During a financial briefing, Nintendo confirms that mobile game Super Mario Run will be partly free to play and that friends from Miitomo can be carried over.

Announced as part of Nintendo's plans to bring classic franchises to mobile devices, is Super Mario Run. An endless runner and platformer, the game sees the iconic Italian plumber blitz through levels, trying to collect as many coins as possible as he goes. Nintendo has also said that the game will feature a multiplayer mode, allowing players to race against one another, along with user created content.

However, despite Nintendo initially stating that Super Mario Run would not be free to play and instead being available at one fixed price, the company now says that some of the game's content will be available without charge. This was revealed during the recent Nintendo financial briefing (in which the company also shared its Nintendo Switch sales estimates) by the company's president, Tatsumi Kimishima.

Kimishima said that downloading Super Mario Run is free, though players will need to pay in order to "unlock all of the game's content." The Nintendo executive said that after paying the fee, players can continue playing "without worrying about additional fees," also noting that children will be able to "play it with peace of mind."

GameSpot notes that Nintendo itself may be uncertain on Super Mario Run's pricing, as Kimishima said that this is the company's "current plan," as though this information is subject to change. Full pricing information will be confirmed at a later date and hopefully the game's iOS and Android release dates will be confirmed soon too. Launch countries haven't been confirmed either, though Kimishima says that over 150 countries will get the game when it launches later this year.

Naturally, many fans have begun to discuss whether the Fire Emblem and Animal Crossing mobile games will work in a similar way. During the briefing, Kimishima also noted that the company's other mobile app, Miitomo "has not been impactful from a profit perspective" despite the free to play title having garnered 15 million players so it stands to reason that Nintendo would paywall gameplay content in all of its future mobile games in an effort to maximize profits.

Speaking of Miitomo, Kimishima also revealed that "friend relationships from Miitomo [can be] be carried over to Super Mario Run." The executive hopes that as Super Mario Run lets players compete with one another, and that "active communication with your family and friends" will lead to "even more fun moments."

Super Mario Run will be available in December for iOS and some point in 2017 for Android mobile devices.

Source: GameSpot