Next up on the docket for Nintendo’s mobile strategy? Mario Kart. In a surprise move, Nintendo announced Wednesday night that Mario Kart will be making the jump to mobile phones as Mario Kart Tour sometime in the next financial year, fresh off the heels of the high selling Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on the Switch. That means the game could be released anywhere from right now to the end of March 2019. Currently, no details have been announced other than the fact that the app is currently in development.
Mario Kart Tour will be Nintendo’s fifth mobile app to arrive, following Miitomo (R.I.P), Super Mario Run, Fire Emblem Heroes and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp. The strategies for revenue in these titles have varied depending on which you play, but Nintendo’s earnings reports showed that mobile accounted for $100 million in revenue from the aforementioned apps, up from $80 million in the previous fiscal year, proving the apps are successes. As more apps continue to pour in, revenue is sure to continue the upward trend.
As Nintendo continues to diversify its portfolio beyond video games in the app, theme park and movie businesses, Nintendo’s IPs will have a chance to reach more and more individuals who may not have experienced them before. For now, we wait until we hear more news on the newest mobile app from Nintendo, coming, hopefully, sooner than later. Considering how Nintendo has been announcing things lately, we probably won’t even receive a trailer until the game is already out on the App Store.
Source: The Verge