Nintendo Launching Super Mario Run App for iOS Dec 15
November 15 2016 - 11:20AM
Dow Jones News
Nintendo Co. plans to launch its highly anticipated mobile app
"Super Mario Run" on Dec. 15, charging $9.99 in the U.S. for people
who want to play the full game.
Most mobile games are free to play and generate revenue by
selling virtual goods designed to enhance the player's experience.
Mobile games are expected to reach $36.9 billion in global revenue
this year, according to research firm Newzoo BV.
"Super Mario Run," Nintendo's first-ever smartphone game
featuring one of its iconic characters, will be among the more
costly games available when it launches. Among paid games available
today, prices range from 99 cents to more than $20. Some of the
most popular paid games include Microsoft Corp.'s "Minecraft:
Pocket Edition" and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.'s "Heads
Up!"
Nintendo surprised fans and investors when it announced "Super
Mario Run" -- a side-scrolling run-and-jump game familiar to Mario
fans -- at an Apple Inc. iPhone event in September. On Tuesday, the
company said people can play parts of the game's three modes for
free.
Nintendo didn't say whether "Super Mario Run" will work with
Switch, the new console-handheld hybrid device due for release in
March. The game will launch for iPhones and iPads in 151 countries
and regions, and arrive on Android devices at a later date.
David Gibson, an analyst at Macquarie Securities, said $10 is a
premium price and that people were expecting the game to cost
between $3 and $5. "You'd see much bigger adoption if it was a more
reasonable price," he said.
After previously long resisting the smartphone space, Nintendo
in March took its first steps with "Miitomo," a free social app it
developed in partnership with DeNA Co. Two more apps based on
popular Nintendo games—the role-playing franchise "Fire Emblem" and
the community simulation "Animal Crossing"—are due this fall.
Write to Sarah E. Needleman at sarah.needleman@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 15, 2016 11:05 ET (16:05 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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