Super Mario Run won’t be entirely ‘free-to-play’

Launch regions expanded, as well

During a recent this past week, Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima discussed the pricing structure for the upcoming mobile game Super Mario Run. While no concrete figure was given, Kimishima did mention that gamers will need to pay to unlock “all of the game content.”

This is similar to how Nintendo labels some of their 3DS games as “free-to-start”; I’m not sure I’m a fan of that wording, but it is a bit more honest than the more traditional phrasing. As such, Kimishima reassured everyone that after paying, “children can play it with peace of mind.”

Along with that information, Nintendo iterated that the game will be launching in 150 countries in December. While we can assume Japan and the United States are included, there isn’t a full list of countries available. I’m going to assume that anywhere the iPhone is, Super Mario Run will follow.

While I can’t say I’m exactly thrilled that a main Nintendo franchise will be getting a mobile spin-off, having Mario hit phones was an inevitability. The Wii U was a pretty big misstep for the company, regardless of whether you liked it or not. Nintendo needs to recuperate their losses and putting Mario on iOS is a damn safe bet.

As for when the game will be coming to Android devices, no exact date was given. I’m not sure this presentation put anyone’s mind at ease, but at least we know that Run won’t be totally loaded with microtransactions.

[GameSpot]