Nintendo is offering a free gift for Super Mario Run players to celebrate the game's huge success.
Despite the controversy and criticism it drew with its hefty price for the full experience, Super Mario Run proved to be a greatly popular iOS game and has already racked up more than 50 million downloads so far, more than 40 million of which were during its first four days of availability.
Just before Christmas, Nintendo announced that Super Mario Run hit the 50 million downloads milestone. To celebrate the achievement, a free gift was in order: 10 Rally Tickets for the Toad Rally mode.
The Super Mario Run gift should now be available in the game, GameSpot notes.
Super Mario Run Toad Rally
For those unfamiliar with the game, Super Mario Run features an alternative mode called Toad Rally, which allows players to challenge others in an online competition. Toad Rally is the only way to keep enjoying the game after completing the World Tour, but competing in Toad Rally requires tickets.
The 10 free Toad Rally tickets should help keep players engaged and committed to the game, especially since recent reports indicate that Super Mario Run has already peaked and it's no longer the highest-grossing app.
Super Mario Run Drawbacks
Users are apparently not as hooked to the game as Nintendo likely hoped for, and the pricing scheme might have something to do with it. While the game is available as a free download on iOS, the free experience only comes with limited content. Players need to shell out a hefty $9.99 for the full game experience, and many are not willing to keep playing past the freemium offer if they have to pay for additional content.
Super Mario Run is available only on iOS for now and it requires an always-on internet connection, which drew further criticism. An official Android version is not available just yet, but an alternative called Super Plumber Run unofficially brings the game to the Android ecosystem.
Nevertheless, even with the always-on requirement and the substantial price tag for the full experience, Super Mario Run still racked up an impressive amount of downloads and proved to be even more popular than the Pokémon GO phenomenon.
Offering 10 free Toad Rally tickets might convince some players to spend more time with the game, but it remains to be seen whether it can be addictive enough to drive more users to purchase the full version of the game. Did you get the free Rally tickets? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
