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DeNA to double down on Nintendo partnership into next year and beyond

Publisher also plans to release five games of its own in Japan and China

DeNA to double down on Nintendo partnership into next year and beyond

DeNA (TYO:2432) plans to focus more of its games business on making mobile titles with Nintendo as it pulls its own IP development back to Asia.

In October, the company dissolved its US subsidiaries DeNA Global and ngmoco LLC as part of plans to pull back from developing games in the West.

The firm said its titles developed for Western markets had failed to deliver on expectations.

A mid-to-long-term partnership

Given the promising partnership DeNA has with Nintendo, with Super Mario Run already garnering 20 million pre-registrations before its launch on the App Store next month, the publisher has said it will be reallocating resources with a focus on the Nintendo deal.

Fire Emblem and Animal Crossing, also part of that partnership, are expected to be released by the end of March 31st.

In an earnings call, DeNA CEO Isao Moriyasu said the partnership with Nintendo will also continue on after that date, as its deal is for the mid-to-long-term, with further games based on Nintendo IP to come.

He also assured fans that he felt the mobile titles it is making based on Nintendo IP still feel “very authentic” to their respective console games.

Retreat to Asia

The publisher still has plans outside of that partnership, however, and aims to release five of its own games in Japan and China by March 31st. Given the closure of its Western operations, it’s unlikely these will come to Europe or the US.

Overall, DeNA reported its revenues for Q2 had grown 3% year-on-year to $366 million.

Its operating profit also grew 7% to $75.6 million compared to the same period the year prior.

Though its Sports division grew 147% year-on-year to bring in $60.3 million in revenue, its games business continues to be the company’s biggest earner. It brought in $232.8 million in revenue from games, though this was down 12% from the year prior.


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Craig Chapple is a freelance analyst, consultant and writer with specialist knowledge of the games industry. He has previously served as Senior Editor at PocketGamer.biz, as well as holding roles at Sensor Tower, Nintendo and Develop.