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Super Mario May Not Be The Only Nintendo Addition

by Emily Shire

After weeks of tech world buzz, on Wednesday, Apple unveiled the latest iPhone edition. While much of the early speculation was about whether the latest iPhone would lose the headphone jack (it did — and it's water-resistant as a result), the increase in gaming options has stolen the show. Apple CEO Tim Cook announced Super Mario would be available in the iTunes App store, to the glee of the many, many fans of the iconic video game plumber. Not only did the Super Mario addition spark excitement, but also hope: will other Nintendo games come to the iTunes Store?

Following the huge Super Mario Run announcement, Nintendo issued a follow-up press release, confirming that "mobile device titles in the Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem series" would be available by March 2017. It's not surprising that Nintendo is bringing more of its games to the iPhone world. While Nintendo had "long refused to offer its games and franchise characters on mobile devices," as the New York Times noted, it has already seen one of its Apple additions become wildly popular, Pokemon Go. The app was downloaded more than 500 million times, according to John Hanke, CEO of Niantic Labs; in short, it has been nothing less than a viral success this past summer. When Cook announced that a Super Mario game would be available in December, Nintendo shares rose 6.8 percent, according to Deadline.