Mario Kart Tour for Android and iOS Delayed to Summer 2019

Nintendo's next mobile game, Mario Kart Tour has been delayed. Previously slated for March 2019, the company has now moved the Mario Kart Tour release date to a more nebulous, summer 2019. Mario Kart Tour is Nintendo's fifth mobile game after Super Mario Run, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, Fire Emblem Heroes, and Dragalia Lost. These followed its social media app Miitomo, which has now been shut down. It's being developed by DeNA and was planned to be a free to start title much like Super Mario Run. The reason for the delay of the game, as Nintendo puts it, is to improve upon its quality.

"In the smart-device business, Mario Kart Tour was scheduled to be released this fiscal year, but in order to improve quality of the application and expand the content offerings after launch, the release date has been moved to summer 2019," reads Nintendo's latest financial report. "As we endeavour to develop future planned applications, we will also focus on continued service operations for applications that have already been released so that consumers can enjoy playing them for a long time."

Previously it was revealed that Mario Kart Tour would mimic Super Mario Run's free to start business model.

What this means is, when Mario Kart Tour is out, you'll be able to access specific parts of the game and not others until you pay for access. In the case of Super Mario Run, this amounts to Rs. 799.

Safe to say, we should see something similar for Mario Kart Tour. Considering that this choice of business model resulted in Super Mario Run performing below Nintendo's expectations, how Mario Kart Tour fares commercially will be a point of concern.

It also makes us wonder if Mario Kart Tour, much like Super Mario Run will end up needed a persistent Internet connection. If so, it could make it a pain to play, particularly in areas that don't have the best connectivity.

If you're a fan of video games, check out Transition, Gadgets 360's gaming podcast. You can listen to it via Apple Podcasts or RSS, or just listen to this week's episode by hitting the play button below.