Nintendo last week announced that its next mobile game will be "Mario Kart Tour," but with a launch date aimed at any time before the company's fiscal year ending March 2019, not much information is known about the game. Today, DeNA CEO Isao Moriyasu was reported as saying that Mario Kart Tour will be free-to-start (via TouchArcade and The Wall Street Journal).

mariokarttourlogo
The "free-to-start" terminology is somewhat vague, but when compared to Nintendo's previous use of the phrase it could suggest where Mario Kart Tour is headed. For example, Nintendo currently describes Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp as free-to-start on the game's website, while Super Mario Run's website explains that "you can download and enjoy a portion of Super Mario Run for free."

While far from a definitive answer, this suggests Nintendo might lean towards its recent trend and make Mario Kart Tour a game that's free to play, with in-app purchases that help with certain tasks. Out of Nintendo's four mobile games so far, three have followed this model (Miitomo, Fire Emblem Heroes, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp), while only Super Mario Run has used the pay-once price tier.

Tags: DeNA, Mario Kart Tour, Nintendo

Top Rated Comments

nviz22 Avatar
nviz22
89 months ago
Free to start, pay quite a bit to finish.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tkukoc Avatar
tkukoc
89 months ago
What will kill this for some is the fact it will be all online, all the time, just like the current releases (I'm looking at you mario) they've done. They need offline modes for those who travel.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dwaltwhit Avatar
dwaltwhit
89 months ago
I am fine with the mario run model of free to try, $10 for the full thing. I would rather just pay upfront(ish) than pay little by little.

Also online all the time doesn't interfere with my use, but should definitely go away.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JCsHands2 Avatar
JCsHands2
89 months ago
Free to start... You mean like a demo?
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
trip1ex Avatar
trip1ex
89 months ago
free to start describes Super Mario Run.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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