Nintendoâ€™s Dragalia Lost Falls Short on Sales in the USA

Nintendo has been around for a long time, and their well-known characters and franchises usually lead to quick and prolific sales. Any Mario game that hits the market is instantly identifiable and already has a cult following of fans to boost up the revenue. This time, Nintendo has made a brave move with their new built-from-scratch mobile release Dragalia Lost, featuring only original characters. There“s not a Donkey Kong or Zelda in sight!

Nintendo often sells games involving well-loved faces from previous titles. Dragalia Lost is their first mobile game with only original characters.

Dragalia Sales FlopÂ

Data from Sensor Tower shows that Dragalia Lost generated $3 million in revenue in the first five days following release in Japan and the USA, with a further $500,000 generated in the smaller markets where the game was released: Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau. Even further, the game was installed 800,000 times on the App Store and Google Play.

These figures are not tiny compared to other mobile releases, but they show that Dragalia Lost flopped compared to the other Nintendo mobile releases so far. Animal Crossing made $4.6 million in the first five days in the USA and Japan. Super Mario Run made $8.3 million, and the still highly successful Fire Emblem Heroes made $13 million.

Regarding revenue rankings, Dragalia Lost reached number 10 in Japan and number 55 in the USA in iPhone revenues. The game also reached number three in Japan on Google Play and number 25 in the USA.

The Bigger Picture

These figures alone suggest that Dragalia Lost has somehow failed, and right now, it“s hard to know how the sales will hold up in the long-term.

The fact that there is no name recognition or established IP used in the new mobile title is significant. Nintendo is well-known for their 80s titles like Super Mario Bros. and Donkey Kong, so for a new RPG that uses none of the usual characters to even stand up to the franchise releases is impressive. The Nintendo name is enough to generate a bit of a buzz, though it is clear they will have to build an audience the hard way with Dragalia Lost.

Still, the game did well if you look at the Japanese market alone. It was ranked number one for downloads for a time as well as soaring into the top 20 for revenue. It was the U.S. market that was more of a flop, but perhaps Nintendo was trying something a little different this time. And because Nintendo has their hands in multiple marketplaces, with new releases coming to the Switch all the time, their new mobile game represents a bold move into new territory.

Dragalia Lost was co-produced with Cygames, a company that knows the massive Japanese mobile market well. The game itself has a distinctly Japanese look and feel about it. Thus, it seems like Nintendo has made a deliberate move to target a specific segment of the Japanese mobile market rather than pursuing their usual road of mass universal appeal. If that is the case, then they have successfully dipped their toes into a lucrative marketplace and may choose to do the same in the future ”” targeting markets around the world individually.

Dragalia Lost GameplayÂ

“Dragalia Lost has a typical RPG storyline but develops the story and characters well to immerse players in the world of Alberia.”

Dragalia Lost combines popular mobile elements with a classic mid-core RPG action style. The main character is the Dragonblood Prince, who is joined by Zethia and Notte. It“s a dungeon crawler game, and you can take on the challenges individually or with up to three other players online in real time.

The action battle system is intuitive. You tap to attack and swipe to dodge, though unique attacks can require a bit more tactility. Your summon system leads to gaining new characters, dragons and Wyrmprint accessories. Expect to see more than 60 characters and 40+ dragons, which you can bond with to become more powerful!

However, Dragalia Lost stands out for its numerous systems. There are Mana Circles to unlock character abilities, stats and stories. Weapon and armor can be customized individually. Dragons can be powered up for enhanced bonding. But the strategy is all in the preparation, and so Dragalia Lost offers an audacious level of depth for a mobile game. It“s got the quality, but can it catch up on sales?

Header Photo Credit: Polygon.com
Photo 2 Credit:Â Photo by Alexas_Fotos / CC0 1.0