'Mario Kart Tour' Is Now Available, So Gear Up for Rainbow Road
Updated April 14 2020, 3:28 p.m. ET
You probably woke up this morning thinking, "Wednesday, Sept. 25 is just another normal day," but in all honesty, you couldn't be more wrong. In fact, 90s babes and avid gamers are in a literal panic right now, because Mario Kart Tour was just released to both iOS and Android users for download.
And since this is major news, you're probably wondering, "is Mario Kart Tour free?" Because even though I'm a total sucker for all things Mario, I'm still ballin' on a budget.
Is Mario Kart Tour free?
Nintendo fanatics are over the moon that Mario Kart Tour is now officially available in the Apple store and on Google Play after over a year of waiting for it to be released. And though the wait time was long, you'll be happy to know that it's completely free to download.
Say what? Yes, downloading the game itself and playing it on a basic level is free. But according to the game's description, there are various in-app purchases you're encouraged to make.
You can upgrade to "Gold Pass" for $4.99 per month.
The Gold Pass subscription, according to The Verge, will automatically give you several items and badges, and will let you unlock the 200cc mode, which enables you to go faster than before.
If you end up committing to the game's Gold Pass subscription, you will be gifted with a week-long free trial. After your free trial ends, however, you will be charged $4.99 each month.
Doling out a little cash might also help you excel in the game.
Similar to the original Nintendo game, the goal of Mario Kart Tour is to earn as many stars as possible, according to Newsweek, as you speed your way around the world. And the best way to gain more stars is to recruit more drivers, and therefore, earn more karts.
To recruit additional drivers and carts, however, you'll be charged an actual fee. So to actually move ahead in the game, there will be small fees you'll have to pay.
The game basically crashed when it was initially released.
When eager beaver gamers first downloaded Mario Kart Tour on the morning of Sept. 25, according to Tech Radar, they were greeted with a "maintenance error."
The game's servers were officially set to switch on at 4 a.m. ET/1 a.m. PT, which was a few hours after it became available to download. But gamers' desperate tweets showed they couldn't wait a second longer to start playing — check out the reactions below.
Regardless if you decide to pay for Gold Pass, if you just want to pay for additional drivers and items as you go, or if you simply decide to play it for free, there's no doubt in my mind that you'll have a blast with Mario Kart Tour... fair warning, though — it's about to be a major time suck.
Now, since you're probably dying to start playing the actual game, get your butt to the app store ASAP. Peach Beach is waiting for you.
