Pokemon Go was very popular when it was released, and it was believed that no other game would even come closer to it, at least for sometime. But Nintendo’s new mobile game Super Mario Run is achieving what even the augmented reality-based game could not. By making the game, which was originally made for an NES controller, available with a single tap, the gaming giant has made the smartphone game quite fun, even funner than Pokemon Go, says Inverse.
Super Mario Run simpler and more fun than Pokemon Go
The two games are fundamentally different, so comparing them does not make sense and seems unfair.
“But the two are so entrenched in Nintendo’s colonization into the smartphone market that sizing them up seems inevitable.
And of the many things Niantic’s Pokémon Go was, it wasn’t a good game,” says Inverse. The augmented reality aspect was interesting, but it eliminates the nostalgia of the Pokemon franchise and its uniqueness as a social lubricant. The core of Pokemon Go is to leave your smartphone on while you go outdoors. Nothing in the mobile game encouraged social engagement until one comes across a Pokemon.
In addition, the mobile game is not a game to play in waiting rooms or on public transportation, the places where other smartphone games are played. Also searching for a creature sounded fun and entertaining in the summer, but in the winter, it is just annoying to go outside the house to catch them, notes Inverse.
On the other hand, the insistence of Shigeru Miyamoto that Super Mario Run can be played with a single hand “is deceptively simple it borders on evil genius,” says Inverse. In comparison to Pokemon Go — a more difficult game with no instructions — Super Mario Run is easily accessible. Smartphone games need to be simple, and Super Mario Run is just that.
Will it beat Pokemon Go?
Pokemon Go was developed in collaboration with partner Niantic, which took the lead, while Super Mario Run is developed mostly by Nintendo with some help from DeNA Co. According to market research firm App Annie, the augmented reality-based game was the fastest-ever game to hit $600 million, reaching the record within three months of its July launch.
Most successful smartphone games are free to play, but Nintendo is taking a different approach with Super Mario Run. The first three levels of this game are free to play. The gaming giant speculatrd that they will be entertaining enough to convince players to fork over $9.99 for the entire 24 levels of the game. This price tag, however, could turn some users away as well.
