Flush with the stunning popularity of the Pokemon GO mobile game, Nintendo aims to make more from marketing popular characters such as Super Mario, taking a leaf from the Walt Disney playbook where Mickey Mouse and friends bring in billions of merchandising dollars each year.
But, where Disney’s animated characters often earn more than the films they star in, Super Mario, Pokemon and other Nintendo franchises have languished amid the Japanese firm’s reluctance to push them beyond its struggling game console platform.
