Apple and Nintendo are bringing Super Mario to an iPhone near you

Apple just announced that it is working with Nintendo to deliver a new game on the App Store called “Super Mario Run.”

As the name implies, Super Mario Run is a runner game – think “Temple Run” – that lets you tap to jump, and tap longer to jump higher. The longer you run, the more coins you collect, and you simply finish the race by getting to the flag at the end.

You’ll also need to jump over obstacles and avoid enemies before capturing the flag pole to complete the level.

It’s the same ol’ Mario, but simpler and you can play with one hand.

Super Mario Run will also come with an asynchronous battle mode so you can compete with your friends. And there’s another mode where you can create your own Mushroom Kingdom based on your play results, like how many coins are collected.

The news was announced today on stage at Apple’s iPhone 7 event by Shigeru Miyamoto, chief game designer at Nintendo. He was introduced by Apple CEO Tim Cook as “the father of Mario,” given his involvement in creating the iconic video gaming character more than 35 years ago.

“The App Store has made so many things better in our lives — the way we communicate, the way we work and the way we have fun,” said Cook. “But for gamers of all ages, the story just hasn’t been complete without Mario, so we are thrilled that Nintendo is bringing him to iOS for the first time this December.”

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The game was developed with Mr. Miyamoto as lead creator for Nintendo, but the company is continuing its partnership with DeNA for the launch. (Nintendo announced last year it would work with Japanese publisher DeNA on five games. This included Nintendo’s first mobile title, the short-lived Miitomo, but not Pokémon Go.)

According to Nintendo, a portion of the game will be made available for free, but you’ll have to pay a set purchase price – as yet unknown – in order to access all the game’s content. However, it will not continue to cost money the more you play.

Super Mario Run will be available this December exclusively on the App Store, in more than 100 different countries and nine different languages. Though not yet available, the title is so hotly anticipated that Apple debuted a brand new App Store feature just to keep players in the loop: a new “Notify” button. You can click this button on the game’s page on the App Store in order to be alerted when the game becomes available for download.

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In addition, Nintendo says that ahead of Super Mario Run’s launch, it will also release a free Mario sticker pack for the new iMessage App Store later this month.

Following the release of Super Mario Run, Nintendo will launch its other previously announced mobile titles in the Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem series. This will take place before the end of March 2017.

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