Super Mario Run reaches 78 million downloads, 5% of users buy full game

Nintendo has revealed that Super Mario Run has been downloaded 78 million times since its December release on iOS. The news arrives via The Wall Street Journal, which also revealed that five percent of players had paid the $9.99 fee to unlock the full version of the game.

The free-to-play title has also made more than $53 million in revenue for Nintendo so far, ahead of its release on Android in March. But are these numbers good or bad for Nintendo?

To begin with, Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima said that the company expected a conversion rate which was in double figures, meaning Run achieved — at most — half of what was anticipated in terms of players purchasing the full game.

That doesn’t necessarily mean that it made half as much money as expected, however, because Run might have been adopted by more players than anticipated. Indeed, in its recent financial report, Nintendo said that Run had “elicited a fantastic response,” surpassing “40 million downloads in four days after the release.”

Also, consider that the $9.99 price tag to unlock the extra content is higher than what is usually paid to unlock free-to-play games: most of which are said to have a less-than 5% conversation rate.

Overall, while Super Mario Run doesn’t appear to have been an unprecedented success for Nintendo, it’s not an abject failure, and its upcoming Android release will give it another boost. Meanwhile, Fire Emblem Heroes, arriving this Thursday, and the (recently delayed) Animal Crossing mobile title should also help Nintendo’s success on mobile.

For more Nintendo numbers, check out our examination of last year’s Clash Royale and Pokemon Go revenue.