If you were hoping to play the upcoming Super Mario Run (Free) in a tunnel, in a nuclear bunker, somewhere in the Amazon forest, in a fridge next to Harrison Ford, in the middle of Death Valley, after the world ends, or simply wanted to play it without using Wi-Fi or data, then I’m sorry but you’re out of luck because Super Mario Run will require an internet connection to play. As Shigeru Miyamoto stated in an interview yesterday, Nintendo wanted to make sure they give players a secure software they can play in a stable environment. Unlike games that use Nintendo’s dedicated game devices, Super Mario Run will launch in many more countries. Each of those countries has different network environments, Miyamoto continued, so an always-online requirement was essential to avoid the risk of piracy and ensure the game plays well for everyone.

Miyamoto also said the always-online requirement was necessary because the game’s three modes interact with one another through the network. They thought of having the World Tour mode available offline, but then it would be a challenge to connect it back to the other two modes, Toad Rally and Kingdom. Since those two modes rely on the network save, they had to integrate the World Tour mode as well. I know many will be disappointed by this news, but personally I can’t say I’m surprised.

[via Mashable]