Apple announces developers can now make their apps available for pre-order
You may recall that when Super Mario Run was announced in 2016, customers could request notification of its release, which was a first at the time on the App Store. Now, all developers can do something similar by offering their apps for pre-order.
Context & Ripple Effects
When Super Mario Run's "Notify" button launched in September 2016, it was a one-off Apple built for Nintendo's marquee iOS debut, with no word on whether ordinary developers would get it. Google Play had already offered no-obligation pre-registration since mid-2015, leaving Apple's store without a launch-hype mechanism for everyone else.
Opening pre-order to all developers closes that gap and continues a pattern of Apple steadily widening App Store merchandising tools — the same arc that later produced discounted subscription promotions for existing and former customers.
First-order effects
- Any App Store developer can now capture demand before launch day instead of relying on release-day discovery, turning the Notify mechanic Nintendo got for Super Mario Run into standard tooling.
Second-order effects
- Google Play's pre-registration feature loses its status as a differentiator, as both major stores now offer pre-launch commitment mechanics — pushing competition toward whatever comes next in launch tooling.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, app store discovery keeps shifting from a flat release feed toward promotional merchandising — pre-orders, subscription offers, and search ads — making a developer's launch playbook increasingly platform-specific.
The trend: Mobile app stores are converging on the same merchandising toolkit — pre-launch demand capture, subscription promotions, and ads — as launch mechanics become table stakes rather than marquee exclusives.