Nintendo has announced Super Mario Run at today’s Apple Special Event, which will release first on iPhone and iPad.
Apple CEO Tim Cook had shared on stage that while more than 500,000 games were now on the App Store, one particular man was missing. But now, in an entirely unexpected move, the moustachioed plumber is making an energetic leap into the mobile market.
Super Mario Run is described as “a full-sized Super Mario Bros. action platformer that has been developed specifically for mobile,” and will release first on the App Store this December.
It will be an auto-runner, which sees Mario automaically run to the right of the screen. With simplicity underpinning its design, players are required to tap to jump – holding longer seeing Mario leap even higher. Enemies will need to be dodged as you dash toward the flag pole to complete each level.
There are more modes, such as one where the player competes against the acrobatic moves of other people who have completed the same course, and another where you create your own Mushroom Kingdom based upon these play results.
A portion of Super Mario Run will be available for free, with the full experience to be available for a set purchase price on release.
“We have created Super Mario Run to be perfect for playing on your iPhone,” Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto shared. “Super Mario has evolved whenever he has encountered a new platform, and for the first time ever, players will be able to enjoy a full-fledged Super Mario game with just one hand, giving them the freedom to play while riding the subway or my favorite, eating a hamburger.”
Apple CEO Tim Cook adds: “The App Store has made so many things better in our lives – the way we communicate, the way we work and the way we have fun. But for gamers of all ages, the story just hasn’t been complete without Mario, so we are thrilled that Nintendo is bringing him to iOS for the first time this December.”
Super Mario Run will release first on the App Store for iPhone and iPad in December.
It. Has. Begun.