'Super Mario Run' news, update: auto-running game to make its debut on Android in March

Nintendo's first video game for smartphones, "Super Mario Run," is finally going to come out on Android in March after several months of iOS exclusivity.

The company made the announcement last week, and Android users can now pre-register in Google Play if they want to be notified once it rolls out.

The game was the most downloaded iOS app when it came out last month, but its popularity has taken a hit because of the negative user reviews on the App Store. Nintendo's shares also dropped because of the reviews, so they probably don't want to see the same thing happen once the game comes out on Android.

Game Rant's Dalton Cooper has reported that the Android version of "Super Mario Run" will probably launch with the patches and updates already in place, but that still doesn't solve the game's biggest problem — the price. Sure, $9.99 isn't much. But the price is actually the main reason why the game has such a low rating.

"Even if Nintendo delivers a more polished version of Super Mario Run for Android users, it may not be enough to convince consumers to actually buy the game. Mobile gamers are used to playing games for free, with very few willing to buy a game outright. Nintendo proved this with Super Mario Run, which was downloaded over 40 million times on iOS, yet only three million people bought it at last count," Cooper said in his piece about the game's impending release on Android.

Forbes' Erik Kain also believes that Nintendo should just release "Super Mario Run" as a free-to-play game on Android. He pointed out that they could always sell in-game items like Toad Rally tickets to make money. Kain noted that Nintendo also has to be more transparent in the future. If the game is listed as free on the App Store, users tend to think that the entire game is free. Not just the first three levels.