Photo= An image of "Super Mario Run" to be released for smartphones in December by Nintendo

On September 8, Nintendo announced that it will release a smartphone game for the popular "Super Mario" series in December. With this appearance of the "most favorite," long-awaited by customers and markets, Nintendo aims to regain lost ground in the smartphone market, where it has been lagging, by highlighting "playing ease" which the company values highly. The release is intended to lead to the characters' popularization and a ripple effect on the video game machine business.

In the new release, "Super Mario Run," players touch their smartphone screens lightly to control Mario's running and enjoy collecting coins. The operability of smartphones is linked with a wide variety of Mario's movements in this game. The game also has a mode in which players challenge each other. Initially, the game will run on "iPhone," from Apple, headquartered in the USA, but it will also be made compatible with Android, USA based Google's operating system.

Nintendo has evolved Mario for suitability each time a new game console has appeared. If a new release ends in failure due to playing difficulty, it will destroy the character's value. Therefore, the game has been designed to be played with one hand. "You can play it while holding on to a strap on the train, or even while eating a hamburger," stated Shigeru Miyamoto, the company director.

In relation to fees, downloading the app and basic operation will be free, but it has been decided that "a certain amount of money will be required to enjoy all the elements." Details will be publicized later, but Hirokazu Hamamura, representative of Famitsu group, which issues a video game magazine, and a director, member of the board of KADOKAWA CORPORATION, points out, "An 'outright purchase method,' in which you will be charged if you want to continue to play, may change smartphone games where charging per item and so on are main stream."

Although "Pokémon GO," which Nintendo is associated with, has become a worldwide hit, public recognition of Mario is "greater both in level and history than that of Pokémon," said Hamamura. This game will be released in over 100 countries and in more than nine languages, including Japanese, English, Russian and others. "It is important to make a game accessible so that the next generation can enjoy it," according to Koichi Hosoi, Professor at College of Image Arts and Sciences, Ritsumeikan University, so it is possible that Mario will experience a burst of popularity among the younger generation or people in areas where Mario is not yet to known.

Tatsumi Kimishima, company president, said, "Now that we are releasing a smartphone game, we will connect it to our own business." Hamamura also said, "It is a noteworthy how they are incorporating a strategy to link its success with their next-generation game machine "NX," which will be released next March."