Nintendo's next two mobile games will be free-to-play

Nintendo's next two games for smartphones will be released for free on Android and iOS, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. The gaming company announced last month that its next two mobile titles would be based on popular franchises Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem, but pricing was not mentioned. Nintendo's first mobile game, social media app Miimoto, was launched for free in March year, and has been downloaded by more than 10 million users since.

According to the WSJ, pricing on the upcoming games was revealed by Nintendo's mobile partner DeNA, which worked with the company on Miimoto. "Fire Emblem and Animal Crossing are both free-to-start apps," DeNA's chief executive Isao Moriyasu told the publication, implying that there will be in-game microtransactions for both titles.

Moriyasu added that the new titles were more "pure-game apps" than Miimoto, which was focused more on social interactions than actual gaming. The new games are expected to be released later this year in the fall, and Nintendo has said it will create four more mobile titles by the end of 2017.

• SourceThe Wall Street Journal