Yes... I am just as unsurprised as a good number of you are.

The inevitable for Mario Kart Tour has finally arrived.

What do I mean by that?

Well, you all may recall how I predicted a good number of times (as early as around last year) that eventually, no more new content will come for Mario Kart Tour, which will eventually lead to the inevitable shutdown of the mobile app itself & its servers (unless Nintendo somehow makes an offline version of Mario Kart Tour).

And Mario Karters... That time has finally come. It's sad, but inevitable.

2 days ago or Yesterday, Mario Karters got the news regarding Mario Kart Tour, whether they got it from the app itself or from other sources like social media users such as GameXplain.

The news stated as follows.

"A Message from the Mario Kart Tour Team

"Thank you for playing the Mario Kart Tour Game. This Message is to notify you about the tours that are scheduled for the future.

"The next tours will be held in the following order.

" - Starting 09/19/2023 (Tue) 11:00 p.m.: Anniversary Tour
" - Starting 10/03/2023 (Tue) 11:00 p.m.: Battle Tour
" - Starting 10/17/2023 (Tue) 11:00 p.m.: Halloween Tour

"From 10/03/2023 on, tours will consist of content from tours that have appeared before.

"Note: No new courses, drivers, karts, or gliders will be added following the Battle Tour starting 10/03/2023 (Tue).

"We hope you continue to enjoy playing Mario Kart Tour."

Of course, with this announcement, all my hopes for additional city tracks in continents such as South America & Africa, cities such as Rio de Janeiro, and other areas such as Mexico have all been dashed away. But more importantly to all Mario Karters, especially Mario Kart Tour fans, it means that after 4 years since it's official worldwide launch in September of 2019, the Mario Kart Tour mobile app & its servers may all be facing their shutdown & discontinuation sooner that we all think.

And, as I had thought deep down inside, this news regarding Mario Kart Tour has come during a time when we are down to our sixth, final, & last wave of the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass, which has still yet to be teased and/or revealed.

So not only will Mario Kart Tour's run of new content end either after the Anniversary Tour or after the 2023 Battle Tour, but the Booster Course Pass for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe will end around that time as well.

And while some, including myself, have some thoughts pondering on additional DLC for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, such as a "Booster Course Pass 2", or at least the addition of more characters beyond the 6 we'll be getting (Birdo, Petey Pirahna, Wiggler, & Kamek, and 2 unknowns), as well as additional vehicles, wheels, gliders, power-ups, & other content... 

...the recent news regarding Mario Kart Tour's upcoming end of new content may have hindered such possibilities; and even if it didn't, only 5 words describe the possibility of additional Mario Kart 8 Deluxe DLC beyond the Booster Course Pass...

Not impossible, but very unlikely.

But whatever the case may be, this news regarding Mario Kart Tour gives me all the more reason to hope that Pauline makes it into Mario Kart 8 Deluxe as one of the last 2 mystery racers coming via Wave 6 of the Booster Course Pass, especially for these reasons.

1.) Pauline's resurging popularity since the Mario Vs. Donkey Kong series & especially Super Mario Odyssey.

2.) Pauline's recent playability in games like Mario Tennis Aces, Mario Golf Super Rush, Mario Strikers Battle League, and most of all: Mario Kart Tour.

3.) Pauline's latest alt as a Cowgirl in the Pipe Tour.

And 4.) Pauline's name listed in a Mario Kart advert in Madrid Drive.

And if Nintendo does consider, I hope they add in more vehicles, wheels, gliders, power-ups, & other content into Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, too. I really hope karts like the Super Pipe Frame (the Pipe Frame design from Mario Karts 64, Super Circuit, 7, & an unused prototype in Mario Kart 8 for Wii U), Royale, Flame Flyer, Streamliner, Poltergust 4000, & especially the Wild Wing make it into Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

Needless to say, Mario Kart Tour's latest news, as well as the end of Mario Kart Tour's new content AND the end of the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass both coming around almost the same time, both possibly signify the end of the Mario Kart Tour & Mario Kart 8 Deluxe eras...

And possibly & finally the start of something new for the Mario Kart series, like a new Nintendo-console Mario Kart installment for the first time in a decade since 2014, when the original Mario Kart 8 on the Wii U made its debut to all of us.

As the English Dub narrator from Transformers Armada would say it best...

"Now... Get ready for a new race..." / "Now... Get ready for a new battle..."