Shares in Nintendo have surged after the company announced that a new version of its popular Super Mario franchise will be available on iPhone, BBC News reports.
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Nintendo’s stock was already up this year after the release of the augmented reality game “Pokemon Go”.
Shigeru Miyamoto was on hand today during Apple’s special event, introducing a very important addition to the App Store: Super Mario Run.
Players control Mario through a series of obstacle courses while collecting coins along the way. Also of note: This isn’t an iPhone exclusive, but it doens’t look like “Super Mario Run” will arrive on Android this year. In higher levels, players can compete with other players’ scores and create their own “kingdom”. Also coming are Super Mario stickers with the new iOS, iOS 10.
It will be free to download but users will have to pay for the full game.
There’s no release date for the game just yet, but Nintendo says it will be out this December. There are blocks going forward that can change Mario’s direction as well.
Nintendo’s stock rose by 30% following the reveal of Super Mario Run at Apple’s iPhone 7 conference, showing that the company’s push to mobile is paying off. Shares in DeNA also jumped 11 percent on Thursday.
Cosmo’s Kawasaki said that unlike Pokemon Go, from which Nintendo profits mainly through its investments in co-developer Niantic and Pokemon Company, sales from Super Mario Run would directly benefit Nintendo.
Smartphones are the gaming industry’s fastest growing source of revenue and Nintendo has been criticised for being slow on the uptake.
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The game is called “Super Mario Run”, and it’s the first time everyone’s favorite Italian plumber is appearing on the world’s most popular game console, the iPhone.
