任天堂:不用馬里奧兄弟，用實力

任天堂:不用馬里奧兄弟，用實力

當前，任天堂以社交體驗為核心的首款手游Miitomo僅在日本ITunes App Store上架，首發(fā)3天后便吸引了100萬玩家，迅速躥升至免費應(yīng)用排行榜的榜首。

測試中可能遇到的詞匯和知識：

whimsical 古怪的；反復(fù)無常的['w?mz?k(?)l]

foray 突襲；侵略['f?re?]

reignited 再次點燃；重新激起[ri??g'na?t]

avatars 替身；形象化符號[,?v?'tɑ:s]

lacklustre 無光澤的；無生氣的['l?k,l?st?]

blockbuster 巨型炸彈；一鳴驚人者['bl?kb?st?]

currency 貨幣；通貨['k?r(?)ns?]

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Nintendo surges on smartphone app release（423words）

By Leo Lewis in Tokyo

* * *

Shares in Nintendo surged on Tuesday after the Kyoto-based company revealed that a whimsical smartphone app widely expected to be a flop had been downloaded more than 1m times in three days.

The traffic on Japan’s largest video game fan websites suggested said the early success of Nintendo’s first foray into mobile gaming had reignited excitement over the six other smartphone titles that the company has promised by March 2017.

The surprise explosion of popularity for Miitomo, a social networking app that creates cartoon avatars from its users’ photographs and allows users to play simple games, prompted analysts to reassess the prospects of a company that has fallen out of favour with investors since last summer.

Since August, Nintendo had begun to disappoint investors with lacklustre sales of its Wii U console. But the frustration peaked last October when the company — after months of build-up — announced Miitomo as its debut smartphone title.

In spite of Nintendo’s history of creating blockbusters for handheld devices and home consoles, the company has been reluctant to venture into smartphone gaming where it would lose the control over hardware it has always cherished.

But in 2015 it decided that it could no longer remain out of the market — particularly with the domestic Japanese mobile game market worth an estimated $8bn in 2015, the largest in the world ahead of the US and China.

Both stock investors and Nintendo’s global fan base had been hoping that the games maker would adopt a “shock and awe” strategy as it entered mobile gaming. Many predicted it would draw on an intellectual property treasure chest that includes Mario, Donkey Kong, Zelda and other blockbuster-generating characters.

Instead, said analysts, the company appeared to be using Miitomo to build up a global membership for its smartphone-based My Nintendo club ahead of the launch of more traditional games-type apps.

Nintendo’s shares jumped 8.1 per cent shortly after Nintendo tweeted that Miitomo had hit the 1m download mark in Japan. Launched domestically on March 17, the app is scheduled for release in 16 other markets by the end of the month, and analysts expect it to attract 50m worldwide downloads by the time its popularity peaks.

Shares in DeNA, which is partnered with Nintendo on its mobile gaming strategy and is seen as an expert in monetising entertainment apps, climbed 6.5 per cent. Miitomo users can enhance their characters’ appearance with clothes and other items purchased using a virtual currency or secured by winning a mini-game. Supplies of virtual currency can be topped-up with real money.

請根據(jù)你所讀到的文章內(nèi)容，完成以下自測題目：

1. When Nintendo had begun to disappoint investors with lacklustre sales of its Wii U console?

a. March 2017

b. August 2015

c. March 2016

d. October 2015

2. What is Nintendo’s attitude to venture into smartphone gaming before 2015?

a. reluctant

b. pleased

c. nervous

d. furious

3. What made Nintendo decide to join the mobile game market as mentioned?

a. huge domestic market

b. fierce competition from the US

c. China's invitation

d. inventor's advice

4. How many countries are in the Miitomo online plan by the end of the month?

a. 15

b. 17

c. 16

d. 22

[1] 答案b. August 2015

解釋：去年八月，Wii U的銷量已經(jīng)開始讓投資者感到失望。

[2] 答案a. reluctant

解釋：盡管該公司一直不愿涉足手游，但由于失去了其珍視的硬件游戲機銷售優(yōu)勢也不得不妥協(xié)了。

[3] 答案a. huge domestic market

解釋：2015年日本是全球最大的手機游戲市場，甚至超過了美國和中國。

[4] 答案c. 16

解釋：任天堂計劃在3月內(nèi)在16個國家上線Miitomo