Mario’s creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, has revealed his insights about letting Mario dive into a new generation of entertainment systems.

Super Mario Run is one of the most anticipated mobile games to ever hit the market. Its core mechanic will be, as the title implies, Mario running and jumping with a single-button control scheme. Miyamoto delivered a brief chat in a Manhattan Apple Store to prepare fans for the launch of Nintendo’s first standalone smartphone game. The other comparable title would be Pokemon GO, although it was not fully developed by the Japanese game design giant.

Super Mario Run
Image credit: Nintendo.

Super Mario Run will be available for download on December 15 for iOS, and on early 2017 for Android.

Super Mario goes Apple

Super Mario Run is a major change for Nintendo’s marketing strategies and lifelong policies. Because the company also designs games, Nintendo games have been mainly Nintendo-based, meaning that its exclusive titles and characters such as Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda, and Metroid, are only available on Nintendo consoles.

Now, seeing that practically everyone can have a handheld gaming console, it is only natural that Nintendo would have to accept this fact as a leverage point for selling its own games for smartphones.

On the talk, Miyamoto assured that Mario would have to evolve with technology to survive as a character, seeing that it’s the company mascot and an icon for gamers everywhere. The intention with Super Mario Run is to create a game that anyone can pick up and play, similar to Super Mario Bros on the NES. Other titles will join Mario on smartphones everywhere, including Fire Emblem and Animal Crossing.

One of the main problems with delving in the smartphone market is piracy, seeing that both Android and iOS games and apps are easily pirated and exploited. To fight this, Super Mario Run and future Nintendo titles will require a constant internet connection to work.

Nintendo has always struggled with unauthorized content making its way to its consoles; perhaps with newer technology, it will be possible to circumvent this issue, although no software is completely free from piracy unless it boasts a considerable degree of security.

Business analysts expect Super Mario Run to make at least $71 million in its first month. Compared to other gargantuan mobile games, Pokemon GO made $143 million in its first month, Clash Royale made $107 million, and lastly, Candy Crush Soda Saga made only $16 million.

Super Mario Run will be free-to-play as a demo, appearing in app stores as a free app, but with $10, players can unlock the full game. Although it is pricey for a mobile game, this does not mean that players will not enjoy a great deal of content for such price, seeing that Nintendo games are always complete on release.

It is uncommon for a Nintendo game to have hidden fees or content that needs to be downloaded or unlocked for the full game to be played. In the case of Super Mario Run, players pay for a Nintendo game, just like they would with a 3DS or Nintendo NX game.

Source: Forbes