Nintendo’s big day: Super Mario run tests strategy

AFTER almost two years of waiting, the big day is finally here for Nintendo Co. and its first game for smartphones, Super Mario Run.

The release for Apple’s devices is the first full test of what the Japanese game maker can achieve after years of eschewing the thriving mobile- app market. While Nintendo gave a hint of its potential with the success of Pokemon Go earlier this year, that title was only partly its own creation.

Super Mario Run was developed mainly by Nintendo, with some assistance from partner DeNA Co. Expectations have swelled since the Kyotobased company announced a strategic shift toward embracing mobile in March 2015, adding almost US$ 20 billion to its market value.

Yet amid the euphoria, some are already discovering holes in execution. Macquarie Securities analyst David Gibson finds it puzzling that the game requires an internet connection and worries that the US$ 10 ( RM45) price tag for the full version might be too aggressive, especially for users in developing countries.

“It’s not like it will be Pokemon Go of 500 million downloads in two months,” Gibson said. Instead, he’s estimating about 200 million downloads by the end of March, with a tenth of users paying US$ 10 for the full version. “Nostalgic Nintendo players will almost certainly spend.

But what matters is if the marginal customer says this is good, yeah, I’ll spend the money.” Investors are counting on Nintendo’s ability to breathe new life into the arcade and console icons of its heyday by getting them into peoples’ palms. Players get access to three levels with the free download, while an in- app-purchase for US$ 10 unlocks all 24 levels, which are split across six “worlds.” Super Mario Run is available in more than 150 countries and in 10 languages.

For now, the initial list of places where Super Mario Run will be available doesn’t include China, which accounts for a quarter of all app revenues, according to Newzoo. The decision to release the title first on Apple devices also runs the risk of alienating gamers on Android, which runs about twothirds of the world’s 2.3 billion smartphones, according to the researcher. A version for Google’s smartphone software will be released sometime in 2017, Nintendo said, without specifying a date.

Some analysts are sticking to their bullish forecasts. Atul Goyal at Jefferies Group sees 500 million downloads by the end of March, with 10 per cent of users paying for the full version. He expects Nintendo’s stock to jump to 39,200 yen within 12 months, more than 40 per cent higher than the shares at 12.54pm last Thursday. The shares closed at 27,575 yen. — WP-Bloomberg