Super Mario Run: Players ask 'Is the app worth it?'

Gamers are being charged a one-off fee to access all Super Mario Run's content

After the sort of anticipation you'd expect for the return of the world's most famous plumber, Nintendo has rolled out Super Mario Run to iPhones and iPads.

While a free version acts as a brief demo, access to all three modes of the game costs $9.99 in the App Store in the US, and £7.99 in the UK.

But as players start to download the app, social media reaction is not just about game play - but whether the price of the full game is worth it.

'Deserve to be paid'?

Nintendo's big hit of 2016 was Pokemon Go - an app that was free to play up front (though the creators made their money through in-game purchases).

So perhaps it's no surprise some people believe the price is too high.

"$10 is absurdly expensive for a cheap Mario game. Rather get new super Mario bros Ds for the same price," said one Twitter user.

Another said: "At 6 levels it feels extremely short at that price. I was expecting more content."

But others have been quick to jump to Nintendo's defence, saying the price is fair.

Twitter user titowrestling said: "Wow... People are actually complaining... Have we become so addicted to free-to-play? Not expensive."

'One-off' payment

And games designer Teddy Dief, who said he was enjoying the game so far, told the BBC that all entertainment creators deserved to be paid for their work - "the product of their passion, effort, and time".

"Whether a game is premium, or free to play, the developers are hoping to be paid for their creation. How they choose to monetise is up to them, whether through ads, micro transactions, or simply asking to be paid upfront."

"A game like this isn't cheap to make. In my opinion, there's $10 worth of experience in Super Mario Run. But of course, the exact worth of a piece of entertainment is hard to pinpoint," Mr Dief said.

"If a player is worried it's not worth their $10, that's their choice to make, and Nintendo has given them free trial content to enable them to make that choice in an educated way," he said.

IHS Technology consultant Piers Harding-Rolls said that while "quite big", the payment was a "one-off". "I don't think people will think Nintendo is trying to rinse their audience," he said.

And TheXbone wrote: "Millions scream at their $700 phone that the $10 Super Mario Run is the most expensive thing they've ever seen in their entire lives".

For now the title is restricted to Apple's iOS platform, but Nintendo has said it will come to Android "at some point in the future".