![\"Shigeru](\"http:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/624\/cpsprodpb\/DA77\/production\/_92972955_0aed50ab-7786-4d7a-8acc-363231cd5b17.jpg\")
<\/p>\nGames company Nintendo has rolled out Super Mario Run to iPhones and iPads.<\/p>\n
The app marks the first time the firm has created a smartphone game based on its most famous character.<\/p>\n
It follows the successful release of Pokemon Go earlier in the year. Nintendo owns a minority stake in the Pokemon Company, but the title was developed by a third party.<\/p>\n
Experts predict the new game will also prove popular, but suggest an anti-piracy feature is misguided.<\/p>\n
“Mario is one of the best loved and established icons of gaming and I think this is going to be tremendously successful,” said Piers Harding-Rolls from the IHS Technology consultancy.<\/p>\n
“To open up the full game you have to make an in-app purchase – it’s quite big but it is a one-off and I don’t think people will think Nintendo is trying to rinse their audience.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
But he added that he thought it was a “misstep” to require users to be online in order to play – something the game’s producer Shigeru Miyamoto has said was done to limit piracy.<\/p>\n
“Some demographics will be wanting to use this as they commute and we know that the coverage in some markets is relatively patchy,” said Mr Harding-Rolls.<\/p>\n
“Not having offline capability to play will also be an issue for kids travelling in cars.”<\/p>\n
Super Mario Run takes the Super Mario Bros format – where the character sprints from left to right, collecting coins, jumping over obstacles and squishing enemies – and tweaks the gameplay to make it easy to play one-handed on a touchscreen.<\/p>\n
The free version acts as a brief demo, but paying a \u00a37.99 fee offers full access to three modes:<\/p>\n
For now the title is restricted to Apple’s iOS platform, but Nintendo has said it will come to Android “at some point in the future”.<\/p>\n
Nintendo had initially shunned smartphones, preferring to focus on its own hardware.<\/p>\n
However, weak sales of its Wii U console and a decline in demand for its 3DS handheld caused the firm to sustain large financial losses, putting it under pressure to change tack.<\/p>\n
It launched its first smartphone game, Miitomo, in March to mixed reviews but strong demand.<\/p>\n
Then in July, the release of Pokemon Go became a global phenomenon, lifting Nintendo’s share price despite the fact it only received a relatively small cut of all sales.<\/p>\n
But last month, the firm revealed that two subsequent Pokemon games released for the 3DS – Sun and Moon – had become the fastest-selling titles in its history in Europe and the Americas.<\/p>\n
Mr Harding-Rolls said Nintendo would be hoping for a similar knock-on effect when it launches its new console, the Switch, in March for which it is developing a new 3D Mario title.<\/p>\n
“By launching this smart device game, Nintendo is opening Mario up to people who might be attracted by a sense of nostalgia as well as introducing a new generation of gamers to the brand.<\/p>\n
“And that’s bound to have a halo impact on its other products.”<\/p>\n
Nintendo’s domestic rival Sony is also making a fresh efforts to create iOS and Android games based on its PlayStation brands.<\/p>\n
On Monday, it revealed a new Parappa the Rapper title and an Everybody’s Golf game were being developed by its ForwardWorks studio.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–<\/p>\n
Source: BBC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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