The much-awaited release of Nintendo's next mobile racing game, Mario Kart Tour, on iOS and Android devices is pushed back to summer 2019.

The game was previously slated for March this year, but it appears that the app is not ready and has not yet met the developer's expectations.

Nintendo Explains Delay In Launch

According to Nintendo's latest financial report, which was released on Thursday, Jan. 31, there are still improvements that need to be done. In addition, the game publisher sees the need to improve the post-sales support system for Mario Kart Tour and other video games that are already available.

"In order to improve quality of the application and expand the content offerings after launch, the release date has been moved to summer 2019," reads Nintendo's financial report. "As we endeavor to develop future planned applications, we will also focus on continued service operations for applications that have already been released so that consumers can enjoy playing them for a long time."

Mario Kart Tour For Smartphones

Nintendo first announced Mario Kart Tour in January last year following the releases of Super Mario Run and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp on mobile devices. Prior to the announcement, fans had been wondering for years why Nintendo was not interested to bring a Mario Kart game to smartphones.

Nintendo initially gave scarce details about Mario Kart game for smartphones, only noting that it will be called Mario Kart Tour and the release date is sometime in March 2019.

Later, it was revealed that Mario Kart Tour would be a free-to-start mobile game similar to Super Mario Run. It means that when the game is out, players can play specific parts of the game and not the others until they pay for the access.

Some gamers cast doubts on whether Mario Kart Tour would fare commercially since Super Mario Run as a free-to-start game has failed to meet Nintendo's expectations. Another possible issue is that the former might also need a fast or persistent internet connection just like the latter. If such is the case, players who have a slow internet connection would have some trouble playing this mobile racing game.

Mario Kart Tour is the fifth mobile game as a spin-off from its trademark Super Mario series. It predecessors include Super Mario Run, Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, Fire Emblem Heroes, and Dragalia Lost.