Nintendo’s Mario Kart Tour going mobile with September launch on Android & iOS
With over a year of anticipation underway, fans of Nintendo will be able to get their zany driving fix with a mobile version of Mario Kart Tour.
In a press release by the video game giant today, it announced that “the first Mario Kart game for smart devices, is coming to iOS and Android devices on September 25th!”
It also mentioned that a Nintendo Account is required to play the game. Pre-registration for the app is available on the App Store and Google Play, so gamers will be able to dive right into Mario’s world the second the app is available.
“Put the pedal to the metal in courses inspired by real-world locations as well as Mario Kart series favorites,” Nintendo said to tease to mobile game.
The game developer went further and posted a trailer on Twitter and YouTube for a hype-building sneak peek.
Apple’s App Store was also quick to share the announcement on its own Twitter account.
The move to mobile isn’t a strange one considering Nintendo has four other successful smartphone game titles that debuted 2017—including Super Mario Run, Fire Emblem Heroes and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp. Add in the fact that Mario Kart is one of Nintendo’s most popular franchises, and it seems obvious that the video game company would want to expand their reach in the mobile arena.
The popularity of Mario Kart is supported by financial data released by Nintendo, where it’s reported that their most recent Mario Kart game for the Nintendo Switch mobile console, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, have sold 17.89 million units at the time of this article.
If trends continue, this means good news for the Japanese gaming firm.
Shares of Nintendo Co. Ltd. (NASDAQOTH: NTDOY)(NASDAQOTH: NTDOF) jumped up 44% today upon the announcement, and is said to be a stock to watch for the year by Frank Devine of Stock Minute.
Mario Kart Tour was previously announced on Jan. 31, 2018 with a release date set before the end of March 2019. However, a delay was necessary “in order to improve quality of the application and expand the content offerings after launch,” based on a statement contained within a Consolidated Financial Forecast in Nintendo’s quarterly earnings.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NTDOY | NINTENDO CO. LTD. | 17.64 | -1.09 | -5.82% |
Hopefully, the wait is worth it and the “freemium” game will deliver worthwhile revenue with its in-app purchase model.
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