Mario is finally heading to mobile, thanks to a surprise announcement during Apple’s iPhone event on Wednesday afternoon. In a day that most people were expecting big news from Sony, instead Nintendo made waves by showing off a new “runner” style game for Apple’s iOS platform. During the presentation, Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, brought out legendary creator Shigeru Miyamoto to unveil the new game, essentially the first real mobile game offering from Nintendo.
Super Mario Run is essentially a “runner” game, where Mario will automatically run to the end of a stage. You touch on the screen to make him jump, and you try and collect the most coins before the end of the level. The game has the bright visual style that has been showcased in New Super Mario Bros U for the Wii U, and looks quite good on the iOS system. There is another mode called “Toad Rally” where you compete against other players to reach the end of a level and get the most coins, which sounds like a fun little multiplayer mode. The game will be free to download this December, and users can play up to a certain point, then the rest of the game will be unlocked for an unspecified price. While the game is launching on iOS in December, it will be on Android at some point in the future, though Nintendo hasn’t said when.
It was also announced that Pokemon Go would be heading to the Apple Watch, and it certainly sounds like it will be quite the experience. The apple watch bands will detail how far a player needs to walk to hatch their eggs, info about fitness, as well as show PokeStops and Pokemon on the watch, without having to look at your phone. Super Mario Run, Pokemon Go on Apple Watch, as well as Fire Emblem and Animal Crossing which will soon be coming to mobile, are showing that Nintendo is finally starting to take mobile a bit more seriously. While we still don’t have a full fledged, traditional Mario experience on mobile, it seems as if its only a matter of time before Nintendo fully branches out in its mobile offerings.
Source: Apple iPhone Event