Mario Kart Tour now has as many available characters as 8 Deluxe
But Switch version still in the lead for unique tracks
Mario Kart Tour’s latest update means it now has as many available characters at any given time as flagship Switch instalment Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
Thanks to the latest Ice Tour update, Tour players can now unlock any of 42 characters – some rarer than others – at any given time, which is the same number available in the Switch version.
If drivers locked to timed events are taken into account, Tour’s character count swells far higher to 59, which is over 40% more than 8 Deluxe.
The mobile game is behind in other areas, however, with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe boasting an impressive 48 unique courses, while Tour only has 30 at the time of writing (although new courses are added regularly).
Tour does have 68% more karts and gliders than the Switch version, which is unsurprising since it relies on a gacha-style unlock mechanic for funding.
Although many of Mario Kart Tour’s characters are variants of existing drivers, each often has unique audio, power-ups and favours different courses.
DeNA and Nintendo launched Mario Kart Tour’s second multiplayer test on Thursday, which is available to all players for the first time.
The test introduces the ability to race against nearby players using location data, in addition to racing random ones worldwide.
Mario Kart Tour released in September 2019 and reportedly surpassed 123 million downloads in its first month, making it by far Nintendo’s most successful mobile game launch in terms of installs.
Mario Kart Tour’s next event will be the Valentine’s Tour, developer DeNA has announced.
