During a financial briefing, Nintendo confirms that mobile gameSuper Mario Runwill be partly free to play and that friends fromMiitomocan be carried over.
Announced as part ofNintendo’s plans to bring classic franchises to mobile devices, isSuper Mario Run. An endless runner and platformer, the game sees the iconic Italian plumber blitz through levels, trying to collect as many coins as possible as he goes. Nintendo has also said thatthe game will feature a multiplayer mode, allowing players to race against one another, along with user created content.
However, despite Nintendo initially stating thatSuper Mario Runwould not be free to play and instead being available at one fixed price, the company now says that some of the game’s content will be available without charge. This was revealed during the recent Nintendo financial briefing (in which the company also shared itsNintendo Switch sales estimates) by the company’s president, Tatsumi Kimishima.
Kimishima said that downloading Super Mario Runis free, though players will need to pay in order to “unlock all of the game’s content.” The Nintendo executive said that after paying the fee, players can continue playing “without worrying about additional fees,” also noting that children will be able to “play it with peace of mind.”
GameSpotnotes that Nintendo itself may be uncertain onSuper Mario Run’s pricing, as Kimishima said that this is the company’s “current plan,” as though this information is subject to change. Full pricing information will be confirmed at a later date and hopefully the game’s iOS and Android release dates will be confirmed soon too. Launch countries haven’t been confirmed either, though Kimishima says that over 150 countries will get the game when it launches later this year.
Naturally, many fans have begun to discuss whether theFire EmblemandAnimal Crossingmobile gameswill work in a similar way. During the briefing, Kimishima also noted that the company’s other mobile app,Miitomo"has not been impactful from a profit perspective" despite the free to play title having garnered 15 million players so it stands to reason that Nintendo would paywall gameplay content in all of its future mobile games in an effort to maximize profits.
Speaking ofMiitomo, Kimishima also revealed that “friend relationships from Miitomo [can be] be carried over toSuper Mario Run.” The executive hopes that asSuper Mario Runlets players compete with one another, and that “active communication with your family and friends” will lead to “even more fun moments.”
Super Mario Runwill be available in December for iOS and some point in 2017 for Android mobile devices.
