Nintendo hasn't managed expectations well for Switch 2's Mario Kart World, says ex-marketing lead: "We would be lectured endlessly about how we can't even use the word surprise"

Former Nintendo marketing leads reckon the company's done a poor job of managing expectations around Mario Kart World and the Switch 2 more generally.

Speaking in a new podcast about the steps the publisher should take now, Kit Ellis and Krysta Yang explain how strict Nintendo used to be about not overhyping products and then subsequently letting fans down. Back when the duo worked at the company during the OG Switch era, Nintendo apparently went so far as to stop some employees from using the word "surprise" to avoid overpromising.

"They've had a thing that's very rare from Nintendo that I was really even surprised by, where they did not manage our expectations, which is something that they were so strict about," Yang says, "and we would be lectured endlessly about how we can't even use the word 'surprise.'"

"'Don't you dare inflate somebody's expectations so that when the thing happens they end up being disappointed,' and that's exactly what happened in that Mario Kart Direct last week. Everybody got their expectations completely inflated by things that [vice president of products Bill Trinen] and [Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser] said only to be a bit disappointed in the actual thing," Yang adds.

The pair is, of course, referring to the backlash around the new console's pricing. The Nintendo Switch 2 doesn't have an abnormal price tag, sitting at $449.99, but fans definitely took issue with almost everything else, from Mario Kart World's $80 entry fee to paid next-gen upgrades. Heck, even the console's only new button (the GameChat one) is paywalled behind an NSO membership after March 31, 2026.

Doug Bowser then tried to put fans at ease by assuring them that, yes, Mario Kart World is definitely worth the asking price because it's "the richest Mario Kart experience" ever and "there's still some other secrets remaining," which must have given some people the impression that Nintendo was saving some exciting reveals for last week's Direct.

Of course, Mario Kart World might still be hiding something major for release. (Remember how Nintendo didn't say a peep about The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's underworld pre-launch?) But maybe it would've been better not to tease the "secrets" at all, then.

For now, check out some less controversial upcoming Switch 2 games.