Despite strong criticism and limited availability, Mario Kart Tour is already a huge hit on smartphones. The game would have been downloaded more than 90 million times, according to figures reported by Sensor Tower. More than 53 million downloads have been made on Android smartphones.
The free game would have greatly contributed to its success, from its launch, but not that, because Mariokart remains a very popular license that appeals to both gamers and the general public. Nintendo’s previous attempts to break into the mobile segment had resulted in bitter failures, with Dr. Mario first, which remains the less-downloaded game from Nintendo’s catalog, and Animal Crossing, which had not managed to to seduce “that” 14.3 million players his first week.
While the figures are encouraging for Nintendo, returns are less so. Many players have made harsh criticisms about the game’s handling, its circuits, its content and the in-app shopping system, thought to bring big money to Nintendo. The success of the first days could therefore quickly give way to a sharp drop in the number of users.
