I am sure we all expected Super Mario Run to be successful, but those expectations were probably tempered by a whole lot of things- Mario Run, for instance, is a free to start game, and it involves players having to purchase the bulk of the game upfront for a hefty (for mobile games) $10- would mobile game players bite at that price?
It appears that they have, and Nintendo’s gamble of capitalizing on the strength of their IP has paid off in spades. Super Mario Run is currently the highest grossing app on the iOS App Store, at the very least in the USA, UK, and Canadian App Stores (I didn’t get the chance to check the other regional App Stores to see how the game is ranking). In Japan, Super Mario Run is ranked number five right now, but it also launched there later than it did anywhere else in the world.
Has Nintendo got another mobile game hit on its hands? Can Mario Run do for Mario what Pokemon GO did for Pokemon? Nintendo’s mobile game strategy has so far been fascinating to see, as it has played out and they have been vindicated in their stances- it will be interesting to see how it plays out going forward.