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Two former marketing leads think it would be very "unconventional" for Nintendo to release the Switch 2 alongside the new Mario Kart game because the company usually promotes its more boundary-pushing projects as launch games, a la The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild or Super Mario 64.
"This is very unlike Nintendo," Krysta Yang said in a new podcast entry about the upcoming console's launch, pointing to how the publisher usually has games "like Breath of the Wild, for example, it's like this new game-breaking, genre-bending thing that's never been seen before - and that's what's gonna make you want to buy the new hardware."
She then explains "we're kind of in a different situation with the new Mario Kart because of how successful Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has been." The Nintendo Switch's premier kart racer has sold over 75 million copies, includes 96 new and classic tracks, and has 36 playable characters if you include the DLC Booster Packs - almost making it a definitive Mario Kart experience that's seemingly impossible to top. Plus, people are still buying and playing it nearly a decade on.
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"How is Nintendo going to convince me to get the new Mario Kart?" Yang speculates that a more general audience and parents might not upgrade to the newest entry immediately, especially since the "we have a Mario Kart at home crowd" will need to buy a whole new console worth hundreds of dollars to even play it. "I'm not sure Mom's convinced about that."
The difference between a new Mario Kart and a new Zelda, I think, is that the former is an iterative series while the latter throws everything out the window with every entry, making each follow-up slightly more dramatic. But, still, I don't see it being too much of a problem for the Nintendo Switch 2. The console will still likely have something that appeals to a more hardcore crowd - who knows, Metroid Prime 4 might be a cross-gen launch game - and Mario Kart is a series with very, very long legs for a reason. Whenever anybody picks up a Nintendo console for the first time, Mario Kart is almost always one of the games they buy alongside it, so even in the unlikely event that sales don't immediately go gangbusters, you can rest assured that it'll continue to sell for as long as the Switch 2 is around.
We'll know soon enough what Nintendo's launch plans are when its next Direct airs on April 2.
Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.
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