Nintendo may have stopped real-life Mario Kart tours of Tokyo
So much for my childhood dream coming true...
Who wouldn't want to kart around Tokyo wearing a onsie of their second favorite plumber? (Luigi FTW)
Did you know that you could rent a go-kart, don a costume of your favorite Nintendo character and zip through the streets of Japan? Well, maybe not for long.
MariCar has gained international attention for its go-kart tours throughout Japan, but Nintendo is having none of it. Nintendo previously sued MariCar for its likeness to Mario Kart (Nintendo argues that the name "MariCar" was just a shortened version of Mario Kart) and failed. Now Nintendo has hit MariCar with another lawsuit due to its unlicensed costume rentals.
This time, the Tokyo District Court ruled in Nintendo's favor. The court ordered MariCar to stop its costume rentals and pay damages to Nintendo.
MariCar claims that it's not impersonating Nintendo, but does so in a very tongue-in-cheek way:
"MariCAR is in no way a reflection of Nintendo, the game Mario Kart. Therefore, when riding the go-carts none of the following will be allowed. 1. No racing each other on the streets. 2. Do not throw banana peals or any other garbage on to the streets. 3. Do not throw red turtle shells or any other objects to each other."
CNET's Aloysius Low gave MariCar's kart tour a spin, and admittedly had a great time. But other MariCar tours have ended with accidents or injuries. Japanese authorities recorded 50 accidents involving go-karts between March 27, 2017 and Feb. 26, 2018.
MariCar and Nintendo didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.