Shares fall at Nintendo on cost of Mario

Nintendo’s first Mario smartphone title has set a download record but gamers baulked at the one-time cost of unlocking content, prompting investors to push the Japanese game makers’ stock to a one-month low.

Super Mario Run hit 25m downloads just four days after its release last week in 151 countries on Apple’s App Store, earning gross sales of about $21m (€20.2m), data from app analyst Sensor Tower showed.

But Nintendo shares have lost 11% since the launch as the latest game to feature Nintendo’s princess-rescuing Italian plumber received negative reviews from users mainly complaining about its $9.99 one-time cost, rather than the usual model of paying small amounts for special features.