Mario Kart Tour

Mario Kart Tour is a mobile game in the Mario Kart series. Like Super Mario Run, it is free to download from the App Store and Google Play.[1] The game reuses many assets from Mario Kart 7 and Mario Kart 8, as well as gameplay mechanics such as gliding, underwater driving, character-specific and unique items. In addition, the game introduces some new features to the Mario Kart franchise, such as reversed courses, trick courses, and the ability to deploy a large amount of any item during a race, including blue or red shells and bullet bills.

The game was first announced during a briefing on January 31, 2018. On April 23, 2019, Nintendo opened applications for participating in a beta test of the game to Android users in North America and Japan, which began on May 22, 2019, and ended on June 4, 2019. The game officially launched for iOS, iPadOS, and Android devices on September 25, 2019, in 163 territories. Users who pre-registered acquired the game a day early. A Nintendo account is required for it to be playable.

On October 31, 2019, Nintendo announced the first multiplayer beta test exclusive to Gold Pass members, which began on December 18th, 2019 at 11:00 p.m. (PT) and ended on December 26th, 2019 at 9:59 p.m. (PT). On January 21, 2020, Nintendo announced a second multiplayer beta test for all players, regardless of whether they have a Gold Pass subscription or not, which began on January 22, 2020, at 11:00 p.m. (PT) and ended on January 28, 2020, at 9:59 p.m. (PT). The second multiplayer beta test allowed players to play with each other in their immediate vicinity based on their device's location data. Finally, on March 2, 2020, Nintendo announced that multiplayer would officially be implemented into the game on March 8, 2020 at 8:00 p.m. (PT).

References

  1. Cowley, Ric. "Mario Kart Tour's 'free-to-start' model might not mean what you think". pocketgamer.biz. Retrieved 2022-11-14.