Nintendo may be killing off its first ever mobile game, Miitomo, but the Japanese firm is bringing something much better to handsets: Mario Kart. Additionally, Nintendo just announced the paid-for Switch Online service's launch window, and also revealed new details about the animated Mario movie.

News of the Mario Kart Tour mobile game arrived via a company investor call and a tweet from Nintendo, who said it would launch sometime before March 2019. Other than the release date and logo, no other details were made available. We'll have to endure the long wait before finding out if it's free, freemium, or paid-for, and whether it launches on iOS first---like Super Mario Run---or if it will land on Android at the same time. It will also be interesting to see how the game transitions to touch-controlled mobile devices.

After Super Mario Kart debuted on the SNES back in 1992, the games went on to become one of Nintendo's most beloved franchises. Since it released on the Switch last April, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, a port of the Wii U's Mario Kart 8, has sold more than 7.3 million copies.

In other Switch news, Nintendo confirmed the console's $20 per year online service, which includes access to classic Nintendo games that have been upgraded to enable multiplayer, will launch in September this year. Online multiplayer has been free on the Switch so far, but this will likely change following the arrival of the subscription service.

Finally, Nintendo confirmed that the upcoming Mario movie is currently in production at Illumination Studios, the company behind the Despicable Me franchise, The Secret Life of Pets, and Minions. The fact it will be animated and not live-action is probably a good thing; even 25 years later, many still remember the awfulness that was the Super Mario Bros. movie. The Bob Hoskins film is often regarded as the worst movie adaption of a video game ever made, but whoever believes that has obviously never seen Alone in the Dark.