Nintendo files a trademark in Japan, hinting that the company could after the system gets released, publish the upcoming mobile title on the Nintendo Switch. The find was reported at the NeoGAF forum, dealing with all things gaming related.
One forum member going by the name of Rösti posted about the filing the trademark. The post goes as follows, “On September 05, 2016, Nintendo Co., Ltd. filed in Japan via J-PlatPat/INPIT a trademark application for its smartphone title “Super Mario Run”. The Class, Goods and Services mention smartphones of course but also home video game machines among other things,” further explaining that “This is not confirmation of Super Mario Run coming to a Nintendo console (Nintendo Switch), it is likely just basic practice covering all relevant goods and services. But if they want Super Mario Run on Nintendo Switch they at least have some of the paperwork done (for Japan anyway). US and Europe have yet to see any trademark applications related to this title, at least as far as I can tell.”
This might happen; the upcoming Nintendo Switch uses a Tegra chip made by Nvidia. Tegra chipsets were used on some smartphones and tablets since Tegra is a mobile solution. But Super Mario Run is a simplistic mobile game, constructed as a mobile title to be played on the go. Since Nintendo switch can be used on the go as well, maybe Super Mario Run is meant to be a download-only title available for the upcoming console.
On the other hand, maybe Nintendo is just trying to protect its property since mobile games are known for having numerous clones, something Nintendo wouldn’t let to happen to Super Mario Run. We’ll see what plans Nintendo have after Nintendo Switch gets released during the next year.