The eagerly awaited Super Mario Run game has been launched for iOS by Nintendo, bringing the beloved Italian plumber to iPhone, iPad and iPod touch screens across the world. For those who grew up playing Mario games, which have been around since 1981, the new Super Mario Run will kick in the nostalgia. If you have downloaded the new Nintendo game, or looking forward to downloading it, here's everything you need to know about Super Mario Run.
Super Mario Run was released on December 15 globally. If you’ve signed up for the notifications to the game, you will be told when it can be downloaded.
(Also see: Super Mario Run Now Available for Download on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch)
The Super Mario Run release time might differ depending on your location. The game might be available in countries like the US from around 10am PST and India from 11:10pm IST on December 15, depending on how Nintendo decides to release the game.
(Also see: Super Mario Run Controls, Gameplay, Coins, and Modes Explained)
Expect it to take up around 370MB of storage space. It might not sound much but could be a problem if you have 16GB iOS device or a poor Internet connection.
The game's price is Rs. 620 in India and $9.99 in the US. This makes Super Mario Run one of the more expensive games on the App Store but you can try it for free. Which brings us to the next point.
(Also see: Super Mario Run Development Was Not ‘Simpler’: Nintendo)
Free to try, that is. Nintendo has stated you can play a few levels of Super Mario Run at no cost to you. It hasn’t stated how many levels will be free but if it is anything like what early previews suggest, expect three levels and a brief sampling of the fourth.
(Also see: Nintendo Shows Off Super Mario Run and Nintendo Switch in Action)
Yes, you read right, Nintendo is keeping Super Mario Run as a timed exclusive on iOS devices for now. A Super Mario Run Android release is planned for next year.
(Also see: Super Mario Run Android Early 2017 Release Date Is Bad for Nintendo and Gamers)
Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of Mario, has revealed that you will need an Internet connection to play Super Mario Run. Speaking with Mashable, Miyamoto said that the decision had been taken to combat the game’s piracy. “For us, we view our software as being a very important asset for us,” he added.
“And also for consumers who are purchasing the game, we want to make sure that we're able to offer it to them in a way that the software is secure, and that they're able to play it in a stable environment.”
(Also see: You Will Need an Internet Connection to Play Super Mario Run)
When Mashable asked if he was referring to the risk of piracy in “security”, he said: “That’s correct. Unlike our dedicated game devices, the game is not releasing in a limited number of countries. We're launching in 150 countries and each of those countries has different network environments and things like that. So it was important for us to be able to have it secure for all users.”
According to AppleInsider, Super Mario Run iOS would need 75MB of data per hour of "constant, involved" play after the initial download. And a lot less in most cases.
We won’t be surprised if this is an extremely generous estimate of the amount of data Super Mario run would consume. Reason being, the likes of Overwatch and Final Fantasy XIV on consoles and PC take up a tenth of the bandwidth at best. Nonetheless, we’ll know for sure when it hits iOS soon.
With the Nintendo Switch reveal seeing another Mario game, we won't be surprised to see if there's a deeper connection between both games when Nintendo's console sees a full reveal in January.
We discuss Super Mario Run and what to expect when it hits a wider audience on Android. All this and more on Orbital: The Gadgets 360 Podcast.
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