Investor pessimism over "Super Mario Run" continued throughout the weekend, as Nintendo saw its share value collapse further from Friday's 4% to Monday's 7%. The game - the first official Super Mario smartphone game from the company, is currently reeling from negative early reviews.
Nintendo already saw its shares decline by 16% in a space of five days due to Super Mario Run. Prior to the decline, the company experienced a 20% upsurge in stock value as anticipation towards the new Super Mario game grew, with game designer Shigeru Miyamoto himself introducing the game during Apple's iPhone 7 launch event back in September.
Analysts have raised worries over the payment model Nintendo has implemented on Super Mario Run, which is currently available on the iOS. The new Super Mario game requires users to pay $10 for the full version - a price deemed too steep for an average App Store app, once they clear a trial-version stage, Nikkei has reported.
Despite actively avoiding the realm of smartphone gaming, Nintendo finally gave in after poor reception towards its current flagship console, the Wii U. Investors have encouraged the Kyoto gaming tech giant to try its hand on releasing smartphone games, with Pokémon GO - co-created by third-party developer Niantic, stoking up expectations for a Super Mario app.
The Wall Street Journal, however, reported that Pokémon GO is different from Super Mario run - both in terms of their payment model and update structure. The Pokémon game involves in-app purchases for additional items and regular updates to keep players busy.
The same, however, doesn't apply to Super Mario Run. Apart from the $10 one-time fee for the full version, a Nintendo representative disclosed that the company has no plans to release fresh content - free or not, for the Super Mario game. Such has made investors wary about the game's ability to raise the company's stakes in smartphone gaming.
Nonetheless, investors may hinge their positive hopes on the fact that Nintendo has yet to finish its development of Super Mario Run on Android smartphones. The company, however, must work on the game's poor reviews on the iOS - add to that the $10 one-time fee for a game that doesn't have updates lined up at the moment. Watch Nintendo Mobile's "Introduction to Super Mario Run" below:
