Kimishima Says That Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Pre-Orders Were “Very Promising”

You know, they would probably be even more promising if there were a way to preorder it through the eShop. I’m just saying.

Unfortunately, and as much as I hate to admit it… I think we might have to get MK8D if we want to experience any Mario Kart on Switch. Let me explain.

There’s never been more than one Mario Kart game per piece of Nintendo hardware (SNES had Super Mario Kart, N64 had MK64, Gamecube had Double Dash, 3DS has MK7, you get the point). I don’t believe Nintendo is going to break that trend with 8 Deluxe on Switch, not only for the aforementioned reason but also because, what else could they add to a second Switch Mario Kart that this one isn’t already doing? Every Mario Kart game introduces something new, be it from a mechanical standpoint or formulaic, or both (MK64 was the first 3D MK, Double Dash introduced 2-people per kart racing, MKWii was the first to utilize motion controls, MK8 is the first HD Mario Kart + the anti-gravity function). Unfortunately, Deluxe already takes advantage of the Switch’s selling points, being that it can be played literally anywhere and it allows for 2-player racing right out of the box with the Joy-Cons. There are no other Switch-specific assets another Mario Kart game can revolutionize on this console, Deluxe is already doing it. At the very least, Deluxe fixes MK8’s glaring flaws: improper Battle Mode and (maybe this one is nitpicky, but I see it as a problem) single-item carrying which doesn’t allow for as much strategy as others where you could hold one item out with another in reserve for emergencies. The only thing we can hope for at this point is additional (and hopefully free) DLC that consists of 16 new tracks that every Mario Kart has done since MKDS in 2005; 16 original tracks, a few remixed old tracks like N64 Wario Stadium (the only N64 track that HASN’T come back yet), DS Shroom Ridge, and Wii Toad Factory, and new characters (like E. Gadd- seriously, WHY HASN’T HE BEEN PLAYABLE YET? THAT’S ALL I WANT, IS TO RACE AS E. GADD. *ahem* Sorry, lost my cool for a sec.) Honestly, the odds of a Mario Kart 9 on Switch are extremely slim with 8 Deluxe already on it.

TL;DR version: MK8 Deluxe will most likely be the only Mario Kart on Switch due to past trends of one Mario Kart game per system as well as a second MK Switch not adding anything Deluxe isn’t already doing. We may have to just suck it up and get Deluxe for any Mario Kart action on Switch.