Mario Kart Tour made its debut on Android and iOS earlier last month, and the game wasn't particularly well-received. Players were angry at the fact that game featured both microtransactions and a monthly subscription pass. To make matters worse, Nintendo even locked a game mode behind the monthly pass, further infuriating players. Despite the backlash, the game was somewhat successful and managed to get a decent 10.1 million installs on the first day. Another key feature that Mario Kart Tour lacked was a dedicated multiplayer mode. That is set to change starting next month, as Nintendo put out a Tweet stating that they'd start testing a multiplayer mode sometime in December.
A real-time multiplayer beta test is planned for December and will be available to #MarioKartTour Gold Pass subscribers.
Stay tuned here for more details coming soon. pic.twitter.com/xNIdJE44cI— Mario Kart Tour (@mariokarttourEN) November 1, 2019
Multiplayer will initially only be available to Mario Kart Tour Gold Pass subscribers
In a classic "one step forward, two steps backward" fashion, Nintendo decided that the multiplayer beta would only be available to users who fork out $4.99 per month for the Mario Kart Tour Gold Pass. Along with access to the multiplayer beta, you'll also get 200cc racing, special Gold Challenges and the chance to obtain Gold Gifts. Mario Kart Tour is 'free-to-play' on paper, but the game 'incentivizes' you to open up your wallet on more than one occasion. Now, we understand that developers still need to make money and microtransactions are alright to a certain degree, more so if they're cosmetic only.
As you can see in the replies to the above Tweet, the news wasn't received kindly and was almost on the verge of getting 'ratio-ed.' It gets a lot more interesting when a lot of users in the replies state that they're unable to buy the Gold Pass off the Play Store and App Store. Perhaps it is a temporary bug that will resolve itself later. Regardless, locking features behind a paywall is a sure-shot way to lose your fanbase and it's sad to see Nintendo—a company with an otherwise clean slate—resorting to such tactics.
