Does Mario Kart Tour sync with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on Nintendo Switch?

If you want to sync up your Mario Kart Tour data with your Mario Kart 8 Deluxe progress, you're out of luck. Syncing between different devices would usually mean you can play a game on one device, save your progress, and then continue from that save on another device. This would mean all of the time spent playing in a game progresses you, no matter where you are playing.

In a game like Mario Kart, syncing data would mean having any unlocked items available to you no matter what device you are using. However, syncing data usually only works if you are playing the same game on a similar device. Even then, not all companies offer the function.

Because of the drastic changes made to the progression processes in Mario Kart Tour, there is no syncing between it and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Any unlocks you had in MK8 Deluxe won't transfer. That doesn't mean you can't have a fun time racing in either game or both!

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on the Nintendo Switch follows the same gameplay mechanics as the previous Mario Kart games. Progression is based on the player unlocking characters, karts, and new tracks by doing well during a set of races and getting podium placement at the end of a Cup. Receiving first place in a Cup unlocks a character. This goes for each engine class — 50cc, 100cc, etc. Success in one Cup will unlock the next.

Nintendo mixed things up a bit for their mobile app, Mario Kart Tour. This racing app has added Tours where each Tour travels through a real-world city, and new maps have been added inspired by these locations. Each Tour spends two weeks in a city before moving on to the next. It still uses the same progression system to unlock new Cups during a Tour, but at the end of the Tour, the Cup progression resets. So during a Tour, you might unlock eight out of the sixteen Cups available, but as you move to a new city, you will return to race one of the first Cup.

Don't worry; your unlocked characters, karts, and gliders don't reset between tours as the cups do. These items are yours throughout the game and are leveled up with use. These items will help increase your experience gain, which goes toward your new primary progression system, which is tracked by Player Level. This is also persistent through the changing of tours.

In most games, where you would be playing a single game on two different devices, data syncing is a wonderful tool for game developers because it can give players a reason to buy a second copy of their game. This is especially true with syncing between a PC game and a mobile platform. You can play at home on one and the other you would take on the road (the Nintendo Switch).

While players might love the idea of having all their Mario Kart 8 Deluxe unlocks available to them on Mario Kart Tour, aside from the gameplay changes, syncing data would mean the mobile game would earn less money. People splurge to collect an item they really want in the Daily Selections shop or buy Rubies to take a chance on that special driver on the Tour. Game development is still a business, and if there was no way for Nintendo to earn money from micro-transactions, we wouldn't be able to play Mario Kart Tour for free.

In the end, while you may not be able to sync up data between the two, you can still enjoy both games.