When it was announced that Nintendo would be making mobile game titles. The gaming community was both intrigued and cautious. On one hand, having Nintendo titles (legally) on their phones was an interesting concept. But, with no true previous experience, would the games hold up?
The first official title was Miitomo, which not surprisingly was based on the popular Mii characters from the Nintendo Wii and Wii U. This wasn’t so much a game, as it was a chance to build up communities for Nintendo on mobile devices.
Then of course there was Pokemon GO, which is only part-owned by Nintendo. A full on game that truly had people roaming the world looking for Pokemon. Issues aside, it was a great success, and developer Niantic revealed that the game has been downloaded over 500 million times.
Then yesterday, Nintendo shocked the world when they revealed Super Mario Run for Apple products, which is set to debut this holiday, with the promise it would come to Android in 2017. The game is an “endless runner” set in the Mario world, with the look of the modern Mario games.
Not only that, Nintendo had the ability to show off the game to those in attendance, and what fans and critics saw pleased them. If Super Mario Run works the way it should, it could be the true herald for Nintendo mobile titles.
Simplistic, Yet Fun
One of the overall threads of thought coming out of the Apple Event where Super Mario Run was announced was that the game was very easy to use and very fun to play. In fact, there was a room where Nintendo would give players the phone with the game, then encourage them to play it while holding onto a Nintendo plushie. Why? Because they wanted to show just how easy it was to control the game, and that you could do it with one hand. A fun idea when you think about it.
Mobile games have come very far from where they started, but often, the ones that get the best sales are the ones that follow the motto of “simplistic, yet fun”, meaning that though they can be deep and full of complexities, mobile gamers often prefer a light and fun touch. One that they can easily pick up and put down without much effort.
For Nintendo, Mario is the perfect example of “simplistic, yet fun” gameplay. and Super Mario Run appears to be a great representation of that as well. So impressed are some people, that one analyst has said that lifecycle downloads for Super Mario Run will be over 1 billion. A remarkable achievement if it does happen.
A True Benchmark
Now you may thinking, “Why is he saying Super Mario Run will be the first “true” Nintendo mobile title? When they already have Miitomo and Pokemon GO?” It’s simple, because Miitomo isn’t much of a game, and Pokemon GO wasn’t truly made by Nintendo. It was a collaboration between Niantic and Game Freak, which Nintendo partly owns, but does not have team members on.
With Super Mario Run though, it’s a pure Nintendo game made by Nintendo. What this means is, if the game is successful in any capacity, Nintendo now has something to look at and go, “This is what we need to be like.”
Nintendo is already looking into making even more mobile games based on their popular franchises. With Pikmin and Fire Emblem already being confirmed spots on that roster. However, and possibly quite wisely, those games have been delayed. This gives Super Mario Run the chance to prove that Nintendo can make, market, and sell their mobile titles, then make more games for their other franchises.
The difference between Mario and other franchises like Pikmin and Fire Emblem is visibility. Mario is the most popular video game character in the world, so it’s not a surprise that Nintendo would want to put him above everyone else. And again, given what we’re hearing from that Apple Event, people already love this game, so if that thread continues, it’ll be nothing but good news for Nintendo. Which, will mean good things for everyone else.
Going Above And Beyond
With a successful launch of Super Mario Run, the possibilities for the other games grows. Nintendo could use this as an opportunity to make the other games bigger and better. Ones that will truly appeal to the fans of the more “hardcore” franchises, or even the lesser franchises. How they’ll incorporate game series like Pikmin or Fire Emblem into mobile form is still unknown, but Nintendo does hope to have those two, plus one more title, ready by March 2017, which isn’t that far away if you really think about it.
The mystery title could be the big thing here. As are whatever the next pod of games will be. One success is all it takes for someone to want to go above and beyond what they did before. Nintendo always wants to try and please their fans. They could potentially do it here should Super Mario Run succeed in the way everyone is saying it will. And as they say, “A rising tide raises all ships.”
It’s true that we don’t know how well Super Mario Run will do, but it does have the potential to be great, and sell great. It’s clear Nintendo WANTS to do mobile games, this title truly proves that sentiment, and if it goes over well, it’s likely Nintendo not want to stop. And I don’t see a reason why they shouldn’t if it works.