One of the first major surprises out of Apple's September 7 event was the appearance of game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, and the announcement of an all-new Mario game for iOS called Super Mario Run. In the game, players will help Mario navigate various worlds by tapping on the screen to help the plumber jump, dodge, and slide past obstacles and enemies until they reach the flag pole at the end of the stage.

During Apple's event, Miyamoto and senior product marketing manager for Nintendo, Bill Trinen, explained the mechanics of the game and its intent for quick burst, one-handed smartphone gaming. Now, in a recent interview with The Verge, Miyamoto divulged more information on the iPhone game, potentially hinting at what the company's outlook on mobile gaming could mean for the other two upcoming DeNA iOS games, Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem.

apple-iphone-watch-20160907-3512-0

Image via The Verge

In its time with Super Mario Run, The Verge commented that the game underscores the company's strategy of introducing addicting, but modest experiences on mobile in order to win more players over with full-fledged console games. Super Mario Run ultimately started as an idea that "was too simple for a home console device," Miyamoto said, and that the company's "main focus" is still convincing players to migrate over to its first-party hardware.

Still, Miyamoto said he hopes people are "going to want to play a much more in-depth and a more challenging Mario experience … it’s going to increase the population of people interested in coming to our platforms, which is of course is our main focus."

It looks to be everything a Super Mario game should be, but also, what it shouldn’t be. Miyamoto’s game has been carefully designed so that it’s simple enough to attract a new audience of iPhone lovers, but not satisfying enough to supplant a console experience.

As suspected, the success of Pokémon Go has helped Nintendo push forward in the smartphone space, and helped dictate the experience of Super Mario Run. In the way that Pokémon Go is inherently tied into the GPS and camera functions of a smartphone, Super Mario Run was built around a similar, play-anywhere universality, leading to its "simple... one-handed gameplay" and "shorter play time."

Miyamoto cited the success of Pokémon Go as validation of this smartphone-centric approach. "Pokémon Go is obviously a game that uses your GPS and it’s synced into the camera and Google Maps, so it’s a piece of software that’s really geared towards that mobile play experience," Miyamoto said. "So, similarly with Mario, what we’re looking at is simple game play, one-handed gameplay; shorter play time, playing in shorter bursts; and then really bringing the joy of Mario to that much larger audience."

With its new iOS Mario game -- which will eventually make it to Android -- Nintendo is also admitting that most kids' first interaction with technology is no longer with one of the company's consoles, but the smartphone or tablet of a parent. This convinced Nintendo to finally put its most famous IPs on mobile devices, and helped them decide to make Super Mario Run a one-time-only paid game, so parents don't have to worry about their kids spending large amounts of money on in-game ephemera.

super-mario-run-1

Miyamoto noted that there was a point in time when "[Nintendo’s] hardware system was really the first device that kids would interact with, and that’s starting to shift." The first device kids interact with now, he says? Their parent’s smartphone. This notion of the smartphone "being the first place this kids are encountering games, is what helped us to decide to bring this to smartphones," Miyamoto said.

The first Nintendo and DeNA partnership game was Miitomo, which launched earlier in the year, but failed to gain much traction due to its social-focused features that lacked much in the way of a main gameplay hook. Coming next, besides Super Mario Run, are Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem, but details on the games have been scarce. In the original announcement, Nintendo said that Fire Emblem will be "more accessible" in comparison to the console entries in the popular RPG series, and Animal Crossing "will be connected with the world of Animal Crossing for dedicated gaming systems."

With the new context of Miyamoto's interview for Super Mario Run, it's possible that the two other upcoming mobile games will continue Nintendo's focus on introducing a pared-down version of each franchise, so that players are encouraged to play the full-fledged titles on Nintendo's consoles. Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem are also said to support a free-to-play structure, so there still remains a chance that Nintendo will differentiate the two titles from its simplified mobile gaming strategy and present gameplay closer to the console titles.

Super Mario Run will launch in December, and Nintendo has said that Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem would debut sometime in the fall, but the company has yet to give more specific launch details for those games.

Read The Verge's full interview with Shigeru Miyamoto here.

Top Rated Comments

Koodauw Avatar
115 months ago
I don't understand how Nintendo always misses the mark. Kids who grew up playing Mario, want to play on their phones, when they have time, not sit down and play it on a console. Just make us an awesome Mario game for the iPhone. Let people buy items like the power up leafs, mushrooms, fireplants, Raccoon suits, sledgehammer suits, etc, or extra lives with some sort of in app currency, like other games do. Profit immensely. Everyone is happy.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Dilster3k Avatar
115 months ago
I mean it is huge to have Mario join a non-Nintendo platform, this will draw in a lot of money for Nintendo. And I was pleasantly surprised to see Miyamoto on stage.

However, besides the graphics the game seems very basic sadly. I wish it had a bit more depth than your average run & jump iOS game... Maybe a more traditional side scroller would've been great.

Or something like that Super Mario 64 Fan remake?

Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AngerDanger Avatar
115 months ago
I was initially disappointed with the prospect of another endless runner—it seemed like such a waste of the Mario IP. But on second thought, the endless running doesn't seem all that dissimilar to trying to speedrun a standard level of Mario. If anything, maybe Mario's game mechanics slate it to be one of the better versions of such games.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Chuck Kostalnick Avatar
115 months ago
And I was pleasantly surprised to see Miyamoto "Son" on stage.
To be clear, it's Miyamoto-san, not "Son".
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
napabar Avatar
115 months ago
I don't understand how Nintendo always misses the mark. Kids who grew up playing Mario, want to play on their phones, when they have time, not sit down and play it on a console. Just make us an awesome Mario game for the iPhone. Let people buy items like the power up leafs, mushrooms, fireplants, Raccoon suits, sledgehammer suits, etc, or extra lives with some sort of in app currency, like other games do. Profit immensely. Everyone is happy.
Nintendo doesn't "always" miss the mark. You have no idea what you're talking about. Nintendo has dominated handheld console sales since the 80's. They have 3 consoles that were the top sellers in their respective generation; NES, SNES, and the Wii. They are a multi-billion dollar company.

Nintendo's DNA is very similar to Apple's, in that they like to drive the entire experience. If Apple followed your suggestion, they would port the iOS over to Samsung phones to make a quick buck.

Bad idea.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Porco Avatar
115 months ago
As long as the price is sensible they will sell millions of copies of this. I still think they are being too cautious, but still the right direction.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Monday June 30, 2025 1:08 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are less than three months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Apple is expected to launch the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max in September this year. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models:Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an...
A18 Pro Chip

New MacBook With A18 Pro Chip Spotted in Apple Code

Monday June 30, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
Apple is developing a MacBook with the A18 Pro chip, according to findings in backend code uncovered by MacRumors. Earlier today, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip. The machine is expected to feature a 13-inch display, the A18 Pro chip, and color options that include silver, blue, pink, and yellow. MacRumors...
Apple Watch Ultra Night Mode Screen

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Launching Later This Year With Two Key Upgrades

Wednesday July 2, 2025 1:13 pm PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 appears to be nearly over, and it is rumored to feature both satellite connectivity and 5G support. Apple Watch Ultra's existing Night Mode In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is on track to launch this year with "significant" new features, including satellite connectivity, which would let you...
iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Magsafe

iPhone 17 Pro's New MagSafe Design Revealed in Leaked Photo

Wednesday July 2, 2025 8:37 am PDT by
The upcoming iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are rumored to have a slightly different MagSafe magnet layout compared to existing iPhone models, and a leaked photo has offered a closer look at the supposed new design. The leaker Majin Bu today shared a photo of alleged MagSafe magnet arrays for third-party iPhone 17 Pro cases. On existing iPhone models with MagSafe, the magnets form a...
macbook air spacegray purple

Apple Planning to Launch Low-Cost MacBook Powered By iPhone Chip

Monday June 30, 2025 3:20 am PDT by
Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. In an article published on X, Kuo explained that the device will feature a 13-inch display and the A18 Pro chip, making it the first Mac powered by an iPhone chip. The A18 Pro chip debuted in the iPhone 16 Pro last year. To date, all Apple silicon Macs have contained M-series...
iOS 18

Apple Releases Second iOS 18.6 Public Beta

Tuesday July 1, 2025 10:19 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 updates to public beta testers, with the betas coming just a day after Apple provided the betas to developers. Apple has also released a second beta of macOS Sequoia 15.6. Testers who have signed up for beta updates through Apple's beta site can download iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 from the Settings app on a compatible...
Wi Fi WiFi General Feature

iOS 26 Adds a Useful New Wi-Fi Feature to Your iPhone

Wednesday July 2, 2025 6:36 am PDT by
iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 add a smaller yet useful Wi-Fi feature to iPhones and iPads. As spotted by Creative Strategies analyst Max Weinbach, sign-in details for captive Wi-Fi networks are now synced across iPhones and iPads running iOS 26 and iPadOS 26. For example, while Weinbach was staying at a Hilton hotel, his iPhone prompted him to fill in Wi-Fi details from his iPad that was already...
maxresdefault

Five Features Coming to AirPods Pro 3

Friday June 27, 2025 10:52 am PDT by
Apple hasn't updated the AirPods Pro since 2022, and the earbuds are due for a refresh. We're counting on a new model this year, and we've seen several hints of new AirPods tucked away in Apple's code. Rumors suggest that Apple has some exciting new features planned that will make it worthwhile to upgrade to the latest model. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Heal...
replay all time playlist apple music

Apple Music Debuts All-New Personalized Playlist

Monday June 30, 2025 7:16 am PDT by
As part of its 10-year celebrations of Apple Music, Apple today released an all-new personalized playlist that collates your entire listening history. The playlist, called "Replay All Time," expands on Apple Music's existing Replay features. Previously, users could only see their top songs for each individual calendar year that they've been subscribed to Apple Music, but now, Replay All...