Super Mario Run hops its way onto iPhone and iPad

After a few months of waiting, today is the day that Super Mario Run arrives on iOS. After Pokemon GO, Mario is the second Nintendo property to make an appearance on mobile devices, with more franchises slated for mobile games in the future. Perhaps more importantly, Super Mario Run is the first Nintendo-developed game for iOS, so in a way, this marks the beginning of a new era for the big N. UPDATE: It's out now!

Of course, it's not as if Nintendo is going to stop making consoles and transition to becoming a mobile developer. The 3DS is still going strong, thanks in part to the recent release of Pokemon Sun and Moon, and the Switch is scheduled for a March 2017 release. Instead, Nintendo's mobile offerings will supplement its main console business.

Still, to see Mario appear on a non-Nintendo platform is a big deal. Just a few years ago, the idea of Nintendo making mobile games seemed laughable, and now Super Mario Run is only the beginning. Fire Emblem and Animal Crossing mobile games are also in the pipeline, though their release is more nebulous at the moment.

A CLOSER LOOK: Super Mario Run hands-onIf you've managed to avoid talk of Super Mario Run thus far, you should know that this isn't your typical free-to-play mobile game. Instead, Nintendo is charging a flat $9.99 fee up front, though you can also download the game and play a trail before you pony up the cash to buy it.

That $10 gets you access to three different game modes. The first is World Tour, which will take Mario through 24 stages that span six worlds. Toad Rally has you competing against other players to earn coins and attract Toads to your kingdom, while Kingdom Builder is exactly what the name implies: a mode where you spend coins and recruit the help of Toads to build your very own kingdom.

Super Mario Run launches today on the iOS App Store. It hasn't launched just yet, but it should be available shortly. You'll need an iPhone or iPad running iOS 8.0 or later to play Super Mario Run, so consider that before you spend money on the game. Super Mario Run will be coming to Android devices at some point in the future, but for the moment, Nintendo hasn't given us a release date for that version.

SOURCE: iOS App Store