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Mobi

Super Mario Run Announced For iOS, Android Later

by Donald Theriault - September 7, 2016, 10:29 am EDT
Total comments: 16

A premium experience for mobile.

A historic first will mark Mario's debut on mobile phones.

Shigeru Miyamoto appeared at Apple's iPhone 7 announcement conference today to debut Super Mario Run. The base game is designed to play in a similar fashion to an endless runner, but offers different levels and timing-based platforming challenges. There is also an option to race friends, and the ability to build courses using coins collected in the other modes.

The app is expected to launch on iOS first this holiday, and will have a free demo with a full-game purchase afterward. Mario stickers will also be available in iOS's iMessages app.

Nintendo has confirmed that this is the fourth mobile title in their lineup due to release before the end of March, with the Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem apps slated to launch after Super Mario Run.

Talkback

SorenSeptember 07, 2016

The press release confirms this is the 4th DeNA/Nintendo mobile game. Well, technically the 2nd. Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem have been pushed to 2017.

Also the only in-app purchase will be the full game. Apparently you can play a portion of it free. Like a demo.

KeyBillySeptember 07, 2016

I like the lack of in-game purchases.  Otherwise, I am not sure whether to be excited.  It looks suspiciously like a legion of mobile games that are not fun for long.  If the course building is shareable like Mario Maker and offers enough features, it could be interesting.

Mop it upSeptember 07, 2016

I don't think I'm interested in this since I have the "real thing," but I'm glad it isn't more free-to-play garbage. Hopefully, this will also have the effect of getting more people interested in other Mario games.

KeyBillySeptember 07, 2016

It is a gamble.  They might get interested because of the fun mobile games that are about tapping, then become bored and move on as with other mobile games.  That might make them resistant to any more traditional Mario games, because they feel like they are tired of those sorts of games.  Regardless, it is keeping Mario in the public eye.

Ian SaneSeptember 07, 2016

I was very skeptical of Pokémon Go.  Even as seemingly everyone I knew was playing it I figured that they were getting their Pokémon fill from it and that would be the extent of them being a Nintendo customer.  Then we got the sales figures for the 3DS and its Pokémon games and they both had a strong increase after Go's release.  So will this have a similar effect but for Mario?  We'll see but the idea of it helping doesn't sound unrealistic.

The timing with Super Mario Maker on the 3DS is good but could Nintendo actually have got some Wii U sales out of this if Mario Maker was still a Wii U exclusive?  There are enough other Mario games on the 3DS that its sales could be helped by this but they've really tossed the Wii U to the curb since that was a Mario game that really didn't have a 3DS equivalent.  I'm not thinking the Wii U is going to make any comeback but Nintendo has now rigged it so that it absolutely won't.

OedoSeptember 07, 2016

The novelty of a Mario game from Nintendo on mobile will probably be enough for me to play the demo, but, while I'm confident Nintendo has enough good ideas to make this stand out from other mobile games and be successful, I can't picture Nintendo doing enough with a game like this to entice me to buy the full thing when I can already play more complete 2D Mario games on the Wii U and 3DS. That's obviously not the point of their mobile strategy though and I'm glad they're sticking to their word of making sure their mobile games reflect the platform they're being designed for. 

Quote from: Ian

The timing with Super Mario Maker on the 3DS is good but could Nintendo actually have got some Wii U sales out of this if Mario Maker was still a Wii U exclusive?  There are enough other Mario games on the 3DS that its sales could be helped by this but they've really tossed the Wii U to the curb since that was a Mario game that really didn't have a 3DS equivalent.  I'm not thinking the Wii U is going to make any comeback but Nintendo has now rigged it so that it absolutely won't.

The decision to move on from the Wii U was made a long time ago, as evidenced by last year's sparse holiday lineup. There's no sense in trying to push sales to a console that no one is supporting with software anymore, including Nintendo.

TheXenocideSeptember 07, 2016

Was it James who called this?

Fatty The HuttSeptember 07, 2016

Jesu! If you thought Pokemon was big ....
This seems to me like it will be just huge.

Fatty The HuttSeptember 07, 2016

First video look
https://twitter.com/AppStore/status/773600801746853888
looks pretty nice, actually.

nickmitchSeptember 07, 2016

I didn't think Nintendo would do an "endless runner" type game, but if anyone can make that sort of thing fun, it's them.  I guess it's also the best thing Mario is a fit for, and that's the face they needed to get out there.

AdrockSeptember 07, 2016

An endless runner in the style of New Super Mario Bros? Jebus, Nintendo, you finally made a Mario game I give zero fucks about.

ShyGuySeptember 07, 2016

Will this surpass the sales of Mario is Missing?

LemonadeSeptember 07, 2016

New Super Mario Bros iOS. This is about the least interesting mario game they could possibly have made.

EnnerSeptember 08, 2016

There is such a calculated and efficient air of machination to this product that I can't help but wonder at. Not only is it using an art style that has sold tens of millions of copies, but it is most definitely reusing and repurposing existing assets. I hate it when developers are accused of laziness, but I can't help but see Super Mario Run as the bare, minimal effort to appease a mass audience and investors.

ejamerSeptember 08, 2016

Quote from: ShyGuy

Will this surpass the sales of Mario is Missing?

Questions about pricing (and Nintendo's preference for maintaining a "premium" pricing strategy) aside, surely you are joking?  This will probably sell millions just because of the potential audience size.  It's not what I want, and not what I'll buy... but I'd be shocked if this didn't sell well.

Quote from: Enner

... the bare, minimal effort to appease a mass audience and investors.

And judging by jumps in share price, it's already succeeded.

Luigi DudeSeptember 08, 2016

Quote from: Enner

I hate it when developers are accused of laziness, but I can't help but see Super Mario Run as the bare, minimal effort to appease a mass audience and investors.

And that's a good think because it means they're not diverting their resources from the next real 2D Mario that'll be made for the NX.  This is pretty brillant for Nintendo since they can get away with quickly pumping out these mobile efforts to keep the investors happy while it doesn't take away from the real deal for us. 

Of course lets be honest here, even a low effort rushed mobile Mario game from Nintendo will probably still end up better then 99% of everything else on that market which will still make this game a huge success with great word of mouth among mobile gamers.

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