It was back in March when Nintendo first announced big plans for the mobile space by partnering with mobile developer DeNA. Five mobile games are said to be on the way, the first of which will release this year.
This newly announced mobile game isn't coming from DeNA, but will look familiar to anybody with a Nintendo 3DS. Pokémon Shuffle, a Pokémon themed match three game, will be ported from Nintendo's handheld console to mobile devices later this year.
"By matching three or more Pokémon, players can deal damage and whittle down their opponents," reads the official press release. "Fans can even battle through difficult stages by using Mega-Evolved Pokémon."
It's a fairly simple game, but nobody is going to argue that match three games aren't wildly popular in the mobile space. Adding the collection elements of Pokémon as well as the cute monsters themselves seems like a surefire plan for success.
Nintendo says the original Pokémon Shuffle has been downloaded more than 4.5 million times on the Nintendo 3DS, and no doubt the company is expecting even bigger results when the game arrives on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store later this year. Just don't expect to see traditional Pokémon or Mario games on mobile devices. Nintendo is adopting the strategy of making mobile titles that will serves as gateways to Nintendo's traditional console platforms, including the company's currently in development "NX" console.
Since Pokémon Shuffle Mobile isn't coming from DeNA, Nintendo fans can expect another mobile game before the year's end as well.
Pokémon Shuffle Mobile currently doesn't have an exact release date but will arrive later this year. When it does arrive, it will be free to download on both iOS and Android devices.
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