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By John McCarthy, Opinion Editor

February 19, 2015 | 2 min read

Japanese games producer Nintendo has set in motion a fundamental shift in its pricing philosophy by launching a free-to-play Pokémon title on the 3DS in Japan.

'Pokémon Shuffle', a 3D puzzle game launched today (19 February), requires players to line up three identical Pokémon in a row, in much a similar vein to Candy Crush and other copycat mobile titles.

With the company’s flagship console, the Wii U, suffering from slumping sales internationally, Nintendo looks to boost revenue by embracing mobile-centric gaming on its devices in a bid to attract the casual mobile gaming crowd.

Marking a u-turn in Nintendo policy, Pokémon Shuffle players receive limited chunks of gameplay but can acquire additional lives and power-ups with in-game purchases.

The release comes despite Nintendo chief executive Satoru Iwata establishing his distaste of the free-to-play medium in 2011. “We have no intention to provide a property to any other platforms, or making them available in a mode that does not require consumers to pay at all.

“Nintendo is a company, which is trying to maintain the overall value of video games,” he said.

The title was launched in Japan today with European and US releases set to follow.

In contrast, the Apple Store, one of the largest innovators behind the free-to-play mobile gaming movement last week released a 'Pay Once and Play' section on its store, heralding back to a time when video game purchases were more transparent.

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