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Super Mario Run 10M+ downloads Day 1, over $4M revenue, biggest Appstore launch ever.

Spman2099

Member
Good for Nintendo. I like seeing them remind people why they're relevant.

Wait, how does this show anything other than the fact that people still remember who Mario is? It costs nothing to download it.Or is everyone who owns a phone remembering who Mario is why they are still relevant?
 
Wow.

Mobile gaming people and their comments about pricing in the review section on AppStore.

I now really understand why it isn't mobile games that are the threat, it's the gaming business model. There's no way games like UC4, Gears, Star Citizen or The Witness, let alone something like Bound, could ever be done in that space.

I had to explain to a co worker why the game was 10$. They told me 10$ is really expensive. Mobile gaming is fucked and hope Nintendo starts a new trend that it's ok to pay some money for a full game.
 

Kaisos

Member
I had to explain to a co worker why the game was 10$. They told me 10$ is really expensive. Mobile gaming is fucked and hope Nintendo starts a new trend that it's ok to pay some money for a full game.

Console gaming is dying because of mobile and Steam fucking with people's perception of value. It's pretty bad.
 
. At the same time however, they could have easily avoided plenty of the backlash here by making sure Apple made it much clearer from the start that the full experience wouldnt be free

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I think this is just people being people. I don't know how much clearer they could have made it. They announced the pricing structure at the apple keynote. Reported by every News report, it been common knowledge for ages, it probably even in the item description on the app store.
 
I had to explain to a co worker why the game was 10$. They told me 10$ is really expensive. Mobile gaming is fucked and hope Nintendo starts a new trend that it's ok to pay some money for a full game.

I personally hate the whole "everything is free" attitude that is on the internet in general.

Don't people realise there is always a catch?

1. Your personal info gets sold for ads
2. You get baited into making small payments all the time
3. There is a bait and switch
4. The company that offers the free product goes under because investments dry up

I prefer a good old fashioned fair and clear pay structure.
 

kyser73

Member
I had to explain to a co worker why the game was 10$. They told me 10$ is really expensive. Mobile gaming is fucked and hope Nintendo starts a new trend that it's ok to pay some money for a full game.

I guess if you're used to ftp games that are either completely disposable or something like clash of the clans and have an annoyingly addictive gameplay loop that you rarely pay anything for, $10 is 'expensive', but I agree - hopefully it'll start to wake people up to value for games with variety, longevity & depth, because the idea of a games industry that doesn't have the developer resources or inclination to make something as big as an FFXV isn't one I want to think about.
 

Bulbasaur

Banned
I wouldn't care if they did the nastiest micro transactions ever, in fact I think they should. They give value and they still get shit on, ridiculous. People are retarded.
 

Rezbit

Member
Nintendo on phones is marketing for Nintendo consoles. Same with Mario being featured at Tokyo 2020. Nintendo is still in the business of selling hardware. The rest is just good PR.

This is pretty much the vibes I'm feeling. Mario Run is fantastic as a phone game...but it does make me want a new console Mario haha. I guess the outrageous sales of Pokemon Sun and Moon has shown how having something like Pokemon Go in the public consciousness helped sales.
 
I wouldn't care if they did the nastiest micro transactions ever, in fact I think they should. They give value and they still get shit on, ridiculous. People are retarded.

Jup, people want that on their mobile devices. They would rather have a 'free' game where Mario can only die 3 times in a day and can buy booster packs, than paying 10 euro for a real game.
This is just depressing imo and we're seeing it more and more in the console-space.
 
What? I thought PS4 sold like crazy. And Xbox is doing pretty well last I heard. Console gaming is definetly not dying.

I'd say the more accurate statement is that console gaming is aging rather than dying. The aging enthusiasts still doing enough to prop it up comfortably, but the dedicated box at home for video games is losing some relevance. Switch is def a bit of a reaction to that
 

BowieZ

Banned
Although the 4% paywall barrier is disappointingly low (albeit ironically high for mobile), let's not forget the priority for Nintendo here is IP promotion.

So the key number is still the 10 million downloads.
 
Although the 4% paywall barrier is disappointingly low (albeit ironically high for mobile), let's not forget the priority for Nintendo here is IP promotion.

So the key number is still the 10 million downloads.

....right, and there's def something to be said for 'any press is good press' but they dont want too many people walking away from this thinking 'man, fuck Mario and his greedy ass'
 

oti

Banned
....right, and there's def something to be said for 'any press is good press' but they dont want too many people walking away from this thinking 'man, fuck Mario and his greedy ass'

Do some people think "fuck Apple and their greedy ass"? Of course they do. So what?
 

KingSnake

The Birthday Skeleton
Do some people think "fuck Apple and their greedy ass"? Of course they do. So what?

I think the point is that if too many of the 9.6 million people who downloaded the game and decided not to buy it have this kind of visceral reaction or are annoyed by the paywall this is not really working properly towards the IP promotion, as Nintendo wants.
 

Taker666

Member
I wouldn't care if they did the nastiest micro transactions ever, in fact I think they should. They give value and they still get shit on, ridiculous. People are retarded.

I sort of agree. If Super Mario Run doesn't meet their expectations ..then just charge people for every little thing . Charge for lives, charge for cheats/extra questions mark blocks/ power-ups to make levels easier etc...charge for new character skins etc.

No point in Nintendo trying to be upfront and fair if that's not what mobile consumers want.
 

KingSnake

The Birthday Skeleton
Something is intriguing for me. Nintendo said nothing about the price/paywall at the Apple event when they announced it, right? And it wasn't mentioned on the page for registering the interest either I guess?

I have the impression that in the Apple bubble this was perceived as a free game from the announcement, during the promotion and up until the launch. Did the notifications that it's launched said something about the price?

Yes, I know that Nintendo announced the price, but they did that in the Nintendo and general gaming bubble. And somehow this info hasn't reached the other side in my view.

That would explain how you have 20 millions registering interest => 10 million downloads => 400.000 sales + the big backlash.
 

oti

Banned
Something is intriguing for me. Nintendo said nothing about the price/paywall at the Apple event when they announced it, right? And it wasn't mentioned on the page for registering the interest either I guess?

I have the impression that in the Apple bubble this was perceived as a free game from the announcement, during the promotion and up until the launch. Did the notifications that it's launched said something about the price?

Yes, I know that Nintendo announced the price, but they did that in the Nintendo and general gaming bubble. And somehow this info hasn't reached the other side in my view.

That would explain how you have 20 millions registering interest => 10 million downloads => 400.000 sales + the big backlash.
Nothing about this is different than any other game on the App Store. It's the same layout, it's the same wordage. The thing is just that people aren't used to this pricing model. Nintendo and Apple knew that but they didn't care. Nintendo is doing their own thing, traditional dedicated video game market or not.
 

cw_sasuke

If all DLC came tied to $13 figurines, I'd consider all DLC to be free
That would explain how you have 20 millions registering interest => 10 million downloads => 400.000 sales + the big backlash.

Its been one day....only the more hardcore people get the Apps the second they are released. Christmas is coming and many people will receive giftcards for the AppStore and spend that money on this game.

Christmas week will be massive for this game. Why pay now for it when it will likely be part of one of your presents, especially for Kids.
 

KingSnake

The Birthday Skeleton
Nothing about this is different than any other game on the App Store. It's the same layout, it's the same wordage. The thing is just that people aren't used to this pricing model. Nintendo and Apple knew that but they didn't care. Nintendo is doing their own thing, traditional dedicated video game market or not.

The difference is that this was heavily promoted in a style similar with the "normal" F2P games and that created the disconnection.

I think the actual sales should have been more frontloaded for a game like Mario. Or maybe they are and that's the level. I thought that a bigger proportion of those 20 million are actually aware there is a paywall and their interest is still there. I guess we'll see in the following weeks.

Its been one day....only the more hardcore people get the Apps the second they are released. Christmas is coming and many people will receive giftcards for the AppStore and spend that money on this game.

Christmas week will be massive for this game. Why pay now for it when it will likely be part of one of your presents, especially for Kids.

I'm talking only about the people who registered interest. That is they cared enough to click on a link to be announced when the game is launching. I think those qualify as hardcore audience for the mobile market, no?

The Christmass week argument is a fair point though, let's see next week.
 

marc^o^

Nintendo's Pro Bono PR Firm
I think the actual sales should have been more frontloaded for a game like Mario.
Mario Wii is still in the top 100 games selling on amazon. It was also the case last year IRC. So, its frontloaded nature is relative. Mario is also the kind of game that keeps selling well for years.
 

KingSnake

The Birthday Skeleton
Mario Wii is still in the top 100 games selling on amazon. It was also the case last year IRC. So, its frontloaded nature is relative. Mario is also the kind of game that keeps selling well for years.

I'm not saying it's not an evergreen. I'm just saying that the day 1 sales (not downloads) are a bit on the lower side considering the interest before launch. And NSMB Wii had some huge launches.
 

cw_sasuke

If all DLC came tied to $13 figurines, I'd consider all DLC to be free
I'm talking only about the people who registered interest. That is they cared enough to click on a link to be announced when the game is launching. I think those qualify as hardcore audience for the mobile market, no?

The Christmass week argument is a fair point though, let's see next week.

I get that - but wanting to get notified when a game is out doesnt mean that ill have to get it on Day 1. Thats like preordering a game and not being able to pick it up on Day 1.

Might sound like a stretch to you, but i think a lot of people are simply waiting for the purchase until they have the money or whatever gift cards they get the next couple days.

This game will have a massive December and we still have two weeks to go.
 

cgcg

Member
That means that 400,000 people bought your game on launch day. How is that "kind of shit" is beyond me.

400,000 bought a $10 game worldwide. If it's a $60 dollar Mario game it will sstil beunderwhelming. Pretty crappy honestly, for a such big name brand.
 
Almost half the reviews are one-stars, because Nintendo had the "audacity" to only make the first three levels free. The mobile ecosystem is FUBAR.

Not really surprised by how big this game has gotten, though. Also, the number of levels being 24 is a bit deceptive, the three special coin sets for each level alters the level design and entity placement in subtle ways, the third set in world 1 levels can be hard as fuck to get. If nothing else, it's a great challenge.
 

Joey Ravn

Banned
User reviews are not good
2.5 stars with almost 43,000 reviews

How many of those are "this shit is not free", though?

400,000 bought a $10 game worldwide. If it's a $60 dollar Mario game it will sstil beunderwhelming. Pretty crappy honestly, for a such big name brand.

And if it was a $5 indie game sales would be awesome. So what? Different markets, different expectations.
 

Lernaean

Banned
Playing it for 2 days, bought it today, probably the best mobile game i ever spent money on.
For all the whining, it was announced it was gonna be a paid app from the beginning, so all the people who play "shocked" or "concerned" never really paid attention on the game to begin with.
Also a quick calculation says 400k+ users bought it already, so no, it ain't bad no matter how you see it.

Also: DOOMED
 

cw_sasuke

If all DLC came tied to $13 figurines, I'd consider all DLC to be free
400,000 bought a $10 game worldwide. If it's a $60 dollar Mario game it will sstil beunderwhelming. Pretty crappy honestly, for a such big name brand.

Biggest AppStore launch ever = pretty crappy

....sure.
 
400,000 bought a $10 game worldwide. If it's a $60 dollar Mario game it will sstil beunderwhelming. Pretty crappy honestly, for a such big name brand.

To be fair, it's mostly because many mobile users are conditioned to expect free games, and will balk at paying a one-time fee up-front just to play, hence the sheer number of 1-star reviews whining about the game being essentially shareware. The fact that there's so many paying users in the first place is still a huge achievement for a mobile game.

Still, the fact that even Mario is affected by the mobile ecosystem being so fucked up is not a sign of confidence in the health of the mobile market for anything other than microtransaction-heavy F2P games. It's partly why I personally as a developer see no worth in the mobile market for anyone who isn't simply trying to make money.
 

cgcg

Member
How many of those are "this shit is not free", though?



And if it was a $5 indie game sales would be awesome. So what? Different markets, different expectations.

Too bad it's not a no name indie game. Reading the first few pages I would say the expectations were pretty high.
 

Lernaean

Banned
After browsing some comments I see a lot more people complaining about the always online requirement and the game being a simple runner.

The game is actually far from simple. It takes a fairly amount of skill to get all the colored coins and it's beautifully designed to teach you the techniques needed to get them.
 

RocknRola

Member
What? I thought PS4 sold like crazy. And Xbox is doing pretty well last I heard. Console gaming is definetly not dying.

It did and it has. I *think* it's still fairly close to PS2 numbers (at the same point of it's lifetime) and it's now falling behind the Wii (which sold insanely well for 5 years or so and then dropped like a rock).

Xbox is trickier, because no numbers, but at least in the NA market it's doing alright. Harder to tell WW.

I'd say the more accurate statement is that console gaming is aging rather than dying. The aging enthusiasts still doing enough to prop it up comfortably, but the dedicated box at home for video games is losing some relevance. Switch is def a bit of a reaction to that

I'd definitely argue that is far more due to how MS and Nintendo screwed up rather than the market not being there anymore. The thirst shown for the PS4 (which did everything right from a marketing+pricing+WW availability perspective from day 1) confirmes that, IMO.

If anything I think the Switch will help prove, alongside the PS4 (assuming of course it maintains it's current pace of sales) that the market is there, alive and well. Console manufacturers just need to go after it, have the right message/marketing and not consider "secondary markets" as secondary at all. Sure, many countries can't even offer 1 million lifetime sales to any particular console, but a lot of those countries put together make a difference (and not just in sales, in WW presence too which does matter).

-------------

On topic: Good to know it's popular! This hopefully bodes well for the Switch! :) If Nintendo now announce a 3D Mario as a day 1 game (or at least in the launch window) the impact should hopefully be even bigger than normal (not that Mario games ever need help selling well).

As for the actual game, not owning a iOS device, I can't really comment.
 
Brutal. And it's not even out on Android yet.
Good that they are charging about 10 bucks for the full version, the game seems worth it. I wonder how many people who shit on this game in the ratings for pricing pay their fucking micro amounts of cash again and again for their "free" games, ending up with a fuckton spent for temporary boosts and cooldowns and that stuff where you really have less than zero in your hands afterwards. Go on, buy phones for many hundreds or get them "free" with oh so fair contracts, but heavens forbid if some app is charged more than 3€ for a full fledged version without advertising or microtransactions. Scandalous! Stuff must at least look like it's free!
Mankind really seems to have lost their sense for value and are unable to keep track of what they are spending actually. No wonder that this has become an entire big branch in the industry that works well. No, I mean it is ok, everyone can spend whatever she or he likes if it is fun or serves in any other way. But hell, many really seem to have lost orientation in the appstore depths when I see some reactions. Interesting.
 

oti

Banned
Sure, you can keep that delusion if you feel yourself any better.

Making more money is better than making less money. It's not rocket science.

I think the point is that if too many of the 9.6 million people who downloaded the game and decided not to buy it have this kind of visceral reaction or are annoyed by the paywall this is not really working properly towards the IP promotion, as Nintendo wants.
The pricing model Nintendo chose won't win any popularity contests, that was clear from the start. They knew that. People who aren't willing to spend 10€ for Mario on their iPhone won't buy a Switch and a real Mario game for 300€ anyway. That's not some shocking revelation. This is Nitnendo drawing a line in the sand. You want Mario? The most popular IP in video games on your phone? Pay for it. You don't want to buy a Nitnendo machine? Ok, pay 10€ for it. You don't want to pay even 10€ for Mario? Ok, don't. You're not our customer. These are basically Apple tactics. Nintendo wants to see how far this can go and how much money they can make with this model. Sure it will drive people away, but where are they going? To the F2P game they want to play for 10 minutes a day and be done with it. They can play Animal Crossing or Fire Emblem once those come out. Mario is supposed to be Premium.

The difference is that this was heavily promoted in a style similar with the "normal" F2P games and that created the disconnection.
How did they advertise is differently? People just assume that everything is free. They could have made the IAP more clear, that I'd agree on.
 

Betty

Banned
The Nintendo hate is strong here, really strong.

I love Nintendo but there's no arguing that their chances when it comes to home consoles is mostly down to luck.

I'd love for the Switch to be a success but it absolutely wouldn't surprise me if it's another Wii U.

If Switch fails as hard as Wii U I can see Nintendo seriously consider going mobile only, for a while at least.
 

cw_sasuke

If all DLC came tied to $13 figurines, I'd consider all DLC to be free
Making more money is better than making less money. It's not rocket science.

We have a prime example happening right now w. Pokemon S/M - yet people chose to ignore it because it doesnt fit the Nintendo is doomed agenda.

Mobile only isnt happening...the same reason why console only isnt enough anymore - they dont want to depend on a single market or a single product line anymore.

That's a 4% download-to-purchase ratio. That's in line with F2P games but the cap is $10.

That's horrible.

Horrible for who ? Not for the customer and not for Nintendo since they set the price.
 
So i just finishen The free tracks. What's people's opinions.

Worth it ?

I'm sure it's great for the rest actually, its Nintendo, but what do people think.
 
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