Summary
The best-selling Nintendo Switch game of all time, and the second best-selling Nintendo game ever released,Mario Kart 8 Deluxehas proven that the kart racing franchise still has plenty of life left in it. WhileMario Karthas always sold well on just about every console it’s been on,Mario Kart 8 Deluxeis an unprecedented success for the company, and it’s only natural that Nintendo wanted to keep squeezing as much life out of it as possible before moving on to the next project.
Enter theMario Kart 8 DeluxeBooster Course Pass, an ongoing expansion pack that continues to add new tracks and racers to the game, years after its initial release. For just $25, or for free witha Nintendo Switch Online subscription, players will have immediate access to 40 tracks, most of which are remastered versions of iconic maps taken from across theMario Kartseries. But with so many classic tracks now being inMario Kart 8 Deluxe, it paves the way for a sequel to go in a completely new direction.
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Mario Kart 9 Should Have Only New Tracks At Launch
The general model forMario Kartover the last decade or so has seen a new game release with both a handful of new tracks and a good few classic tracks that have been remastered.Mario Kart 8was no different when it first launched, with a total of 16 completely new tracks, and 16 remastered ones, pulling courses from across the entire history ofMario Kart, with tracks coming fromGameCube, SNES, and Wii entries.
But with the addition of theMario Kart 8 DeluxeBooster Course Pass, Nintendo has really gone above and beyond. As well as five completely new tracks,Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’s Booster Course Passhas added a total of 35 remastered courses. While previous games in the series have gathered the most beloved tracks from across the franchise, the Booster Course Pass really dives deep, bringing out even some of the lesser-known tracks from less popular titles likeMario Kart Touror the GBA gameMario Kart: Super Circuit. And there are still another eight tracks that are left to come. Simply put,Mario Kart 8 Deluxehas now become a hub for past entries, in a similar vein toSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate, which leavesMario Kart 9in an interesting position.
In theory,Mario Kart 9has only really two options in front of it. The first of these options is to just continue using the same model thatMario Karthas been using for a decade, adding a plethora of new tracks alongside some remastered classics. ButMario Kart 8 Deluxehas left the well a little dry, andMario Kart 9might be scraping the barrel for some classic tracks that haven’t yet been remastered. And ifMario Kart 9just brought over the samemaps used inMario Kart 8 Deluxe, that might feel very cheap.
But the other option, and the much more exciting of the two, is forMario Kart 9to be something completely new.Mario Kart 9should only have completely new and original tracks, all built from the ground up specifically for it. Nintendo could even use this originality as the game’s core selling point,marketingMario Kart 9as a fresh new startfor the franchise like no one has ever seen before. This marketing could even extend into the game’s actual mechanics, paving the way for some new gimmicks, new items, new karts, and new drivers. WhenMario Kart 8 Deluxehas already completed the original formula, it’s time forMario Kart 9to do something brand-new.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxeis available now for Nintendo Switch.
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