Mario Kart 9 was seemingly confirmed by the Nintendo Switch 2 launch trailer. It was the only game shown off, and the graphics and a few other key blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moments suggest that the video did not just show Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. It’s almost certainly a new game, and so far, it’s one of just a few games we can feel confident is coming for the new console.
Pokemon Legends: Z-A and Metroid Prime 4 were announced a while ago and are not out yet, so everyone is all but certain they’re going to be released on the Switch 2. This new Mario Kart game is less of a known entity than those two, and it’s hard to imagine what Mario Kart 9 can possibly entail.
What We Know About Mario Kart 9
What we know about Mario Kart 9 is very little and mostly unsubstantiated. Precious few clips were revealed about the game. We know that there’s at least one way to play with up to 24 characters at once. This has never been done in the franchise. That implies that at least 24 characters will be playable, but Mario Kart 8D has well over 24, so that’s not necessarily groundbreaking.
Eagle-eyed fans noticed that the character design is slightly different, and Donkey Kong especially looks new. His character model seems to be a little closer to The Super Mario Bros. Movie‘s design played by Seth Rogen than the classic DK look from past Nintendo games. We virtually know nothing else, which means it’s time for speculation.
What MK9 Can Possibly Do
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and Super Mario Party Jamboree have one thing in common. They are all the definitive versions of the franchise. A long-running game series culminating in huge, sprawling, all-inclusive titles is exactly what all three of those are. Smash Bros’ name is particularly fitting as it is the ultimate version. Each one has more characters, settings, and options than ever before and by a wide margin. There are 80 characters in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. There are 22 playable characters in Jamboree. Mario Kart 8D has almost 50 racers. They each have a ton of maps from all different periods of their respective franchises.
This doesn’t mean Nintendo should be done with them. Clearly, they’re not. Mario Kart 9 is coming, and it’s coming out sooner than we might realize. It just seems like Nintendo put all their chips into one basket with this franchise and now doesn’t have a clear path forward. More characters? 8D included some from Animal Crossing and Zelda, so the well is dry there. More courses? The Expansion Pack of Nintendo Switch Online gives access to virtually every course that’s ever been run. More players in a match? That is something they can and are doing, but it’s not a huge change.
They will have to come up with some gimmick. Nintendo is great at that, as most of their first-party titles and even their consoles themselves do something weird and unique. It’s just hard to predict what that will be. Maybe Mario Kart 9 redefines the formula by switching up the amount of laps or provides different head-to-head matchups. Maybe there’s a one-on-one mode, or perhaps a free-for-all chaos mode where items spawn everywhere and the layout is constantly changing. It will need to do something different. I can’t fathom what that might be, but I have full faith in Nintendo to do it. Using the Switch 2’s new processing power, anything could be possible.
Conclusion
We don’t know when the next Mario Kart game is coming out. We don’t know exactly when its new console is coming, either. We don’t know much except that there’s been a redesign for the characters and a 24-man race. That’s barely anything to go on, and yet, the game is extremely exciting. It represents a new era for Nintendo, and it showcases that the best of the past won’t be left to history.
