Mario Kart Tour Prepares to Drift onto Mobile Michael Kwan February 1, 2018 News If you grew up around Nintendo, then you were probably as excited as I was when Super Mario Run dashed its way onto our smartphone screens. Well, get ready for potentially an even higher level of excitement filled with banana peels and those detested blue shells, because Nintendo has just announced Mario Kart Tour for mobile. Nintendo of America has indicated that “the checkered flag has been raised and the finish line is near,” as a mobile iteration of the company’s popular racing game franchise is “now in development.” The tweet indicates a release sometime “in the fiscal year ending in March 2019.” That’s the good news. That’s great news, actually. And that’s all the news that Nintendo has to offer us at this time. No further details surrounding Mario Kart Tour have been revealed, aside from its in-progress development and a release date of some time between April 2018 and March 2019. But it’s Mario Kart on mobile, so there are definitely certain assumptions in place. Just as they did with Super Mario Run and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, it’s pretty safe to assume that Mario Kart Tour will feature a simplified control scheme and a “freemium” approach. Maybe drifting will be automatic and maybe you won’t be able to drag a green shell behind you as protection. As to how the freemium aspect will stack up, that’s anyone’s guess. They could take the Super Mario Run approach and give you the first few tracks (first cup?) and a handful of racers for free, before asking you to pony up for the full game. Or they could take the Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp approach and fundamentally offer you the full game for “free,” with the option of buying in-game currency if you don’t want to grind it out to unlock everything. Are you excited for a mobile Mario Kart? I sure am! Share This With The World!
