Mike Wuerthele
More details for Nintendo's 'Super Mario Run' for iOS have been announced, with the game being released on Dec. 15 with a single $9.99 in-app purchase opening up the entire game for users.
"Super Mario Run" is an endless runner title with the same graphical style used for Mario for decades, playing similar to long-term iOS titles "Canabalt" or "Jungle Run." Users tap on the screen to make Mario jump to avoid obstacles, strike objects, and clear gaps.
The longer a user taps, the higher Mario jumps. On-screen items or tiles can reverse Mario's direction, or stop forward progress to allow for precise timing of a jump.
The title also includes a new battle mode called "Toad Rally," where victory is determined by the number of coins you collect, with the "ghost" of your competition visible as you run, and by the number of Toad characters you impress. Progress across all modes is tracked by the number of coins the player has collected, as well as with persistent scorekeeping.
The initial download will be free, and will feature three game modes with limited progress available. The entire title will unlock for $9.99.
"Super Mario Run" was debuted at Apple's September iPhone 7 release event by Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of the franchise. A set of stickers for the iOS 10 version of iMessage was made available shortly after the event.
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16 Comments
Probably well designed, but there's really no excuse for Nintendo to not have nearly their entire back catalog on iOS by now. They must really hate to make money.
why do people keep calling this an endless runner when from the very first showing it's clear there are stages like a regular mario platformer?
I want this business model for all games and I hope it works. I'd gladly pay $5 or $10 for a game I tried for free and liked rather than be hen-pecked for in-app purchases all the time.