Nintendo announced yesterday that they would be bringing their popular Mario Kart series to smart phones. If you’re of a certain age, it’s likely you have memories of playing Mario Kart as a kid. Friendships were forged and destroyed at the whims of a turtle shell.
Nintendo hit on something magical when they put their slate of popular characters in weaponized carts. The series hasn’t changed much over the years. Sure, characters have been added, new tracks designed, additional weapons crafted, and there were the unfortunate Double Dash years. But, for the most part, if you’ve ever played any incarnation of the series, you can pick up another and know what you’re doing.
The gameplay is simple, yet thrilling. The pursuit of victory and the fear of the blue shell’s alarm bells will keep your heart racing as much as your avatar. Nintendo has long been king of handheld gaming. Since the advent of the GameBoy, no other portable gaming device has stood a chance. Even objectively higher quality devices like the PS Vita can’t compete with the packaged nostalgia that is a Nintendo device.
So, it only makes sense they’d move into the mobile space. Nintendo has dipped their toe into the water with Super Mario Run and a couple of other titles but Mario Kart Tour marks the first of their flagship titles coming to your mobile device. Details about the game are sparse aside from a promise that it’s coming soon. Though, it’s difficult to see how the game could be much altered.
Mario Kart Tour is slated to drop sometime before March 2019. Soon you’ll be able to destroy your closest relationships wherever you are.