Nintendo to offer first games for free on Smartphones

Iconic game maker Nintendo is partnering with DeNA to launch five gaming titles by March 2017.

According to a recent announcement made by Isao Moriyasu, president and CEO of DeNA, the first games that Nintendo and DeNA will launch will adopt the free-to-play system, as the company plans to make its earnings through in-app purchases.

The games are likely to follow a freemium model. Over the years, the smartphone gaming industry has been gaining popularity with freemium models where the Games are free to download and play but users may have to pay for select features or as they move on to the next level. However, it is seems naive to speculate of Nintendo's plans to charge users from such in-app purchases in its upcoming smartphone games.

However, the freemium models will be questionable as to how much freebies that Nintendo will give its users in terms of the free to download app. It is still unknown if these in-app purchases will be forced upon users, which at times could turn out to be a bad experience for some users.

A couple of weeks ago, Nintendo recently announced that the first app it will launch in collaboration with DeNA will actually be a social media platform with embedded IM functionality called Miitomo.