release in FY2018.

"Despite our hopes for our holiday season initiatives, our third quarter revenue and non-GAAP operating profit did not meet our expectations," said DeNA CEO Isao Moriyasu.

"One highlight from the quarter was the November launch of Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp globally, our fourth Nintendo partnership title. Going forward, we will continue to refine and improve our business to delight people around the world."