Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem won’t come ‘til 2017

The announcement of Super Mario Run coming to the iPhone (and later to Android) made a lot of Nintendo diehards practically giddy, but now we’re hearing some less thrilling news. Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem are getting pushed back to 2017.

These two games made a stir enough of their own when they were previously announced, as both Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem are fairly popular franchises. Like Super Mario Run, they will be complete games with a set price.

Nintendo says the reason for this delay is because the gaming giant decided that it would be more appropriate for Super Mario Run to launch ahead of Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem. The plumber-themed endless runner is slated for a holiday release this year.

“Our Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem titles for mobile will launch before the end of our fiscal year,” said Nintendo in a statement to Polygon. Since Nintendo’s fiscal year ends on March 31, we can probably expect to see these two games arrive earlier that month.

What are your thoughts regarding Nintendo’s decision to push back these two anticipated titles to make way for their star character? Sound off in the comments below!