The big downside for many smartphone users at the launch of Super Mario Run was that the game was an Apple exclusive on day one.
It was only iPhone and iPad users who could initially play the first official Mario game to come to mobile, with no time frame offered on when the potential user base would be expanded. But things have now changed.
Super Mario Run is now showing in the Google Play Store – not available to download – but with a pre-register icon that if pressed sets up notification alerts once the game goes live on Android.
Despite some annoyed murmurings over the in-app purchase of £7.99 needed to unlock the full game, Super Mario Run has made a flying start in the App Store: It has become the biggest launch in the store’s history, having been downloaded more than 43 million times in its first four days.
Those numbers are likely to be boosted further once Android, the platform with the largest global share of the smartphone market, is able to put the app up for download.