Mario Kart Tour drifts into record-breaking launch day for Nintendo

By Aaron Mamiit Published September 28, 2019

Mario Kart Tour, the recently released free-to-play mobile version of the racing series, broke records for Nintendo, with launch day downloads surpassing even that of worldwide phenomenon Pokémon Go.

In its first day, Mario Kart Tour was downloaded 10.1 million times globally, breaking the mobile game record of 6.7 million downloads previously held by Pokémon Go, according to Apptopia. Sensor Tower’s Store Intelligence, meanwhile, places the racing app’s launch day downloads at more than 20 million, nearly triple that of Super Mario Run‘s 7.0 million downloads when it launched for the iOS.

Recommended Videos

While there is a discrepancy in the figures of Apptopia and Sensor Tower, the shared conclusion is that Mario Kart Tour is Nintendo’s biggest launch on mobile so far, sending blue shells into the competition.

Apptopia said that “marketing, pre-orders, and IP” were the driving forces behind Mario Kart Tour‘s launch day success. The title was highly promoted in the app stores, and users who pre-ordered it with automatic downloads activated were ready to play almost as soon as the game was released.

Of course, not to be discounted is the fact that Mario Kart is among Nintendo’s most popular franchises, with the last installment released more than two years ago – Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for the Nintendo Switch, which is an upgraded version of the original title for the Nintendo Wii U.

Mario Kart Tour, however, only ranked third among Nintendo’s mobile games in terms of launch day revenue, according to Sensor Tower. The racing app earned about $1 million in its first 24 hours, compared to $4.3 million for Fire Emblem Heroes and about $4 million for Super Mario Run.

The slower start for Mario Kart Tour‘s revenue may be attributed to the game’s monetization structure. In addition to in-app purchases for characters, karts, and loot boxes, players may also subscribe to a Gold Pass for $5 per month. The Gold Pass unlocks extra gifts for racing in tours, special badges from completing challenges, and most importantly, the 200cc tier, which is the fastest that the game will go.

The Gold Pass, however, offers a free two-week trial. It is the game’s most popular in-app purchase, according to Sensor Tower, but the subscription revenue will only start flowing in after the trial period.

Topics

Contributor

Aaron received an NES and a copy of Super Mario Bros. for Christmas when he was four years old, and he has been fascinated…

Gaming

Just when I thought I was out, Mario Party Jamboree pulled me back in

Pauline rides a mech in Mario Party Jamboree.

I thought I was done with Mario Party.

When I reviewed Mario Party Superstars in 2021, I praised the party game and called it a sort of logical conclusion for the series. Its curated nature made it feel like a greatest hits collection that the series could neatly end on if Nintendo chose to do so. It didn’t, and we’re getting another new installment this October in Mario Party Jamboree.

Gaming

The original Super Mario Bros. now has an unofficial level builder

A Super Nintendo Controller on a purple and black background.

Not only is there now an unofficial SNES version of Super Mario Bros. but the hacker behind it has built a way to edit levels in the game, a la Super Mario Maker.

As reported by Time Extension, Infidelity, a ROM hacker who's been behind other NES to SNES ports, including one of the original Metroid, released the beta for both projects over the weekend on the Internet Archive. Super Mario Bros. Maker works on top of Infidelity's SNES project, and is super easy to access. All you have to do is press X when you start a game, and then select one of the blocks that appear at the top of the screen. You can scroll through the options with your controller or an SNES mouse. Once you have the block you want selected, you can place it directly into the level. You can even save the changes or just reload the original level.

Gaming

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games might be dead, producer says

Surfing Mario in Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games.

The Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games series missed out on the Paris Olympic Games in 2024, and according to one former executive producer, it might signal the end of the franchise.

Lee Cocker, who worked at International Sports Multimedia (ISM), which was the official licensee of the rights through the International Olympic Committee (IOC), was sharing footage from his time working on the Mario and Sonic games on X (formerly Twitter) and LinkedIn when he mentioned that the franchise "finished" with Mario & Sonic at the Olympics Games Tokyo 2020.