Dr. Mario World, Nintendo’s newest venture into mobile gaming, reached 2 million downloads in the first 72 hours after it was launched for iOS and Android.
Nintendo’s fifth mobile game also raked in revenue of about $100,000 from in-app purchases over the same period,accordingto Sensor Tower Store Intelligence data.
Dr. Mario Worldoffers a Candy Crush-style match-three experience for mobile gamers, which is different from the originalDr. Mario, which more closely resembledTetris. The game isfree-to-start, allowing players to go through the tutorial levels without having to spend any money. However, once the game starts, players will be limited to five hearts, with each lost heart regenerating every half hour. Players who do not want to wait may spend real-world money to buy diamonds, which in turn may be used to acquire more hearts, more time in speed levels, and power-ups.
Fans aredividedonDr. Mario World, as it does not feature thesame mechanicsas the classic series that started in 1990. This is illustrated in how the game fared in its first 72 hours since launch, compared to Nintendo’s other mobile games.
Dr. Mario World‘s number of downloads and earned revenue over the first 72 hours pale in comparison to the performance of Nintendo’s first two entries in the mobile gaming space over the same window.Super Mario Runwas downloaded 4.3 million times and earned $6.5 million, despite the fact that it was only available for iOS at the start, whileFire Emblem Heroeswas downloaded 4.9 million times and earned $11.6 million.Animal Crossingsaw the most downloads at 6 million, but earned only $1.4 million, whileDragalia Lostonly saw 300,000 downloads, as it was launched in just five markets, earning $250,000.
According to Sensor Tower,Dr. Mario World‘s performance is not surprising, as it is not as popular as Nintendo’sSuper Mario,Fire Emblem, andAnimal Crossingfranchises. The game also did not benefit from the same level of pre-launch marketing as the big-name games. Sensor Tower also pointed out that while the puzzle game’s revenue was much lower compared to Nintendo’s other mobile games due to a different modernization model, it may be considered as healthy within the genre as the massively popularCandy Crush Friends Saga, which earned $137,000 over its first 72 hours.
The 2 million downloads forDr. Mario Worldis nothing to scoff at either, considering that the game is only available in a portion of the global app markets. The figures are expected to continue to rise as the game is rolled out to more countries.
