A new survey of over 1,165 mobile gamers in the US claims that a strong IP doesn’t mean players are as likely to download Super Mario Run as a game like Pokemon GO.

Research conducted by Peanut Labs and Samplify claimed that 48% of the survey participants “strongly agreed” that they were a fan of the Super Mario Brothers IP, while 25% said they “somewhat agree”.

Familiarity and intent

When it came to their familiarity with Super Mario Run however, 25% strongly agreed they were aware of the game, while 28% somewhat agreed they knew of the title. 47% offered a neutral reaction or said they were unfamiliar with Super Mario Run.

27% of respondents meanwhile said they strongly intend to download and try Super Mario Run, while 29% somewhat agreed with that statement.

The price appears to be a particular point of contention. 67% of people surveyed said they were very likely to download or play the game if it was free. 40% said they were very likely to purchase the game for $0.99, while 21% said they were very likely to download the title at a price range of $1 to $4.99.

Super Mario Run is set to cost users $9.99 after a free-to-start period, but only 10% of respondents said they were very likely to download and play the game at that price point.

That may be why Nintendo has offered the game as free-to-start, however, to further convince players who are unsure about the title to pay money for the full experience.

Elsewhere in the report, it found that word of mouth and the app stores themselves created the most awareness for new mobile games across all demographics, beating online and TV ads.

Ratings and reviews, as well as accurate assets, were also said to be the most effective drivers of downloads over paid online ads and app store featuring.

The report doesn’t quite break down the full journey of players though. It’s likely that many of those who find out about new mobile games discovered it through Featuring, making a final decision based on reviews and assets.

You can read the full report here.