Nintendo today confirmed that it will be releasing Super Mario Run for Android on the Google Play Store on March 23. The game first made its debut on iOS in December last year amidst heavy marketing push from Apple.
The hype surrounding the game saw it quickly skyrocket to the top of the App Store charts despite a hefty $9.99 in-app purchase to unlock its full content. The game itself was free to download which played a key role in it being downloaded over 10 million times within 24 hours of its launch on the iOS App Store.
Android version of #SuperMarioRun will be available on 3/23 with the Ver.2.0.0 update! Pre-register now: https://t.co/dAxzTlppnG pic.twitter.com/nQ0T4znOBt
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) March 18, 2017
The high price tag, however, has meant that only 5 percent of the total users who installed the game ended up paying money to unlock its full version. This has led to the game not making as much revenue as Nintendo and its investors had expected it to.
The iOS version of Super Mario Run requires constant access to the internet to prevent any kind of piracy. Considering piracy of paid apps is rampant on Android, it will be interesting to see what steps Nintendo will be taking to keep piracy of the game’s Android version to a minimum.
Are you excited about Nintendo’s Super Mario Run launching on Android? Or are you done playing side-scrolling runner based games?