Nintendo announced that it would be working with Japanese mobile developer Line for a new puzzle game, Dr. Mario World. If you want to know why Nintendo would want to team up with Line for this project, you just have to see the money that Line’s Disney-branded mobile puzzles has made.
Disney Tsum Tsum, a free-to-play puzzle game for mobile made by Line, has made $1.5 billion, according to mobile research firm Sensor Tower. Disney Tsum Tsum has been out since January 2014.
If you haven’t heard of Disney Tsum Tsum, it might be because you aren’t Japanese. Sensor Tower says that 96 percent of the game’s revenue comes from a Japan. Line, along with its mobile messaging app, is well known in its home country.
Tsum Tsum’s popularity is not waning. It made $308 million in 2018 alone, with $26 million of that coming in December.
Nintendo will have to hope that its partnership with Line on Dr. Mario World can also be a long-term money-maker.