Nintendo's Fils-Aime claims cheap mobile games are devaluing the industry

Never one to bite his tongue when he can poke a competitor, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime has gone on record to suggest he's worried the prevalence of cheap games on mobile app stores is having a detrimental effect on the industry as a whole.

Speaking to GameTrailers, Fils-Aime said some of the games on offer on mobiles undoubtedly have value, but the constant 'race to the bottom' most publishers are engaged in is resulting in a dangerous change in public perception.

In short, the cheaper games get, the less willing consumers are to pay more. It's a trend that arguably threatens the success of the traditional boxed model practiced by Nintendo, with games priced at $30 or more.

Angry Mario

"I actually think that one of the biggest risks today in our industry are these inexpensive games that are candidly disposable from a consumer standpoint," he told the site.

"Angry Birds is a great piece of experience but that is one compared to thousands of other pieces of content that for one or two dollars I think actually create a mentality for the consumer that a piece of gaming content should only be two dollars.

"I actually think some of those games are overpriced at one or two dollars but that's a whole different story."

Down on digitalThough Fils-Aime is by no means the first to highlight the potential industry-wide problems with pricing on app stores, his account is likely coloured by Nintendo's failure to have its own digital marketplace 3DS's eShop ready for the handheld's launch.

Instead of rolling out on day one, the eShop won't make its debut via a firmware update until May.

This follows on from what's widely regarded to be the failure of its predecessor, DSiWare, to make a mark on consumers and developers alike, despite the availability of cheap games. The minimum of 200 Nintendo points equates to $2.

Within its first year, Nintendo's platform boasted a roster of 150 games a paltry total compared to the estimated 34,000 games that sat on Apple's marketplace at the time.

[source: GameTrailers]