Super Mario Run's Game-Breaking Bug to Be Fixed
By Dalton Cooper 17 December 2016
Nintendo acknowledges a game-breaking bug in Super Mario Run that causes the game to crash when players try to link it to their Facebook account under certain conditions.
Nintendo vowed for years that it would never release a game for smartphones or tablets, but yesterday it launched Super Mario Run for iOS devices, and has enjoyed great success so far. In fact, Super Mario Run has been downloaded almost three million times at last count, and is also enjoying positive critical reception. However, the game’s launch hasn’t gone quite as smoothly as the Big N may have hoped.
While the unmistakable level of Nintendo polish is on full display in Super Mario Run, there is one game-breaking bug that has been giving some gamers trouble. Nintendo sent a message to everyone with the game earlier today, letting fans know that it’s aware of what causes the issue and is looking to fix the problem in a future update. Basically, if people link Super Mario Run to their Facebook account and no one on their Facebook friends list has the game, there’s a chance that the game will crash.
According to Nintendo, a simple reboot will get players back in the action, and their save data shouldn’t be affected. So while the bug may prove to be an inconvenience for those wanting to link Super Mario Run to their Facebook account, it shouldn’t cost them any of their progress or unlocked characters.
Even though this is a relatively minor issue, fans can expect Nintendo to work hard at rectifying the problem. The company has a reputation for releasing highly polished games, and there’s no reason for that to change with its mobile market ventures. Having said that, Nintendo unfortunately didn’t provide a timetable for when Super Mario Run enthusiasts can expect the patch to be available.
As it stands, Super Mario Run is breaking App Store records and outpacing Pokemon GO‘s downloads, which is an incredible feat in and of itself. However, if Nintendo fails to address this game-breaking bug as soon as possible, there’s a chance the bug could hurt its reputation with mobile gamers, in turn slowing download numbers, and keeping it from reaching its projected $70 million in sales by the end of the month.
Once Nintendo fixes this bug and irons out any other issues that may be causing problems in the game, Super Mario Run should have a clear path to being one of the most successful mobile games of all time. And if the game’s success continues at this rate, fans can expect Nintendo to ramp up its production of mobile games significantly in the coming years.
Super Mario Run is available now for iOS and is coming to Android devices in 2017.
