Nintendo's First Mobile App Disappoints Fans

Nintendo has announced its first ever smartphone app - but it's so disappointing that it knocked 10% off the company's share price.

Fans and investors had hoped for a Mario Kart or Super Mario smartphone spin-off, but instead got an unexpected game called Miitomo.

The mobile gaming market is worth around £18bn and the Kyoto-based company hopes to compete with the likes of Candy Crush and Angry Birds in future.

However, instead of releasing a classic platform or racing game with well-known names such as Mario, Miitomo is a chat-style app featuring user-generated characters.

On Nintendo message boards, fans voiced their disappointment.

One wrote: "What's the point though? I mean there are a gazillion mobile chat apps like iMessage, Hangouts, Kakao (KOSDAQ: 035720.KQ - news) , Hip Chat, FB Message, WhatsApp, Slack, GroupMe etc ... And a lot of them have different stickers and emojis. What is gonna make this different? What is gonna draw people in?"

Another said: "What is this? A non-starter of an app that will help them do what exactly?

"Gauge market interest in Nintendo's mobile presence? If there's some shrewd business move here I'm totally missing it."

The game's release is also delayed until March, meaning it's going to miss the key Christmas period.

The company's chief executive, Tatsumi Kimishima, said the delay was to allow the firm to focus on its console business.

He said: "The last two months of the year is traditionally our peak sales season. By doing it like this, we can introduce our new applications after the holiday season is over."

His predecessor - Satoru Iwata, who died from cancer earlier this year - had promised that Nintendo would release its first smartphone games by the end of 2015.

Despite shunning mobile gaming for a decade, the disappointing sales of its WiiU console has made the lucrative industry more attractive.