Oliver Haslam on December 10, 2016, 12:22 am

Super Mario Run For iPhone Requires An Active Internet Connection To Play, Here’s Why

Here’s why Nintendo’s Super Mario Run for iPhone requires an active Internet connection all the time to play the game.

Nintendo’s Super Mario Run is all set to go on sale in 150 countries on December 15th, and both Nintendo and Apple are already heavily publicizing the game ahead of its launch. Nintendo in particular has been sending its executives out to press the flesh on TV shows and events in order to make sure that everyone is well aware that the company’s first mobile Mario game is on the horizon.

Super-Mario-Run

As is always the case when executives get out and about, all kinds of tidbits have been learnt, but one in particular unearthed during an interview with Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto, revealed that Super Mario Run will need a persistent Internet connection in order to function. Own an iPad or an iPod touch without a WiFi connection? Tough luck.

For us, we view our software as being a very important asset for us. And also for consumers who are purchasing the game, we want to make sure that we’re able to offer it to them in a way that the software is secure, and that they’re able to play it in a stable environment.

Miyamoto went on to explain how the company looks to bring all three modes of the game functioning together, and how a network connection will help keep the “software secure”. Obviously, it isn’t that hard to conclude what Miyamoto was trying to hint at, but the interviewer pressed on for confirmation’s sake.

Just to be clear: When you say “security,” you mean the risk of piracy, right?

That’s correct.

Clearly Nintendo is concerned about piracy in an environment which it cannot control. Unlike games that are playable on its own hardware, Nintendo has no way of ensuring its wares are secure on iOS, and with jailbroken devices being able to circumvent Apple’s App Store anti-piracy systems, Nintendo is perhaps understandably a little twitchy.

Super Mario Run lands on iOS on December 15th and is free, with an optional $9.99 in-app update which will unlock all levels. Just make sure you’ve got an Internet connection when you try to play them.

(Source: Mashable)