Nintendo wins lawsuit against Tokyo’s ‘Mario Kart’ tour company

MariCar, the Mario Kart-themed go-kart tour of Tokyo, got blue-shelled by a court ordering it to stop dressing riders in Nintendo costumes.

MariCar also has to fork over 10 million yen to Nintendo, which sued the company (known as Mari Mobility Development Co.) in February 2017. MariCar was still running the following spring, when Hugh Jackman spied a tour waiting at a traffic signal.

Kotaku notes that the damages are equivalent to about $89,000; still, the obvious intellectual property violation is probably going to be enough to put an end to MariCar’s main attraction. The cart business itself isn’t the problem, it’s the branding and dressing up clientele in Mario-themed costumes.

In a statement about the legal victory Nintendo said it would “continue to take necessary measures against infringement of intellectual property, including our brand.” A statement from Mari Mobility said it was reviewing the decision and would respond later.

MariCar’s English-language homepage is still up, and the customers shown having fun with their tour are wearing costumes other than Nintendo-themed ones. An advisory notes, however, that riders are not to “throw banana peels” or “red turtle shells” at one another. A tour costs about $80.