Mario Kart Tour is Released

The long awaited Mario Kart Tour, a game previously available only as a Nintendo exclusive, was finally released on mobile on September 25th. The original Mario Kart was released by Nintendo in 1992, and quickly became the company’s 4th most popular game. It’s safe to say Mario Kart Tour has been welcomed into the world of mobile games with open arms, as it has already surpassed 10.1 million downloads less than a week after its debut.

Mario Kart is a racing game with different levels, or ‘cups’. The races are against bots with screen names mimicking those of actual players. Many players dislike the idea of not playing against actual people, as it takes away the competitive element of the game, Liam McMahon, a player of the original Mario Kart, dislikes playing against bots. McMahon said it saddens him knowing it’s not actually real players on the screen and “there is no real connection.” Another factor he points out is that this makes the game harder to beat. However, there is the option of playing against friends; each player gets a code which can be used to connect to nearby games. Another component the mobile game lacks is easy steering. Instead of the previous joystick controlled method, now it’s touch based, which isn’t very complex, but somehow still more difficult. Some players loyal to the old version of Mario Kart actually refuse to download the new app. Julian Morse, a long time player of Nintendo Mario Kart, said he believed the new Mario wouldn’t compare to the older, and what he believes to be superior version. Furthermore, the levels of the game themselves are often very repetitive, creating a rather boring experience the more you progress. 

The app has many reasons to be disfavored among the gaming community, but one thing to keep in mind is that the mobile game is free. This provides quite the contrast to console games which range from $20 to about $80, not including the price of the actual technology necessary to play the games. (A Nintendo Switch is $300, and the Nintendo Switch Lite is $200)

Regardless of the fact that the mobile game has acquired millions of downloads, most players actually prefer the old games, played on Wii, 3DS or Nintendo Switch. Out of a poll of 30 players, 6% said they preferred the new mobile game, while 94% preferred the original version. The Mario Kart app remains wildly popular despite loyalty from fans to the console style of the game.