Super Mario Run Requires Always-On Internet Connection to Play Due to Piracy Concerns

[trainwrecka]

I want it to have an offline option, but who cares when I have 40 other offline Mario games.
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Do you want people not buying your app? This is how you get people not buying your app.

This is what I keep telling Blizzard! I mean, come on! You'll never make any money if you make it online only.

 

[RevTEG]

Wait... I can't play while flying? Glad I found this out before I bought it. I will not be paying $9.99 for a game I can't play while traveling. $1.99 or maybe $2.99.... not $9.99.

 

[atomic.flip]

Sorry, but I hate games that require internet connections and I don't buy the issue about piracy. While that does occur to some extent in iOS, its not where as prevalent as other other platforms. Apple's walled garden largely prevents that sort of action.

Not only that but the mere fact that we still do NOT have ubiquitous internet coverage everywhere. Especially on long flights or subways. It's ludicrous... they should at MINIMUM provide for a token that works for at least 24 hours or more to say that the user has authenticated with a server and the app is still valid.

The saddest thing about all of this is the likely fact that this will just incite the jailbreak and hacking community to crack their DRM and piracy will be maximized on this title.

Self fulfilling prophecy!

 

[scir91]

Nintendo was bound to shoot itself in the foot with this. They haven't done something right since the GameCube.
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I'm not going to spend money on this game because of this. A garbage policy for a game not worth the money nor the Nintendo overwatch.

the n64 was a DISASTER. final fantasy 7 went to psx and so did all the gamers. yes n64 had goldeneye but then that's it. absolutely no 2d fighting games or other rpgs (harvest moon was a complete joke) while psx had suikoden and so many others (good not great arcade ports like street fighter alpha series and gran turismo) lighting it up (final fantasy tactics to name another). not to mention n64 was a super blurry system even on RGB mode. ONLY pokemon saved nintendo during those years. the fall began after super nintendo, the height of nintendo's reign (well, from '85 with the NES to end of snes' life).

 

[gobenji]

If they've built it to be played one handed then surely commuters is a big target market. To and from work I travel 4 hours a day and game a lot on my 6S. I really like the look of this game and would noramlly be 'TAKE MY MONEY'. I wouldn't mind it calling home on startup like some other games but always-on connection? That's a deal breaker.

I'm also assuming there isn't a saucy reason they are aiming it at one handed play? That WOULD be a departure for Nintendo!

 

[Analog Kid]

Your app is dead to me.

Why should I pay $10 for a game, while someone else gets it for free?

Why should my game keep me tethered to the mothership when I'm not the criminal? Punish the guilty, reward the honorable.
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I'm OK with it forcing a network log-in once a day or something. But this makes the game unplayable on underground metro systems...

Nope, once a day is too much for me. Leaving aside the fact that if your first launch that day is on the underground you're still stuck (wake up, shower, breakfast, brush teeth, tell Mario to call home, take the underground...), I'm a big believer in only making network connections when it is absolutely necessary to the functionality of the app.

We need a Little Snitch for iPhone.

 

[RedGala]

WELL! When you sell a small game app for TEN DOLLARS, we can blame pirated copies of the game on you...

Besides, most people don't pirate apps.

 

[Bill Av]

I was on the fence, but this pushed me off. I usually only play games on my commute

However, I appreciate that they told us up front about this. I was annoyed after I bought a Pac-Man game on Android that needed to phone home before I could play.

 

[Glassed Silver]

I would agree with you if piracy wasn't so rampant.

But since it is, I completely agree with Nintendo. Why should I pay $10 for a game, while someone else gets it for free?

It'll get cracked eventually if history is an indicator.

The pirates will get the better product and not even pay for it whilst you get a DRM-ridden app with ridiculous shelf life for 10 bucks.

Yeah, I'm sure you and Nintendo will come out ahead.

Glassed Silver:ios

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

They will leave terrible reviews, and then likely the game will have mixed reviews at launch (2-4 star range) which might effect its revenue, at which point they will likely release a fix to allow offline play. As many here have said, a large majority of people live in cities and use subways, planes, etc. These people will get frustrated

The large majority of users are kids. They don't go on subways or planes often.

Look at Pokemon Go. It requires an internet connection at all times. And yet, it's been insanely successful. Imagine that.

 

[juminoz]

Is piracy of iOS apps really a big thing? What percentage of iOS users even know about apps not on the official app store?

I'm OK with it forcing a network log-in once a day or something. But this makes the game unplayable on underground metro systems...

Apparently 60% for iOS and 70% for Android even on $0.99 games as of 2015.

http://forums.toucharcade.com/showthread.php?t=268214
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/132582/iphone_piracy_the_inside_story.php?print=1

It's easier for them to relax the online check later on now that they have an infrastructure to do it. Way easier than making it an after thought. I would say it's the right move.

 

[Loge]

Look at Pokemon Go. It requires an internet connection at all times. And yet, it's been insanely successful. Imagine that.

Pokemon Go fundamentally depends on on information about your surroundings that requires an internet connection. This game does not. It's like requiring an internet connection to play solitaire.

 

[ChristianVirtual]

Too bad ... though good to know. No buy for me then too. Subway, airplane etc are places I want I enjoy games too.

 

[smacrumon]

I'm surprised. How rampant is iphone piracy, and why isn't ios preventing it!? What's the stats??

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

Pokemon Go fundamentally depends on on information about your surroundings that requires an internet connection. This game does not. It's like requiring an internet connection to play solitaire.

The point is that games can be successful with the requirement of an internet connection. This won't hurt the games success like so many here believe.

Had this requirement never been announced, most never would have noticed. Yet even with this requirement the game will still be a huge success as for the vast majority of users, the requirement is a non-issue. It's MacRumor readers that take issue with everything on the planet. They cry about everything and nothing is ever good enough. There's always something to be upset about and something that makes life not worth living because of some small detail.

 

[dukebound85]

Did Nintendo not learn anything from the whole Sim City fiasco over always needing online?

 

[Loge]

It's really more than you might think.

http://www.idownloadblog.com/2015/01/09/monument-valley-piracy/

For example, 60% of Monument Valley installs were pirated. I know a couple of devs, they say that this isn't an anomaly; their apps too get quite pirated as well. Mario on iOS is getting crazy amounts of hype, so I wouldn't blame them too much for trying to protect it.

Has anyone validated that claim of 60%? I don't believe it, particularly when the article goes on -

In other words, 60 percent of unpaid iOS installs is comprised of a large portion of pirated installs and a smaller portion of people who have both an iPhone and an iPad, and have installed the game to both devices.

If you have purchased the game and have more than one iOS device you are entitled to run it on both. That figure of 60% is meaningless without knowing what the "smaller portion" is.

 

[Solfeggio4]

The point is that games can be successful with the requirement of an internet connection. This won't hurt the games success like so many here believe.

Had this requirement never been announced, most never would have noticed. Yet even with this requirement the game will still be a huge success as for the vast majority of users, the requirement is a non-issue. It's MacRumor readers that take issue with everything on the planet. They cry about everything and nothing is ever good enough. There's always something to be upset about and something that makes life not worth living because of some small detail.

I completely disagree. It's the people NOT part of this community who will be upset when they have spotty/no connection and their brand new $10 game doesn't work. They will buy unknowingly and then leave a horrible review because they couldn't play on their flight home for Christmas.

Also, wasn't the whole idea of a one-handed control for commuters in the first place? Who is demanding one-handed play while sitting at home?

 

[Yuthopia]

I don't know a single one who still use jailbreak iphone.

Nintendo doesn't know how to do app business I guess.

Seriously, do some statistics on piracy.

One connection every 1-3 days should be more than enough to block piracy.

 

[ag29]

I bet it will still be pirated, and they will hack the game so it can be used without internet.

 

[kingofwale]

The number of people that have jailbroken phones that might pirate this game HAS to be lower than the number of people that won't buy it now with this requirement. Also, those jailbreakers who would pirate it wouldn't have bought it anyway, but now they've made the experience terrible for the people that do buy it.

Let's face it. Nintendo is openly willing to significantly lower USER EXPERIENCE for everyone so they can "potentially" stop piracy.

as a paying custom, why are you supporting this?
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The large majority of users are kids. They don't go on subways or planes often.

Look at Pokemon Go. It requires an internet connection at all times. And yet, it's been insanely successful. Imagine that.

yeah, for losing 90% of userbase in 6 months. Will it survive the winter?

 

[A MacBook lover]

The large majority of users are kids. They don't go on subways or planes often.

Look at Pokemon Go. It requires an internet connection at all times. And yet, it's been insanely successful. Imagine that.

Pokémon Go doesn't cost $10.

Kids aren't buying $10 games.

And if the parents bought their kid a $10 game, you better bet you'll hear a fuss on how they couldn't play their $10 game when they were camping, on the plane, or wherever the signal doesn't reach.

Bad reviews ensue.

 

[DoctorKrabs]

I just bought Bully, a full-fledged console game that I can play offline for $7.

Whoever decided to price Super Mario Run at $10 and make it require internet should hide their illegal drugs before the cops find them.

 

[B4U]

That actually didn't start until the 3DS and WiiU, and if I recall correctly won't be on the Switch.

Oh dear, you may be too young to remember the NES/FC or even the SNES/SFC.
Then there are the N64, GameCube, Wii, DSi, and the Wii U.

 

[stiligFox]

Oh dear, you may be too young to remember the NES/FC or even the SNES/SFC.
Then there are the N64, GameCube, Wii, DSi, and the Wii U.

I actually did grow up with an NES and SNES, I remember the SNES sitting under the Christmas tree (albeit for my Dad). I know have one of each. That said - I just realized (and feel like a dolt for not realizing) that PAL/NTSC differences make each system incompatible, plus early carts were different shapes

My apologies! Momentary loss of brain functioning :C