Nintendo has finally released news about its upcoming mobile game, Mario Kart Tour. The Japanese company is now accepting applications for the Mario Kart Tour beta.
How to join the Mario Kart Tour beta
On Thursday Nintendo announced a “closed beta test” for Mario Kart Tour. The Mario Kart Tour beta is open only to Android users in the U.S. and Japan. This marks a reversal from 2016, when Nintendo debuted its first major smartphone game, Super Mario Run, exclusively on iOS. The primary objective of holding the beta is to improve the quality of the game before the final launch.
“The closed beta test is a test of an application under development and is held for customers in order to improve the quality of the game,” the Japanese company said.
If you are in the U.S. or Japan and want to be part of the Mario Kart Tour beta, all you need to do is sign up using the QR code on the Mario Kart Tour website. You must also have a Nintendo account, which must be connected to a Gmail account. The beta will run May 22 to June 4, and the website will accept applications for the closed beta test until May 7.
If you are selected to participate, you can expect a reply to your application around May 19. You should also continually check the Mario Kart Tour website for any further information. If you are interested in joining the Mario Kart Tour beta, you may want to hurry as spots are limited.
“Furthermore, the number of customers who may participate in this test is limited. If the number of applications exceeds the number of possible participants, we will randomly select the participants,” Nintendo says.
When is Mario Kart Tour coming?
Mario Kart Tour, which was originally announced in February 2018, is scheduled to debut on Android and iOS in “summer 2019.” During the same time, another Mario game called Doctor Mario will also be launched.
There were concerns that Nintendo may have dropped the idea of a mobile version of Mario Kart Tour. The game has already been delayed once as the company pushed the release date from March to “summer 2019.” The company also hasn’t yet revealed any screenshots for it, but now those fears have been put to rest with the company opening the beta for the game. Nintendo, which also reported earnings today, reiterated its commitment to release the game this year.
“In the mobile business, we have plans to release Dr. Mario World and Mario Kart Tour. In addition, we will strive to expand the business by ensuring that more consumers can continue to enjoy the applications we’ve released already,” the Japanese company said in a statement.
Following Nintendo’s announcement, shares of DeNA, which is co-developing the title, jumped more than 5% on Thursday. Nintendo and DeNA have already partnered on four titles, including Super Mario Run and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp.
How are Switch sales going so far?
In other Nintendo news, the company said it sold 2.47 million Switch consoles in the January-to-March quarter. In the full fiscal year, the company sold 16.95 million units. Initially, the company had set a target of selling 20 million Switch consoles for the fiscal year. Later, it trimmed that number down to a more realistic figure of 17 million units.
To date, the company has sold 34.74 million Switch consoles, exceeding the lifetime unit sales of 32.93 million for the Nintendo 64. It remains to be seen if the Switch will beat the lifetime sales of Nintendo’s other consoles, such as the Wii’s 101.63 million units or the 3DS’ 75.08 million units. For next year, the Japanese company expects to sell 18 million Switch units.
Nintendo announced strong software sales as well. The company sold 118.55 million units on the back of robust performance of titles such as Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Super Mario Party, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee!, and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! Overall, software sales were up 86.7% from last year.
Nintendo also shot down the rumors about a low-end Switch arriving in June. The company was rumored to be preparing to announce a cheaper Switch console at the E3 gaming event, which is scheduled to start on June 11. However, Nintendo CEO Shuntaro Furukawa denied such rumors.
“As a general rule, we’re always working on new hardware and we will announce it when we are able to sell it,” the CEO said. “But we have no plans to announce that at this year’s E3 in June.”
