Not damage control.
But being realistic.
As I said in the page before, I'm a daily London Underground commuter, yet this hasn't prevented me from pouring 100's of hours into the online only Clash Royale.
It is a surprise that Super Mario Run requires an internet connection to play, I wasn't expecting that. BUT with me being so active in Clash Royale also on my iPhone, I can't see the internet connection on Super Mario Run being an issue for me and my work colleagues and friends - and dozens of other people too. Yes, it will affect some.
My point still stands, some of the complainers I've seen in this thread haven't been in the other Super Mario Run threads, so I'm wondering if there's just a little bit of Nintendo hate going on which has caused this thread to span 14 pages already.