After years of dismissing smartphones as viable gaming devices, this was the year Nintendo finally gave in and started developing and publishing mobile games. Following the massive success of Pokemon GO, the Japanese entertainment company recently released Super Mario Run, the first Mario mobile game ever made. Unfortunately for Android users, Super Mario Run will remain an iOS exclusive for at least a couple more months. However, that unfortunate state of affairs prompted another trend – a massive influx of Super Mario Run clones which started appearing on the Google Play Store as soon as Nintendo released its latest mobile game on Thursday.
Knockoff games include the likes of Super Plumber Run, Mario Run Jumper, and other apps titled similarly to Nintendo’s hit game. A quick search for “Super Marion Run” on the Google Play Store even reveals a number of apps promising to download the said game to your Android device, but don’t be fooled by them. There’s no app capable of doing such a thing because there’s still no Android version of Super Mario Run. One of Google’s representatives recently told CNET that the Mountain View-based tech giant has already suspended Mario Run Jumper from the Google Play Store, adding that the company is on the lookout for knockoffs which are in clear violation of its developer policies. Of course, that probably won’t stop certain developers from trying to cash in on the Super Mario Run hype with cheap Android clones, but Google is at least adamant to purge apps from the Play Store that attempt to fool players into thinking they’re downloading Nintendo’s latest mobile game.
Nintendo has yet to issue any comments on this situation. Earlier this month, the Japanese entertainment company revealed that Super Mario Run first launched on iOS due to piracy concerns. Nintendo is apparently extremely worried about mobile piracy which is why the company chose to release Super Mario Run as a free-to-play demo with a one-time $9.99 in-app purchase. In addition to that, this auto-runner requires a constant Internet connection to work. It remains to be seen whether the Android version of the game will come packed with some additional security features, but we’ll hopefully know more soon. Nintendo is expected to announce more details on the Android version of Super Mario Run in early 2017.