Paul Briden 20/01/2017 - 12:07pm

Mario is coming to Android this March via Super Mario Run

You may remember during a recent Apple launch it was revealed that Nintendo and the iPhone maker had come together to release a Mario game on iOS; Super Mario Run. Well now it seems like that wasn't a platform exclusive, Nintendo has bigger ambitions for apps and games in the mobile space, and Android is getting a turn very soon indeed.

Nintendo's official Japanese Twitter account posted the news on January 19 that Super Mario Run will be landing on Android in March. The game landed on iOS during December, and those who browse Google Play may now be noticing it's also listed and promoted on the Android application storefront, however, it's only allowing you to pre-register interest at this point.

We don't yet know how much it will cost, but on iOS users could play the first three levels for free, before paying a $10 fee to unlock the whole game.

And in terms of the gameplay? Well although there's the word "Run" in the title, which may have you thinking of endless runner games such as Temple Run, Super Mario Run is not one of these at all; it's actually quite a bit like the traditional side-scrolling, level-based Mario format we all know and love. It's optimised for one-handed gameplay, however, to make it friendly towards the smartphone platform. This simpler control system reveals the main difference between Super Mario Run and classic Mario (and indeed the similarity with Temple Run) in that Mario runs along on his own - you simply control the jumping, with different tap inputs resulting in different types of jump for the various obstacles you encounter.

It makes a lot of sense for Nintendo to be branching out further like this. The firm has seen a decline in recent years, while the original Nintendo Wii console sold well with the family demographic, it has since been overshadowed by Microsoft's Xbox and Sony's PlayStation. Meanwhile, mobile gaming has continued to eat into Nintendo's portable gaming market. Until recently Nintento seemed to steadfastly refuse to enter the mobile sphere, but then Pokemon Go happened, and has been such a runaway success that it's no surpise the firm would want to capitalise on its other well-known and loved titles and characers.

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