Miitomo Hasn't Made Much Money, Nearing 15 Million Downloads

Nintendo's first smartphone game, Miitomo, came out this year and is closing in on 15 million unique users, the company announced as part of its earnings briefing this week. This is up from 10 million users at the end of April.

Though it's reached millions of players, the game is not a big-time money-maker, Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima said. "This title has not been impactful from a profit perspective, but the trends have been largely according to our expectations," he explained.

Kimishima went on to say that the goal of Nintendo's smartphone business is to launch titles that help expand the profile of its franchises. Not only that, but they should make money.

"Of course, we also expect the smart device business to be profitable on its own, while generating synergy with our dedicated video game systems to maximize the potential of Nintendo's overall business strategies," he said.

Miitomo is just the first smartphone game from Nintendo; Super Mario Run comes up next in December, while Fire Emblem and Animal Crossing titles will be out by the end of March 2017. These games were expected to launch before the end of 2016, but were delayed after Super Mario Run was announced.

Kimishima also teased the future of Miitomo, one part of which is a connection to Super Mario Run.

"We are making preparations to allow friend relationships from Miitomo to be carried over to Super Mario Run," he said. "Since Super Mario Run has a mode where you can compete with other players, this means that active communication with your family and friends in Miitomo will lead to even more fun moments in Super Mario Run."

Additionally, a "major" update for Miitomo is in the works that will "completely transform" the app by "making communication with your friends even more fun." The update will add "unique message features" that allow players to make use of their Mii character's facial expressions and voice in messages to friend. "Additional features" are also planned, but these were not specified.