Check your phone's data usage if you've installed Super Mario Run

If you've taken the plunge on Nintendo's latest mobile game, then you might want to take a look at how much data it's using up: some users are reporting the game gets through around 40-60MB per hour of gameplay, which can quickly add up if you're on a limited data plan.

Based on user feedback and some testing of its own, AppleInsider is reporting the initial flurry of downloading during the tutorial can suck up up to 150MB of 1s and 0s.

That's the bad news. The not-so-bad news is that engineers familiar with the inner workings of the iOS App Store told AppleInsider that data usage should drop over time as the pressure on Nintendo's servers starts to level out.

Run, Mario, run

While interest in Super Mario Run remains high, however, you might want to stick to Wi-Fi and double-check how much data you've got through anyway - head to the Cellular or Mobile Data menu inside Settings on your iPhone.

A number of users aren't pleased that the game requires a constant internet connection to keep working (it's an anti-piracy measure, Nintendo says), but it doesn't seem to have affected its momentum, with more than 5 million downloads registered so far.

Reviews on the App Store remain mixed, with the game's ranking hovering around the 2.5-star mark. The major bugbear for most users seems to be the game's $9.99/£7.99 in-app unlock fee, which is triggered very early on. 

David Nield
Freelance Contributor

Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you'll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.

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