Shigeru Miyamoto says Pokémon GO proved Super Mario Run would do well on the iPhone

After years of holding out on bringing their original properties as complete gaming experiences on smartphones, Nintendo revealed that it would be bringing the Super Mario Bros franchise to the iPhone 7 with a game called Super Mario Run . Nintendo games on the iPhone was one of the biggest demands by users since the launch of the original iPhone, and consumers finally are getting it nine years later.  Pokémon GO by Niantic uses IP licensed from Nintendo, but is not a game published by Nintendo itself.

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Following the announcement of the game on iOS, the prices of Nintendo shares surged . Super Mario Run will not be an iPhone exclusive game, and Nintendo has announced that the game will soon make it’s way to the Android platform as well. Shigeru Miyamoto, who Time famously called the “ The Father of Modern Video Gaming ” revealed to USA Today, why the franchise was being made available on smartphones .

Pokémon GO was one of the reasons, it made Pokémon popular again, and the unprecedented virality showed the power of smartphones as a platform. The other reason was that Nintendo itself got convinced that smartphones were becoming a capable enough platform for gaming. Analysts expect the game to be downloaded 1.5 Billion times after the launch. Nintendo and Sony dominated the handheld gaming marketplace before the advent of smartphone gaming. Pokémon GO was also introduced to the Apple watch . The watch now tracks your fitness while playing the game, alerts users when there are Pokémon about.

Miyamoto also spoke to USA Today about the possiblity of a VR experience for Mario. VR experiences tend to be single player and short, which is why Miyamoto feels that VR may not be the best medium for a Mario title.