"Super Mario Run" was just released in December 15, 2016 but has seen an enormous number of downloads. Nintendo announced their latest numbers in their latest financial briefing.
Based on the current numbers, "Super Mario Run" has been downloaded for a total of 78 million times making it a huge success for Nintendo's first major smartphone game, according to Eurogamer. Among that 78 million downloads, 4 million paid for the full game which would seem like a moderate success for the gaming company.
"Super Mario Run" is a free downloadable game on the iOS but is only limited to the majority of the first world. Players would have to pay $9.99 to unlock the full game.
"Super Mario Run" came at a time when Nintendo is in dire need of revenue. Their latest home console, the Nintendo Wii U was a financial flop that failed to live up to its hugely successful predecessor the Nintendo Wii.
"Super Mario Run" is the company's first venture in the world outside their home grown consoles. It has been so far a success for Nintendo.
The app was download for a total of 40 million times in just 4 days. "Super Mario Run" was in the top grossing charts for a while before it was gone without a trace.
The success of "Super Mario Run" wasn't without its share of criticisms according to Venturebeat. One of which is Nintendo's hard stance on piracy that required the game to be constantly online for players to play.
Restrictions such as these resulted in a lukewarm reception despite the great gameplay of "Super Mario Run." This has definitely contributed to the low percentage of paid users.
Nonetheless, Nintendo feels that there is potential in the mobile gaming world with plans to release more games on the platform. Up next would be an Animal Crossing game and a Fire Emblem game. Lets just hope that Nintendo learns from its mistake in "Super Mario Run" and create better games for smartphones.
