Nintendo reveals 'Miitomo,' its first game for smartphones

(Image credit: Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images)

It's one of the biggest video game companies in the world, but Nintendo didn't unveil its first game for smartphones until Thursday in Tokyo.

"Miitomo" lets players make customized avatars and interact with one another socially, the Los Angeles Times reports. It will be free to download, with in-app purchases, and is scheduled for release in spring 2016. The company previously announced plans to launch five mobile apps, including one that could feature "Super Mario," by March 2017.

Peter Warman, chief executive of the video game market research firm Newzoo, told the Times it was "unbelievable that it has taken so long for Nintendo" to get into the crowded field of smartphone games. "They had to see Apple, Google, King, and Supercell surpass them in terms of 2014 game revenues to take action toward mobile," he said. "However, it never is too late because smartphone and tablet gaming is here to stay." Newzoo reports that 2015 is the first year where mobile gaming revenue will exceed console gaming revenue globally, at $30 billion versus $27 billion.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.