‘Mario Kart Tour’ shows promise of mobile hit for Nintendo

The launch screen of Nintendo Co.'s Super Mario Run mobile game is arranged for a photograph on an Apple Inc. iPhone in Tokyo, Japan, on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2016. The game, released for Apple devices on Dec. 15, features the company's iconic plumber running across a scrolling landscape to rescue Princess Peach. Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg

Nintendo Co remains bereft of a monster smartphone hit more than four years after a much-ballyhooed entry into mobile gaming. The wait may finally be over. 

Mario Kart Tour, scheduled to launch this summer, has had gamers in a tizzy since it was announced in early 2018. Not only is the franchise one of the best-known racing series in videogames, it’s regarded as the Nintendo title most suitable for smartphones in terms of controls, opportunities to make money off users and features to hook mobile players.