The relationship between DeNA and Nintendo could be in trouble, as the mobile games based on some of Nintendo's biggest properties have faltered at the marketplace.
Nintendo partnered with mobile gaming giant DeNA back in 2015, with the intention of bringing some of its biggest franchises to mobile phones. This partnership led to games like Miitomo, Super Mario Run, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, Pokémon Masters, and Mario Kart Tour. On the surface, these games seem as if they would bring in a ton of money for both companies, but all of the DeNA/Nintendo games have underperformed financially.
The relationship between DeNA and Nintendo might soon be going sour, as Yahoo is reporting that DeNA has booked a $450 million writedown in expectation of reporting a loss in March. The poor performance of the Nintendo mobile games has been cited as a major reason for these losses, as games like Mario Kart Tour and Pokémon Masters have not brought in as much cash as analysts predicted based on the pedigree of the franchise involved.
It doesn't help that there are two massive Nintendo mobile games that have nothing to do with DeNA. Fire Emblem Heroes makes more money than all of Nintendo's other mobile games combined and this is developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo. There is also the money-making juggernaut that is Pokémon Go, which is co-developed/published by Niantic and The Pokémon Company. It's no secret that the DeNA Nintendo games have mechanics that are just overtly sleazy enough to make players not want to engage with them, especially in a bloated marketplace with a lot of competition.
It has been clear for a while now that Nintendo isn't as invested in its mobile games as it is with continuing its established console & handheld ventures. Nintendo has some of the most beloved first-party franchises in the video game industry, and the company has clearly been reticent cautious about gacha mechanics - even at the cost of its business relationship with a massive company like DeNA.
Source: Yahoo