Nintendo Share Prices Decline in Reaction to 'Super Mario Run' Pricing and Internet Connection Criticisms

[MacRumors]

Nintendo and developer DeNA's shares have declined over the weekend in reaction to negative user reviews facing the new mobile game Super Mario Run, which currently averages a 2.5/5 star rating on the iOS App Store, based on around 54,000 user reviews. Shares in DeNA have gone down 14 percent since Super Mario Run launched on December 15, while Nintendo's stock has fallen about 13 percent in the same time frame.

Although many of the top reviews for the game remark on Super Mario Run's better qualities, the harshest criticism remains to be Nintendo's decision to make the game free-to-download, but $10 to unlock all of its content. Users can play nearly all of World 1 for free, but gaining deeper access to the remaining five Worlds, along with Toad Rally and Kingdom Builder modes, requires the $10 fee.

Nintendo's argument has always been that the cost will help assuage parents' worries about their kids overspending on in-app purchases, but many users have now taken to the App Store to give the game a low score because of its cost. The always-on internet requirement has also been a sticking point for some players hoping to engage with the game during a commute.

A day after its launch, App Annie reported on the initial download numbers for Super Mario Run, and estimated that 10 million people downloaded the game, and that it made $4 million total in its first day of worldwide availability. Some have taken to comparing the game to Pokémon Go and its initial success, but as App Annie mentioned, the payment models of each game -- along with Pokémon Go's GPS-based gameplay -- means they "aren't truly comparable."

That said, it is important to bear in mind that Super Mario Run and Pokémon GO aren't truly comparable. Pokémon GO follows a freemium model with optional in-app purchases to generate revenue. Its iOS revenue continued to grow in the following weeks as user engagement increased. Super Mario Run, on the other hand, offers a single $9.99 in-app purchase to unlock the full game. As a result, payments precede extended gameplay and, therefore, revenue is more likely to be concentrated early on in the game's lifecycle.

According to App Annie, the real measure of the success of Super Mario Run will be in the weeks ahead as initial bulk downloads of the game at launch trail off, and shift towards mainstream users. "The ability to convert a meaningful percentage of these mainstream users into paying customers will be critical to Nintendo's mobile ambitions."

Article Link: Nintendo Share Prices Decline in Reaction to 'Super Mario Run' Pricing and Internet Connection Criticisms

 

[A MacBook lover]

Bad move. It's such a shallow game for the price, and then they made it even worse when they required an internet connection.

 

[levitynyc]

Hence the problem with the entire mobile game market.

People expect everything for free or loaded with ****** microtransactions.

$10 is not a bad price for something as polished as Super Mario Run but the entire mobile game industry has trained people that everything should be free to play.

 

[okboy]

I don't think it's right to say the decline is in reaction to some complaints. This is a common but faulty rhetorical tactic in online flame wars, not something I'd put in an article. The reason for the decline could be that hype for the launch is now simply over. Many traders will buy before the event, then sell right after the event when the price is at it's height. We see this at Apple events. Also, there may be an industry-wide downturn. You have to check these things.

The assumption is always that "my pet issue is causing this stock to decline". It's very ignorant of how the market works.

 

[Xenomorph]

I wish it was $9.99 UP-FRONT.

1) It would get rid of the 1-star reviews from people just upset about the "pay wall" (and not about the game)

2) It would actually let me share the purchase with my family. I don't want to spend another $30 on the game so I can share it.

3) This one is minor - but it would make sure the game is playable in the future, when there isn't an App Store to connect to to "restore purchases".


Online only? Lots of games are online only.
$10 for a Nintendo game? From the company that keeps first-party titles priced at $39.99 for half a decade and has terrible eShop sales?

 

[theheadguy]

Seems a bit unfair to me. All of this was public beforehand. So rate the game knowing the rules.

 

[DMaki650]

Jeez get over the pricing!! Back when Super Mario Bros 3 came out it was $50! Nowadays that would be about $93. $9.99 is not THAT bad. The always on connection is WAY worse.

 

[imronburgundy]

Nintendo shot themselves out of the gate by giving a free trial demo. The game is utterly lacking for people wanting a classic "Super Mario" type game. From what I can tell, the replay value is in trying to get the "black coins", but that's just not enough. I was fully expecting to purchase for $10, but the game is kind of boring. Guess I'm just not a mobile gaming guy.

 

[Hastings101]

It's only $10 for the full game lol, it'd be $40 if it were on the 3DS. Why do people love freemium rip-offs so much?

*I agree with the person above though, it should have been $10 up front.

The always-on internet is ridiculous. Piracy or not that's a terrible restriction for a mobile device.

 

[seecoolguy]

I wish it was $9.99 UP-FRONT.

2) It would actually let me share the purchase with my family. I don't want to spend another $30 on the game so I can share it.

i paid for the extra in-app purchase for my family, $20 vs the typical $80 for two of the same title. it would have been better for my pocket book to be just the one time cost, but on that same token I DO want more one time pricing apps, the only way to get that is to pay per AppleID, i prefer this route for No Ads, and polished games that are immersive

 

[ryansimmons323]

The problem is how they let people download it for free.

A massive number of users on the App Store are little kids who don't pay for anything - many of them don't even have payment information tied to their account.

So they download it for free and are instantly disappointed that they have to pay.

It always makes me laugh how one of the most popular search suggestions for "Grand Theft Auto" on the App Store is "Grand Theft Auto 5 free game".

One, it's funny they think GTA 5 would be possible on an iPhone, and two that they believe that and everything else should be free.

 

[Paradoxally]

Should be $4.99. This game is not worth its price tag. I can buy GTA:SA for $6.99 and get hundreds more hours of game play and replayability from a Rockstar classic. And yes, it's a FULL GAME.

SMR is a game that you finish in an hour and then spend hours trying to grind all the special coins.

 

[TMRJIJ]

I don't think it's right to say the decline is in reaction to some complaints. This is a common but faulty rhetorical tactic in online flame wars, not something I'd put in an article. The reason for the decline could be that hype for the launch is now simply over. Many traders will buy before the event, then sell right after the event when the price is at it's height. We see this at Apple events. Also, there may be an industry-wide downturn. You have to check these things.

The assumption is always that "my pet issue is causing this stock to decline". It's very ignorant of how the market works.

I wouldn't say that. Hype for a product doesn't end that fast. Look at Pokémon GO. It was talked about for a while.
Complaints do in fact move the market a little. Think about the consoles. Microsoft made so many mistakes with the launch of the Xbox One (DRM comment, pushing Kinect, the first launch event not even focusing on games). They shots themselves in the foot from the very beginning and that's why Sony is winning the console war.
Nintendo seems to have done the same thing. People want to be able to play this game anywhere, especially places where a Internet connection is not an option. People don't like the auto run feature. This game did not feel like a real Mario Game for the diehard fans.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Ben Thompson nailed it today...

I think the real thing they were opposed to wasn't so much the piracy, but the avoidance of Family Sharing.
They want their 1st tier franchises to always be getting a more full-ish $30-50 out of a household, in this case with multiple IAP sales.

Nintendo needs to evolve a bit. This game is not even close to a full fledged Mario experience.
Sell it for $10 up front with no online only crap and let the sales flow.

People that pirate are NEVER going to pay you Nintendo. All you're doing is pissing off the people that DO want to pay you. Really bad move.

 

[shareef777]

Would of bought it if it was just a full purchase. Going the in-app route is just a way to get more money from parents that want to buy it for their kids. I would of gladly handed $10 over to share it with my kids, but now they get exactly $0 from me.

 

[Jeremy1026]

Nintendo shot themselves out of the gate by giving a free trial demo. The game is utterly lacking for people wanting a classic "Super Mario" type game. From what I can tell, the replay value is in trying to get the "black coins", but that's just not enough. I was fully expecting to purchase for $10, but the game is kind of boring. Guess I'm just not a mobile gaming guy.

The black coins aren't that hard overall. The replay value will come from trying to unlock Peach, which requires something like 5k toads in the correct colors.

 

[turbineseaplane]

but now they get exactly $0 from me.

Me too - Definite voting with the wallet on this one.

 

[iPhysicist]

Super Mario run is not a bad game! But its not a good game either. Would I buy it if I had young kids? Yes. Would I buy it for teens or even myself? No.
In my Eyes this game is aimed at even younger children than those who where meant to play Pokemon more than a decade ago.
10$ is a lot for a single player game where you have to buy several licenses to please each of your kids.

 

[Paradoxally]

I wouldn't say that. Hype for a product doesn't end that fast. Look at Pokémon GO. It was talked about for a while.

Pokemon Go is still making many thousands PER DAY because it excels in what a mobile game should be. Free to play, but pay extra only to level up faster and have increased perks (like 9 eggs incubating and increased Pokemon/item storage).

I can still easily play Go without needing to spend a dime and complete the entire possible Pokédex that way. I can't do that with SMR, it's buy or bust.

 

[WaxedJacket]

The game is a Mario skinned Rayman Jungle Run which is priced about what I'd consider to be a good deal. $10 for this just doesn't feel right, especially with it having an "always on" connection. That's not to say it's a bad game, I could totally see myself spending a lot of time mastering each level.

 

[Romy90210]

If the game was a little longer with more content, i think the $10 price would had ben fair but for $10 you can buy Mario maker - used or even super mario wii u + luigi and take days if not months to finish and enjoy it a little more.. Not internet required of then owning a Wii U console, of course....

 

[Mlrollin91]

I wish it was $9.99 UP-FRONT.

1) It would get rid of the 1-star reviews from people just upset about the "pay wall" (and not about the game)

2) It would actually let me share the purchase with my family. I don't want to spend another $30 on the game so I can share it.

3) This one is minor - but it would make sure the game is playable in the future, when the isn't an Apple Store to connect to to "restore purchases".


Online only? Lots of games are online only.
$10 for a Nintendo game? From the company that keeps first-party titles priced at $39.99 for half a decade and has terrible eShop sales?

i paid for the extra in-app purchase for my family, $20 vs the typical $80 for two of the same title. it would have been better for my pocket book to be just the one time cost, but on that same token I DO want more one time pricing apps, the only way to get that is to pay per AppleID, i prefer this route for No Ads, and polished games that are immersive

The in-app purchase is transferable to any device that you have your AppleID on. I purchased it in my iPhone and then out it on my iPad and my girlfriend's iPhone without incurring another charge. When you go to purchase it, it says you have already purchased this item you can download it again for free.

I think the game is fantastic. The only time always on would be a problem is on an airplane. Other than that it doesn't bother me at all. It's well worth $9.99 and I have zero complaints. I've probably spent at least 10 hours in rally mode so far. It's incredibly fun.

 

[Traverse]

Jeez get over the pricing!! Back when Super Mario Bros 3 came out it was $50! Nowadays that would be about $93. $9.99 is not THAT bad. The always on connection is WAY worse.

Yeah, but $10 for the same running game that has always been on the App Store, just with a Mario coat of paint. I'd rather so a true Mario game. Not a remake, but something a little more original than "Mario Run."

 

[MrXiro]

I played the hell out of the first 3 levels... and I've had enough of the game actually. Probably shouldn't have given the first 3 levels away and gotten people to buy it off the bat for $9.99. For those of you comparing it to a DS/3DS/NES game, this game has far LESS levels and replay-ability than those games so I'm sorry you're wrong. It's not worth $9.99 either. $4.99 would have been more reasonable especially since you can easily power through the whole game in 2 hours.

It's not a BAD mobile game. But the constant running and not being able to go backwards aside from wall jumping (or passing through the "wall" and coming out the other side on later levels) make it an irritating endeavor.

I won't be buying it, not for $9.99, maybe if it goes on sale in the future.
But it's honestly not worth the asking price IMO and I've had most of Mario games released since the original NES.

 

[trainwrecka]

These are people expecting a steak at McDonald's pricing. Good luck with that.