The first surprise of Apple’s product event came in the first fifteen minutes, with a new partnership between the tech giant and gaming company Nintendo set to bring the Mario franchise to iOS.Cook rattled off the statistics for gaming on the iPhone, highlighting the app store’s 100%-year-on-year growth rates.
He says the app store generated twice the global revenue of Apple’s closest competitor, presumably Google.
“We continue to set new records,” he said.
He then revealed Super Mario Run, a new Mario game exclusive to the iPhone and iPad.
Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyomoto joined Cook on stage for a demo of the sidescroller / runner game.
“The magic of Mario is that anyone can play, and this time we’ve made it even simpler to begin,” he said.
Miyamoto highlighted the ability of the game to be played with one hand, making it ideal for commutes or on your lunch break.
The game also features a competitive multiplayer battle mode.
Points scored in this mode are converted into coins, which then fuel
another layer of the game where you manage your very own “Mushroom
Kingdom.”
He says the game will release in time for holidays 2016 for a set
price, and played down the possibility of micro-transactions but didn’t
rule them out entirely.
There’s also a set of Super Mario-themed stickers coming to iMessage to commemorate the occasion.
