Mario Kart Tour Handily Beat Pokemon Go's Day One iOS Download Record

Mario Kart Tour might not be the mobile kart racing experience some players were hoping for, but that didn't stop millions of players from downloading the free-to-play title on its first day. Apptopia, a mobile app analytics company, reports that Mario Kart Tour was downloaded 10.1 million times globally on iOS in its first day. That crushes the launch record set by Pokemon Go.

Apptopia's report provides two charts, one comparing Mario Kart Tour's day one downloads to other non-Nintendo mobile titles (including Pokemon Go, a Niantic and The Pokemon Company title) and another to Nintendo's other mobile titles like Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp and Fire Emblem: Heroes. By Apptopia's measure, Mario Kart Tour far outpaced previous day one record holder Pokemon Go (6.7 million downloads) and Nintendo's best day one performer, Super Mario Run (4.7 million downloads).

On Twitter, industry analyst Daniel Ahmad pointed out that Mario Kart Tour's performance is likely much more impressive if you combine the Android downloads. At the time of publication, the Google Play store page for Mario Kart Tour says it has also been downloaded on Android over 10 million times since September 25.

Reaching 10 million downloads on both mobile storefronts in its first day is an impressive feat for Mario Kart Tour, but the real measures of mobile success are long term growth and revenue. Pokemon Go crossed 1 billion downloads across iOS and Android in August and is estimated to gross $3 billion USD by the end of 2019. Mario Kart Tour doesn't have to match or out-do the performance of Pokemon Go in order to be considered a success, but winners in the free-to-play mobile market aren't made by their day one download figures.

Mario Kart Tour includes two approaches to monetization: a familiar gacha-style system for karts and racers as well as a subscription pass. In late August, a report warned that Mario Kart Tour might not be a strong revenue driver. Sources familiar with Nintendo's mobile strategy told reporter Takashi Mochizuki that the company wasn't bullish on microtransactions. Whether or not the decisions to go with another gacha system and to lock 200cc behind a $4.99 USD subscription pass reflect a less greedy approach to mobile monetization depends on your perspective.

If you've got any burning questions about Mario Kart Tour that you can't answer by booting up the game yourself, head over to our guides section for information on how ranks work, tips for earning coins, when to expect a multiplayer update, and more.