‘Super Mario Run’ To Arrive For Android Devices In March Confirms Nintendo


Super Mario Run, Nintendo’s newest mobile game, was released on December 15, 2016 for iOS. Since the release, the game, which also happens to be among the first games developed by Nintendo for mobile gaming, has become extremely popular. The extent of its popularity could be judged by the fact that Super Mario Run was downloaded 2.85 million times on the day of its iOS release, which also exceeded Pokémon Go‘s record for most first-week downloads. Ever since its release, there were questions regarding a time frame for the game to be released for Android devices. Looks like we finally have an answer.

In a tweet sent out by the official Twitter handle belonging to Nintendo Japan, the company confirmed that Android users could expect to see the Super Mario Run for Android by March 2017 – barely two months away. We have embedded the tweet below which again, is in Japanese.

Translated into English, this is what it means.

“The Android version of Super Mario Run will be delivered in March 2017. Currently, Google Play is accepting signups to inform you of when delivery begins. Please sign up.”

You read that right. Super Mario Run for Android already has its place on the Google Play Store. Of course, you won’t be able to download the game from there now. What you can do, however, is to sign up and “pre-register” for the game so that you are notified as soon as the game arrives on the Play Store. On Android too, the game will be offered as a “free to start” title in which the first three levels can be played for free. To continue further, users will have to shell out $9.99.

In case you do not have an iPhone or an iOS device and are still wondering as to what the fuss is all about, here is a bit of a refresher course on Super Mario Run. To start with, Super Mario Run is a simple, side-scrolling, auto-running video game which contains three main game modes. In the first mode, the player is required to control Mario who will automatically run across the screen as he collects coins and awards. In the second mode, players are required to compete with “ghosts” of other players. The third mode is a Mushroom Kingdom area where players can expand using coins and other collectibles from the other game modes.

Soon after its release, Super Mario Run received positive reviews. The major criticism was its price which made the game expensive compared to a lot of other games on the App Store. Another major worry was the fact that the game needed Internet connectivity during the gameplay. However, in spite of these niggles, Super Mario Run went on to become the fastest growing iOS app in history. In the first week of its release, the game was downloaded more than 50 million times. However, in spite of these initial successes, both Nintendo and co-developer DeNA saw a dip in their stock prices. By December 26, Super Mario was no longer the top grossing app in any country. It, however, remained in the top most downloaded charts – a clear indication that people did not really fancy Nintendo’s single purchase strategy.

With the news of the arrival of Super Mario Run confirmed, several analysts have already started speculations on how well the game would do on Android. Do you think it will meet the same level of success and popularity as the iOS version saw? More importantly, are you planning to download the game once it officially arrives on the Google Play Store?

[Featured Image by Shizuo Kambayashi/File/AP Images]

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