Super Mario Run, the debut mobile game from Nintendo Co was received with much excitement.
But, data collected by researcher App Annie indicates that the interest for this iOS app released on December 15 seems to be declining now. Just a week ago, it ranked in the first position as the most profitable app in 49 countries across the world. While the app was the most sought after free download apps in 138 countries a couple of days after its launch, this number dipped to 88 a few days ago.
The reason for the ranking drop may be attributed to the app’s pricing strategy. While the app can be downloaded for free, players can put their gaming skills to test only for the first three levels in this version. To proceed beyond the third level, gamers are expected to pay $10 and buy the full game. This is a deviation from the usual industry standard where most mobile games are available for free. Players are encouraged to buy a game only to play it at a faster pace. This strategy has won the hearts of most mobile game fans.
Also, the price tag of Super Mario Run has been highly discussed as a point of criticism. Gamers feel that $10 is too high to pay for a game. Based on a report by Apptopia Inc, only about two percent of players who have downloaded the free version will consider buying the game at that price. There are chances of this percentage getting doubled if the price is lowered to about $2. A research indicates that this lesser price will help in boosting the company’s revenue to about $50 million for the month. The revenue at present is close to $30 million. While Nintendo’s shares showed a rise by 4.8 percent on Monday, the shares slid by 20 percent the last week following concerns about the company being able to put its mobile strategy into action.