In terms of kart racers, Mario Kart is the series at the top. Nintendo has made these kart racing games iconic and beloved all over the world. We’re fresh off the release of Mario Kart Tour, a mobile game for iOS and Android devices. Fans were hyped about the possibility of playing a Mario Kart game on a mobile device, even just for the novelty factor alone.
Well, the game has only been out a week and in that time, it has done amazing in terms of unique downloads. It has surpassed 90 million since it first launched for mobile devices across the world. That’s quite an impressive feat and just goes to show people love mobile kart racing. These stats are brought to us by mobile analytics tracker Sensor Tower.
That makes Mario Kart Tour one of the most successful mobile games Nintendo has ever put out. The 90 million downloads equates to around $12 million in profits — which is certainly no figure to look down upon. So, how has this game been able to generate so much buzz and see this much success out of the gate? Let’s take a deeper look.
Starting off, it should be noted that this game does have a lot of microtransactions. There are many tiers of currencies that can be used to play with additional characters and gain access to new items. The microtransactions have put off a lot of gamers, but even still, this mobile game is doing quite well.
This probably has to do with the game’s name. Every gamer at some point has played a Mario Kart title. They’re pretty easy to pick up. The mobile version has even simpler controls, which makes the game very approachable. Players don’t have to spend time learning difficult mechanics. Thanks to an automated design, all they really have to do is steer and unload their loot from time to time.
The game does have a vertical perspective, which admittedly, does take some time getting used to. It makes up for it — though — in classic and new tracks. That’s a huge reason why any Mario Kart game does well quite honestly. Fans want to check out the tracks and see how their skills measure up with others on them.
Is Mario Kart Tour perfect? No. It does have its flaws with microtransactions and some gameplay elements. However, it does well for a mobile game and the free aspects are worth checking out.
