‘Super Mario Run’ vs. ‘Pokémon GO’: Which App Performed Better?

Super Mario Run has yet to be launched for Android devices but the game from Nintendo has smashed the record, made only a few months ago by Pokémon GO, for the highest ever number of downloads on the App Store.

In the first 24 hours of its launch Dec. 15, Super Mario Run had been downloaded 2,850,000 times around the world, which is more than three times the 900,000 downloads that Pokémon GO saw within the first day of its release.

However, according to Adam Blacker of Apptopia, the main reason behind the new game’s astounding numbers is all the promotion activity that was conducted before the launch of the app. Analyzing the ratings the app received in the first 24 hours, Blacker also told International Business Times that of the 33,000 ratings, about half were 1-star, since many users were unhappy with the small amount of game play available for free, as well as the $9.99 price tag to play the game properly.

As of now, the app has just short of 43,000 ratings and the average rating is 2.5 stars. In comparison, the current version of Pokémon GO is rated 3.5 and the 240,060 ratings for all the versions of the monster-catching game together average 3 stars, both of which are better than Super Mario Run.

According to reports, the new game also consumes a large amount of data, as much as over 60MB per hour. And the share price of Nintendo dropped 4.24 percent on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Friday despite the record-breaking number of downloads, based on concerns over the high price tag. By contrast, the release of Pokémon GO had sent the company’s market value soaring by over $7 billion.

If you already have the game, however, here are some tips to make the most of it.

A date for the Android version of the game has not yet been announced, it is only the known it will be some time in 2017.