Stop the presses! Apple has kicked off its iPhone 7 launch event with a major coup: Nintendo's Mario is officially coming to the iPhone App Store.
Super Mario Run will be an endless runner, rather than your standard Mario platformer. In other words, it's optimised for mobile – Mario runs left to right automatically, and all you have to do is tap to make the plumber jump.
A longer press makes him jump higher, while power-ups will make him change direction, rather than just give him extra skills.
Battle Mode
Super Mario Run will also have a multiplayer mode – a time-attack, asynchronous race against fellow players. Beat them and you'll earn coins, which you can use to upgrade your avatar's own Mushroom Kingdom.
There's no word yet on device exclusivity, or exact compatibility across the iPhone range. But it will launch at a "set price" when it eventually hits the iPhone this December, with a portion of the game available for free on a demo trial basis.
"We can not be more honored that Nintendo chose to bring Mario to iOS first," said Tim Cook, following the announcement.
What this means for the Nintendo NX remains to be seen, but the iPhone just got a big 1 Up over its Android rival when it comes to gaming.
