Nintendo appears to have another possible winner on its hands with Mario Kart Tour. The game was officially launched September 25 for both iOS and Android devices. This is the ninth installment of the Mario Kart franchise.
Mario Kart Tour was made available in a total of 58 markets, which included the American and Japanese markets. On its first day, the game became the number one free iPhone app in all of these markets. First day downloads for Mario Kart Tour reached 20 million, beating out Super Mario Run (which had 7 million) and Fire Emblem Heroes (at 1.8 million). According to most data trackers, the number of downloads Mario Kart Tour had on its first day beat out the likes of Pokémon Go, Clash Royale, and even Fortnite.
While indeed the game topped the charts when it comes to downloads, it was a different story altogether when it came to revenue. In the U.S., Mario Kart Tour ranked at 19, which is still better compared to Dr. Mario World, which ranked at 503 when it made its debut. That means for Nintendo its highest earning game remains to be Fire Emblem, which was ranked 17 on day one.
The success of Mario Kart Tour is not a surprise considering that this is one of Nintendo's most-recognizable series in addition to being one of the best-selling games. In fact, a Mario Kart game has almost always been the best-selling game on each Nintendo console. However, for this game Nintendo did not take any chances as it made sure to make full use of marketing promotions.
In Mario Kart Tour, players take a journey around the world with Mario and his friends. Players get to race on classic Mario Kart courses along with circuits that are inspired by real-world cities. Nintendo had announced that the game is going to introduce some twists to the usual races. What this means is that first place is no longer the goal as challenge races are also going to be offered. These are just some of the new features that everyone can expect with the new Mario Kart Tour.
