Nintendo are set to make Super Mario available for Apple products for the first time, Mashable has reported. This will also be the first Mario game made for a smartphone. The company has indicated that part of the motivation is to stop potential piracy. For this reason users will not only need to download an app but also be on-line when they wish to play the game.
The game will feature playability associated with other Super Mario games, such as collectible coins of various colors, mushrooms, Goombas, Koopa Troopers, boss battles. In essence the smartphone game will be in the Super Mario Bros format, a type of platform adventure where the user controls the character from left to right. There are three game modes titled World Tour, Toad Rally and Kingdom Builder.
Super Mario games follow Mario’s adventures in the fictional Mushroom Kingdom. The first title in the series, Super Mario Bros., released for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1985. The character Mario (who resembles a short, pudgy, Italian plumber) has appeared in over 200 video games since his creation.
Speaking with the BBC, technology consultant Piers Harding-Rolls enthuses: “Mario is one of the best loved and established icons of gaming and I think this is going to be tremendously successful.” The move continues Nintendo’s advance into mobile gaming following its first game, called Miitomo which was launched in March 2016. This was followed by July’s Pokemon Go (which Nintendo had a part stake.) Given the relatively disappointing sales of the Wii U, these types of games might signal the future direction of the Japanese company.
Super Mario Run will be available as a free demo. The cost of the game, to access all features, is expected to be around $10 (£8.) A version for Android devices is being worked on, although this will not be launched until later in 2017.
