News
11 CommentsSuper Mario Run downloaded 40M times in four days
Super Mario Run, the first mobile game starring everyone’s favorite Italian plumber, was downloaded more than 40 million times worldwide in its first four days of release, Nintendo announced today.
That figure represents an App Store record for fastest-downloaded game, said Phil Schiller, senior vice president for worldwide marketing at Apple, in a press release from Nintendo. However, the companies did not clarify which app held the previous four-day record. Apple said in July that Pokémon Go racked up the most first-week downloads in App Store history, although neither Apple nor Nintendo gave a specific figure at the time for the number of downloads.
In the case of Super Mario Run, the figure seems to exceed download numbers from various analytics firms. Launch-day estimates varied...
Opinion
94 CommentsSuper Mario Run was a failed chance for Nintendo to stop being Nintendo
Super Mario Run is an odd game from a company that rarely plays by the established rules in the game industry, and it’s been an interesting journey to try to figure out if it has been a success or not.
Apple is clearly enthusiastic about having one of the best-known characters in gaming on its platform, and is willing to push hard to make it a hit. The game was shown off for the first time during September’s Apple event, and this is what iTunes looks like at the moment:
Polygon
Nintendo has also stated the game has been downloaded 40 million times in its first four days of release, which is a pretty staggering number even when you take its worldwide launch into account. Super Mario Run currently sits at the No. 1 slot in both free games and highest-grossing apps...
Cover Story
Issue
24
November 4, 2016
Blizzard’s prodigal son returns
How one of Blizzard’s co-founders left the company, why he decided to come back and what it means for the future.
Read moreNews
14 CommentsFirst six Mega Man games coming to mobile next month
The first six entries in the Mega Man franchise — that’s all of the 8-bit titles in the original series — will be released on Android and iOS in early January, publisher Capcom announced today.
Here’s the full list of games, for the uninitiated: Mega Man (1987), Mega Man 2 (1988), Mega Man 3 (1990), Mega Man 4 (1991), Mega Man 5 (1992) and Mega Man 6 (1993). All of them debuted on the Nintendo Entertainment System. Capcom will sell each of the mobile ports for $1.99 on the App Store and Google Play, with the word “Mobile” appended to the titles. A Capcom Mobile representative told Polygon that the purchase price will cover each entire game; the titles will not offer microtransactions.
This will be the first time that all six of the original 8-bit Mega Man games have been available on...
News
3 CommentsPokémon Go players have walked enough to circle the Earth 200,000 times
As we near 2016’s end, Pokémon Go developer Niantic is reflecting on just how far the game has come since its July launch — and how far its players have traveled. To collect some of the game’s most astounding data points, Niantic made the video above, showing off some wild stats from the past five months.
Chief among those wild Pokémon Go numbers is just how many kilometers players have walked while playing the game. As of Dec. 7, Niantic says that they’ve traveled 8.7 billion kilometers just by walking outside in the search for new Pokémon to catch. The developer put this another way, to convey just how far that is: That distance is comparable to more than 200,000 trips around the Earth.
During all that walking, Pokémon trainers caught a total of 88 billion monsters. On average, that’s...
News
18 CommentsSuper Mario Run’s most polarizing mode is Toad Rally
Despite millions of downloads, Super Mario Run has received a mixed response thus far, and players fall most divided on one of its two main modes. Toad Rally, the time attack-style, asynchronous multiplayer feature, is the cause of just as many Mario fans’ ire as it is their affection.
Toad Rally exists as supplemental to Super Mario Run’s main campaign, World Tour, drawing on preexisting levels and adding a competitive element to them. Mario races against a ghost of himself (culled from another player’s data) to collect coins, perform stylish moves and win the approval of as many Toads as possible in order to claim victory.
It sounds simple enough, but players have found plenty to hate. For one, Toad Rally requires the use of collectible tickets in order to start playing. These can be...
News
8 CommentsPokémon Go adds more Pokémon to rural areas
Pokémon Go players may start finding more Pokémon around than usual, according to the game’s official Twitter account. An update hints that rural and urban areas are seeing an increase in their Pokémon populations, effective immediately.
Trainers, we've observed increased numbers of Pokémon sightings in parks and other outdoor locations in urban and rural areas.— Pokémon GO (@PokemonGoApp) December 16, 2016
This is particularly good news for players out in the countryside, where PokéStops are often few and far between and Pokémon are hard to come by. That’s long been a big issue with Pokémon Go, which requires players to go outside and track down Pokémon in the real world.
Pokémon tend to congregate in denser areas and are attracted to PokéStops and other notable locations....
News
12 CommentsSuper Mario Run brings back Nintendo’s dreaded friend codes
Super Mario Run is out now, and while the timed iOS exclusive doesn’t have much in the way of multiplayer, it does have something Nintendo fans have tried hard to forget: friend codes.
Unlike Miitomo, which dumped the archaic numeric system most recently used by the Nintendo 3DS, Super Mario Run asks players to share their 12-digit ID numbers in order to connect. There are a few other, more contemporary options available too, like linking Facebook and Twitter and finding “recommended friends” that way. Giving out and searching for friends codes, however, are the default choice.
After Super Mario Run was announced, Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima said that Miitomo players would have another method for adding friends. A Nintendo rep confirmed that that’s in the works for a later...
Super Mario Run
1 CommentHow to unlock and play as Toad in Super Mario Run
Super Mario Run begins with Mario, but as we point out in our beginner’s guide, there are five more playable characters — and you can unlock Toad immediately, provided you have a My Nintendo account.
How to unlock Toad
If you don’t have one already, you’ll need to create a My Nintendo account. You can do that in the app or at the official My Nintendo site. If you’re in the app, go to the Kingdom Builder screen (it’s the one that looks like your own little corner of the Mushroom Kingdom), and tap My Nintendo at the top right.
Super Mario Run treats Toad as a reward for being a My Nintendo member, and you have to redeem Toad just like any other My Nintendo reward. Good news, though: You can do that within the app. In Super Mario Run, go to Kingdom Builder. At the top right, click My...
News
8 CommentsSiri has an answer when you tell her ‘It’s Mario time’
Super Mario Run went live on the iOS App Store this afternoon and Siri won’t stop talking about it ... if you ask her.
If you have an iPhone try asking Siri:
“Do you play Super Mario Run?”
“Do you like Super Mario Run?”
Or you can simply say: “It’s Mario time!”
Her responses vary, all of them, though, are really, really bad puns. We recorded a few of them in the audio at the bottom of the post, but check it out yourself to see if you find anymore.
Super Mario Run, which costs $9.99 on iOS, has players controlling an ever-running Mario as he makes his way, mostly from left to right, through worlds decorated with breakable blocks, pipes and the many other familiar hallmarks of a Super Mario game.
The game features three modes: World Tour, Kingdom Builder and Toad Rally.
It...
News
44 CommentsWhen’s Super Mario Run coming to Android? (update)
Super Mario Run is out now in hundreds of countries on iOS devices, which must be very nice for people with iPhones and iPads. Only own an Android phone? You’re out of luck: Nintendo hasn’t said when the game will be out on Android beyond sometime in 2017.
We’ve reached out to Nintendo to be just a little more specific about the Android launch window, to which a representative simply told Polygon that “information about that version will be revealed in the future.”
Since Super Mario Run made its global debut during a fall Apple event, it’s not surprising that the tech supergiant gets first dibs. Veteran designer Shigeru Miyamoto recently explained in an interview with Mashable that security was a big reason for the early Apple exclusivity.
“The security element is one of the reasons...
News
14 CommentsSuper Mario Run is live
Super Mario Run, Nintendo’s first official Mario game developed for a phone, is now live on Apple’s app store for a penny shy of $10. You can also download a free demo of the game featuring the first three levels if you want to give it a try before you buy.
Nintendo wasn’t exactly clear when on Dec. 15 its chubby little plumber would make his premiere on the iPhone and iPad, leaving some to speculate (OK, hope intently) that it would be exactly when the day started ... in New Zealand.
The anticipation continued as the day rolled over around the world. Once it was Dec. 15 worldwide, people started wondering if something had gone wrong.
The official Nintendo Twitter account in Japan simply stated Super Mario Run was coming to iTunes on Dec. 15 “Pacific time.”
The game has players...
News
6 CommentsLook for these eggs to get new Pokémon in Pokémon Go
Pokémon Go’s new Pokémon can’t be caught in the wild, unlike the original monsters. Instead, players have to rely on Pokémon eggs, which require their owners walking a whole bunch of steps before they’ll hatch into one of the adorable, second-gen baby Pokémon. The rub with eggs is that each one must move a different distance in order to hatch, and the Pokémon inside is a surprise — unless you know which Pokémon tend to come out of which eggs.
After months of paying close attention to the hatching patterns of the various types of Pokémon eggs, one Reddit user has a complete guide on how to find the new baby Pokémon.
Pokémon Go player and artist Alejandro “Alex” Gil made and posted the following chart to help players identify which eggs to bother carrying around in the hopes of...
Culture
1 CommentThe cutest new Pokemon Go feature: Holding those sweet, baby Pokemon
An update to Pokémon Go made the game about a thousand times more adorable yesterday, especially for fans of some of the tiniest, most popular Pokémon in the Pokédex. Baby Pokémon mark the first new monsters available in the game, and trainers who have begun to hatch them from Pokémon eggs are discovering an especially cute quirk these babies brought along with them.
When selecting one of the six second-generation Pokémon players have confirmed are now included in Pokémon Go to be a Buddy Pokémon, they’ll do more than sidle up next to the trainer. Just like a real infant, a player’s in-game avatar will cradle the baby in their arms, carrying them so they don’t have to put their tiny paws on the ground.
Niantic/The Pokémon Company via Reddit
Lookit tiny baby...
News
9 CommentsThese are Pokémon Go’s gen two monsters to look out for (update)
Pokémon Go’s most exciting update ever launched today, heralding the arrival of the second generation of Pokémon. Although most players expected the game to receive all 100 of gen two’s monsters, it turns out that we’re only getting a few.
Niantic and The Pokémon Company are playing coy about the majority of new Pokémon that players can hatch from eggs, but there’s a pretty big hint. The pair did mention Pichu and Togepi as two of the Pokémon players can now add to their Pokédex, pointing to a theme with the update: baby Pokémon.
What are baby Pokémon?
Generation two added a whole new class of monsters to the game, courtesy of breeding. In Pokémon Gold and Silver, Pokémon were assigned genders, and two Pokémon of the same species and opposite genders could get together and make some...
News
30 CommentsIs Pokémon Go available in your country?
Pokémon Go has kept players rapt since it launched on July 6 — at least, players in those countries lucky enough to already have the game. Several major regions are left in wait, anxiety building within Pokémon fans worldwide who can do nothing but hope that today is the day.
Is today your country’s day? We can make no promises, but peruse our list below to find a "yes" or "no" answer to this question for the citizens of many different countries around the world. If the odds are not yet in your favor, keep checking back — we’ll be sure to update when Pokémon Go has become available in another country.
North America
Is Pokémon Go out in the U.S.?
Yes! The game exploded stateside on July 6, rolling out to Android users slightly before players on iOS got to check it out.
Is Pokémon Go...
Video
1 CommentMessing up some space dragons in EarthNight
In a world where dragons took over Earth, one girl and one man in space must punch them in the eyes.
So I gather from EarthNight, a roguelike runner where you launch yourself from dragon to dragon, running down their winding spines before poking them aggressively. The goal is to eventually reach Earth’s surface to end this dragon plague once and for all. Each dragon is procedurally generated, and contains multitudes of monsters, platforms, and collectibles.
According to the developers, each dragon has 125 potential layouts. You’ll see a few different kinds of dragons in this video. You’ll also notice that the game is challenging as heck. Even when we had what we thought was a good run — well, you’ll see. In this gameplay video, captured at PlayStation Experience, we conquer a few...
News
12 CommentsNew, gen two Pokémon are making their way to Pokémon Go right now
Pokémon beyond the original 151 can now be found in Pokémon Go, announced developer Niantic and The Pokémon Company today. Baby Pokémon like Pichu and Togepi, who made their debut in Pokémon Gold and Silver, will now pop up in the hugely popular mobile game.
Players won’t be able to catch them in the wild like the average Pokémon, however. Instead, they’ll have to visit PokéStops to collect Pokémon eggs, which may include one of the new finds when they hatch.
Niantic and The Pokémon Company named Pichu, Togepi and “select other Pokémon” as the newest additions to Pokémon Go. Players found code for the entirety of generation two — numbers 151 through 251 in the Pokédex — last month.
Also available in Pokémon Go starting now until Dec. 29 is a special Pikachu. The holiday edition of the...
News
5 CommentsTelltale’s Walking Dead returns a great video game hero to the spotlight
Telltale Games' adaptation of The Walking Dead returns Dec. 20 titled not as "Season 3," but A New Frontier. A two-part episode will be available at launch, reintroducing players to Clementine, and pairing her with a new protagonist, Javier.
Clementine is one of the all-time great slow-burn video game heroes, emerging from the frightened grade-schooler for whom you put your life on the line in Season One, through an expedited adolescence where she accepts very hard lessons about people in Season Two. Now, as a teenager, she's acting first, and no longer being acted upon by this cruel world. Zombie stories are best when people realize the will to live and fight for it, and that is the truth of Clementine’s character.
Javier is her companion and another playable character, the first time...
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