'Super Mario Run' release date, news: Full game costs $9.99 to play

Featured in the image is the character Mario as he is shown in "Super Mario Run" "Super Mario Run" official website

Nintendo is surprising fans of the classic side-scroller after the announcement that "Super Mario Run" is going to hit the mobile arena by Dec. 15, 2017. The more surprising part of the launch, though, is what the player needs to do to get the full experience.

First of all, "Super Mario Run" is the latest stab of Nintendo to get into the mobile scene. It will be the same gameplay as previous installments with the upside of playing with just one hand. Mario will need to evade enemies and collect coins in different levels by combining short jumps with long leaps.

The game boasts three modes the players can choose. The World Tour serves as the game's main storyline, where Mario attempts to rescue Princess Peach while navigating through six different worlds. Toad Rally, on the other hand, is a scoreboard-driven mode that allows a gamer to compete against other people across the globe. The last one is Kingdom Builder, where a player uses prizes earned in the Toad Rally to get decorations and create his own world.

"Super Mario Run" is exclusive to iOS devices during the launch date, but it will also be introduced to Android platforms by 2017. The catch, though, is that the game is not entirely free. In order to play the whole game, the player needs to pay a one-time in-app purchase of $9.99.

Apparently, this is something fans are not happy about. IGN conducted a survey to know if players are willing to spend around $10 real world money to get the entire experience. Out of 12,582 participants, 52.42 percent of which said "no way," while the remaining percent said they would.

It may be too early to say if the price is too steep without seeing the content, but it surely will affect the number of subscribers "Mario" will have. Whether Nintendo will lower the price or remain with the slated amount is up in the air.

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