With Nintendo’s recent trend of cash grab mechanics in their latest mobile games, Mario Kart Tour saw its release on iOS and Android this week and what Nintendo has done here borders on insanity. For a company that earlier this year stated they would lessen their direct approach to microtransactions in their mobile games, had fundamentally done the opposite.
While the game is free to download, such was the case with Dr. Mario and Fire Emblem, Mario Kart Tour has a Gold Pass subscription that is $6.49 CAN a month ($4.99 US). This subscription, which is more expensive than Nintendo’s entire Online monthly service for the Switch, which gives you a ton of free games and online play, only grants you access to the 200cc racing speed as well as bonus items such as gold in-game items, badges, and the currency used to gamble for new racers. This amount per month is pretty bizarre considering you can spend the same amount of money on Apple Arcade and get access to a vast collection of games.
Currently, there is a two-week free trial to try out this subscription model, after which the paid subscription will take over how you access these paid features. The store is littered with tons of in-game purchases, including Rubies, the paid currency used to unlock new racers and cart pieces, having totals ranging from $2.79 to $99.99 CAN, which is outrageous for any game, free or not.
Unlike a game like Fire Emblem Heroes, where the title that has a wealth of content as well as being the mobile cash cow for Nintendo, Mario Kart Tour holds almost its entire appeal behind a paywall and gatcha system. While FEH itself also has a gatcha mechanic, it literally throws characters at you freely, as well as ways to earn the currency to buy more extremely fast and easy. It also does not hide aspects of the game behind pay walls. Had the 200cc subscription been a one-time cost for $6.49, then it would be another story. Here, to even race as Mario himself, it will cost you $27.99 CAN just to unlock him unless you luck out and get him in a random roll via its gatcha type mechanics, but it’s a safe bet his drop rate is next to nil. Myself, I only want Dry Bones as a racer and thankfully, the RNG gods blessed me on my 5th character when I kept muttering to myself “Please be Dry Bones.. Please be Dry Bones, and yup, it was Dry Bones.
Given the backlash again to a Nintendo Mobile game, it’s unclear if Nintendo will ride this out and keep the game how it is, or see this as a chance to right the ship and change it into something more appropriate.
Keep checking back for more updates on this story.