Super Mario Run was announced with much fanfare during Apple’s iPhone 7 launch event, but Nintendo didn’t actually provide a release date, leaving us hoping to get the game before the end of the year.
And it appears that we’ll actually get our hands on the first official Mario version for smartphones before December 31, as the company has just confirmed that the launch would take place in exactly one month.
Super Mario Run thus becomes available on December 15 for both the iPhone and the iPad, but only in the United States (we do know, however, that this isn’t at all a problem because the same thing happened with Pokemon Go and everyone was playing it anyway).
And yet, Super Mario Run won’t be cheap, and Nintendo uses quite an odd model to tease you and convince players to buy the full game.
It will cost $9.99
Basically, Super Mario Run can be downloaded from the App Store free of charge, and some parts of the game will be available at no cost, buy a one-time payment of $9.99 will be required to get access to all three modes in this game. iOS 8 or later will be required.
“The wait is almost over for a Super Mario game that can be played on mobile devices,” said Doug Bowser, Nintendo of America’s Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “Developed under the direction of Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto, Super Mario Run brings a new take on the series’ beloved action-platforming gameplay to iPhone and iPad for the first time.”
Nintendo says that the official rollout of the game will begin on December 15, and no less than 151 countries and regions will get it starting that day. It will be available in English, Japanese, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Russian and traditional Chinese language options.
As far as the Android version is concerned, all we know is that it’s coming, but a release date is not yet available. Most likely, Apple has managed to get full exclusivity for iOS, so expect the Android flavor to see daylight in early 2017.
