Nintendo has announced that they will be releasing a free-to-play game by March of next year. Although they have yet to give any specific details, Satoru Iwata did confirm that the game will not be a part of either the Pokemon or Mario franchises.
Nintendo has recently expressed a desire to both release more free-to-play games and adopt methods of game distribution beyond traditionally packaged games. Iwata remarked that “we might see more games that are similar to free-to-play games, games that cost much less or games that require a monthly subscription fee.”
While Iwata did remark that selling games in a digital download format provides Nintendo with more flexibility, he stated that their goal is not to simply replace physical distribution with digital distribution. Regardless of their reasons, it seems that Nintendo is certainly planning to further explore digital distribution and make content more easily available.
