Report: Super Mario Run racks up 3M sales from 90M downloads

Over 90 million players have downloaded Nintendo's full mobile debut, Super Mario Run, but only 3 million have actually paid to unlock the full game.

That's according to new data from analytics outfit Newzoo, which handed the latest figures over to the Wall Street Journal. 

If those figures hold true, it means the iOS-exclusive platformer (an Android release is expected in the near future) may have generated around $30 million in revenue, given that the game retails for $10. Presumably not all of that went directly into Nintendo's coffers, since Apple is almost certainly taking a cut of the game's proceeds.

That 3 percent conversion rate might sound low, but it's worth remembering that other big mobile developers such as Candy Crush creator King have very similar rates.

For example, paying customers accounted for 2.07 percent of King's total audience in Q4 2015, just before it was acquired by Activision. 

King also generally employs more traditional free-to-play models, as opposed to Nintendo, which asked players to fork over a one-time fee to unlock Super Mario Run. And unlike some of the other big mobile studios, Nintendo is looking to crack the home and portable console markets as well. 

It means the company will have its own unique barometer for mobile "success," as was shown late last year when Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto explained the firm hopes its mobile offerings will ultimately widen its console audience by introducing new players to their biggest franchises.

Update: This story has been updated to clarify that while Super Mario Run has presumably generated roughly $30 million in revenue so far, Nintendo will likely only see a portion of those earnings.