Super Mario Run Android release date revealed

Nintendo’s one-handed mobile platformer, Super Mario Run, will make its Android debut this week on March 23, Nintendo announced today.

The game will be available for free to download on the Google Play store, granting players access to the first three of its 24 levels. Like the iPhone version, which launched last December, the full game will be available to unlock for $9.99 via a one-time in-app purchase.

Super Mario Run was first released on Apple’s mobile platforms last year as a timed exclusive — a deal Nintendo first announced last September at an Apple event. During the keynote (which also featured the iPhone 7 reveal), Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto appeared on Apple’s stage to reveal the first Mario game to appear on a mobile device.

Upon its release, Super Mario Run was met with some resistance from consumers confused by Nintendo’s in-game purchasing system, many feeling ten dollars was asking too much for a phone game. We’ll have to see if Nintendo will change their messaging (concerning the one-time purchase) come March 23.