Mario Kart Tour Microtransactions "Off To A Good Start," Nintendo Says

Nintendo expects big things from the newly released mobile racing game, Mario Kart Tour. President Shuntaro Furukawa said in a recent earnings Q&A that the Japanese gaming giant expects the mobile game to have great results. It has big shoes to fill, as Super Mario Run has been downloaded more than 300 million times, but things are going well already.

Mario Kart Tour released at the end of September, and Furukawa said the game got off to a “very good start” compared to Nintendo’s previous mobile games. “Continuing on from Super Mario Run, which more than 300 million consumers are enjoying, I think we can expect remarkable results with Mario Kart Tour,” Furukawa said.

Despite the millions of downloads, Nintendo went on record to say that Super Mario Run was a disappointment as it relates to revenue. That game is free-to-start, and players need to spend $10 to unlock the full game.

That’s a different payment model than Mario Kart Tour, and the shift seems to be paying off. Mario Kart Tour is a free-to-play title supported by microtransactions. Furukawa said of the game’s profitability so far that “earnings are also off to a good start.”

The microtransactions in Mario Kart Tour come in the form of random items and the Gold Pass subscription package. “By including these mechanics and multiplayer functionality, we want to make it an attractive application that will be enjoyed by consumers in the long-term,” Furukawa said.

Also during the Q&A, Furukawa was asked if Nintendo would release Mario Kart Tour in China, but the executive declined to say. He said only, “I cannot say anything at this time about the mobile business in China.”

According to SensorTower, Mario Kart Tour had more than 120 million downloads in its first month, with players collectively spending more than $37 million.