Nintendo has delivered an unexpected announcement with a new mobile game, Pictonico. This free-to-start game transforms your phone’s photo library into 80 mini-games.
“Sure, it’s kind of silly… But there’s no telling what will happen next!” Nintendo said. The company described some of the mini-games players can expect. “Here come your school’s sports stars… strutting down the red carpet! Your boss is hungry and needs your help! Try to wash away those embarrassing high-school memories,” Nintendo added. “Son won’t quiet down? Zip his mouth! Two old friends reconnect while skydiving! Grandpa dressed like a ballerina. Can’t miss this photo op.”
Those familiar with Nintendo’s WarioWare games will notice similarities. WarioWare games bundle together very short mini-games, and players are given just seconds to complete them. Nintendo has stated that the experiences in Pictonico will range from “easy to pretty tricky.” While some games are free to start and playable as demos, additional “volumes” must be purchased to play them all. These extra volumes will cost between $5.99 and $7.99.
Pictonico will be released on May 28, and pre-orders are now open on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
The release of Pictonico is part of Nintendo’s ongoing efforts to diversify its catalog across mobile and console platforms. In a 2015 interview, the late CEO and president, Satoru Iwata, said, “We want more people to become familiar with Nintendo IP through Nintendo’s smart device game apps.”
