Big-name gaming company Nintendo (OTC:$NTDOY) has been around for awhile, seeing its own fair share of successes and disappointments. However, despite being founded almost 189 years ago, there was still one area Nintendo had yet to get into until recently: mobile gaming. If Nintendo can succeed in making meaningful revenue from its mobile gaming business, the company could potentially lower the volatility that could sometimes follow older companies or from producing video game consoles.

Seeing an opportunity in the rising mobile gaming industry, fiscal 2017 marked the year the gaming company finally kicked off its mobile gaming business with the release of Super Mario Run and Fire Emblem Heroes. Pokemon GO, the popular mobile game released in 2016, was not by Nintendo, contrary to widespread belief. The game was actually developed and released by a software company named Niantic.

With Nintendo’s new Switch console selling out left and right, the company’s brand is now stronger than it had been a couple years ago. As such, the timing couldn’t be better for Nintendo to begin its endeavors in breaking into the mobile gaming industry. Below are some reasons why Nintendo’s plans are quite likely to become a success.

Mobile is currently one of the most attractive markets in the gaming industry

As mobile technology continues to advance at a fast rate, more and more gamers are beginning to show interest in mobile gaming. In a survey conducted by data and information firm Nielsen (NYSE:$NLSN), it was reported that 84% of gamers that are 13 years and older play games on two or more devices. As well, 62% of console gamers aged 13 years and older also game on a mobile device.

Mobile gaming has developed immense traction in recent years, surpassing other forms of gaming like console gaming or PC gaming. It is now the fastest-growing segment of the gaming industry as a whole — mobile game sales are expected to reach a total of $46 billion in 2017, about a 19% growth since 2016. Compared to console and PC game sales, which have both seen a single digit growth from 2016 to 2017, the mobile gaming business is experiencing significant growth. With a mobile gaming business, it could be easier for gaming companies to attract more casual gamers who don’t see the point in spending $300 on a gaming console. It is also more accessible for younger audiences who may not have a console but have a smartphone instead.

As a result, companies in the gaming industry have realized that — in order to achieve success or make a meaningful revenue — mobile games cannot be ignored. Popular video game companies like Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:$ATVI) and Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ:$TTWO) have been spending quite a lot for the past year in order to improve their mobile offerings.

For Nintendo in particular, its family-friendly games and characters designed to attract both casual gamers fits the criteria for attracting a solid mobile gaming audience.

Nintendo is beginning to build a solid base to support future mobile gaming growth

Using the fact that almost everyone owns a smartphone these days, Nintendo is aiming its mobile game business towards people who may be harder to reach with new console releases like Switch. Nintendo could also use this business as a marketing platform to attract casual gamers to consoles.

Although Nintendo only generated about 20 billion yen in its mobile game sales so far in fiscal 2017 — quite a small amount compared to the gaming company’s 489 billion yen it generated in total sales so far in fiscal 2017 — it is still quite a promising start. It is even more promising when one considers the fact that Nintendo’s mobile gaming business is still very much in an experimental phase, and that management will likely learn and adjust as the company moves forward.

Nintendo’s first mobile games are seeing good results

Considering the fact that Nintendo has never really had experience as a mobile game developer, early results from its first few mobile games show great potential ahead for the company. Super Mario Run was near 150 million downloads in March, when the first quarter of 2017 ended. The game received a high amount of positive reviews, which lead to it receiving an Editor’s Choice award.

Super Mario Run was released in 165 countries and regions, allowing Nintendo to reach a much broader global audience that it hadn’t been able to before.

Following the success of Super Mario Run, Nintendo released Fire Emblem Heroes in February 2017. The gaming company is now working on its third mobile game, Animal Crossing, which is expected to be released later this year. Animal Crossing has been one of the most favored games amongst Nintendo fans across many gaming consoles, thus a fair amount of success is expected for its mobile counterpart.

Nintendo gaming enthusiasts are also hoping for Zelda to be another title to go mobile but Nintendo has yet to reveal anything regarding that. Besides Zelda and Animal Crossing, the gaming company has a number of popular titles — like Metroid and Donkey Kong — that could become great additions to Nintendo’s growing mobile gaming business. Although mobile game sales are only responsible for a little part of total sales, many believe that with Nintendo’s popular titles, family-friendly games, and designs meant for casual gamers, mobile profits can have great potential.

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