Video gaming analyst Dr. Serkan Toto of Kantan Games has mentioned in a recent article that the next instalment in the immensely popular Mario Kart franchise is progressing in development and that he believes that the Kyoto-based company could tease it later this year. The current Mario Kart game on the Nintendo Switch, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, which was released in 2017, is a revised port of the original Mario Kart 8 which launched on the Wii U to critical acclaim back in May 2014. Dr. Serkan Toto says that the next game in the series features a unique twist. Nintendo has been working alongside DeNA on the successful Mario Kart Tour for iOS and Android which we last heard had surpassed 200 million downloads in April 2021.
“I am aware Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is still selling very well on the Nintendo Switch, but Mario Kart 9 is in active development (and comes with a new twist) and Nintendo could tease it this year.”
Dr. Serkan Toto of Kantan Games
I mean it’s hardly surprising it’s in development. I think we all assumed that.. But it’s still nice to know.
I figured it was already in development, it just depends on how long they want to hold back it’s release while MK8DX is still selling like hotcakes.
That could depend entirely on what the new gimmick is tbh. If it’s something like Mario Kart but with a bunch of guest characters, I could see that as a big selling point that doesn’t totally cannibalize MK8D’s sales. That new gimmick could be anything really as long as it makes the game stand out from MK8D without making it completely obsolete by comparison
I imagine the aforementioned “new twist” will indeed be very important in setting the game apart from it’s predecessors, though I still think Nintendo will hold off on releasing 9 until 8DX’s sales have calmed down regardless.
If a new Switch owner was given the option of buying either 9 or 8DX, I imagine that 9 times out of 10 they’d automatically choose 9, regardless of the difference in mechanics and characters between the games. People will instinctivly want the most recent, up to date game in the franchise, which will inevitably sabotage 8DX’s sales numbers quite a lot.
Tbf if they’re going to add anymore guest characters from other Nintendo franchises to the game, they might as well go the whole hog and just call it “Smash Kart” or something at this point, though I suppose that lacks the brand recognition the name “Mario Kart” has.
Yeah that’s a fair assessment. Though I can also see a future where they don’t see it slowing down any time soon but still want to release 9 for whatever reason, so they wind up releasing 9 regardless of 8D’s ongoing sales. Now the real question comes down to this: are we getting closer to a Switch predecessor than Nintendo is letting us think, and if so would they not hold off on releasing 9 until then for a stronger launch? Who knows for sure
That’s going to be difficult to predict, yeah.
Personally speaking I don’t think the Switch, as we currently know it anyway, has too many years of life left in it. It’s falling too far behind the competition in terms of hardware.
It mainly depends on whether they intend to make a “Pro” version of the Switch with more powerful hardware, make a “sequel” to the Switch like they did with the Wii to the Wii U, or just go a completely new direction with a brand new system.
If they intend to boost the Switch’s lifespan with a “Pro” version I imagine they’ll release 9 on the Switch, keeping in mind that the Switch doesn’t actually have it’s own unique Mario Kart, just of port of the Wii U version, so I don’t believe the “only one Mario Kart per system” arguement that some people on here are saying really holds water.
But if they’re going the sequel/new system route then yes, I do think they’ll hold off on releasing 9 so as to use it a launch title. I don’t think there’s any other game that could sell a new system faster than a new Mario Kart.
Nope,.. not sure where his info is coming from but Nintendo stated that it would most likely go into pre development in late 2023 at the earliest.
His words are really vague. These are things anyone could assume about the game. Makes me think he doesn’t actually know anything tbh haha.
I been thirsty for Mario Kart 9 for so long now and I knew it’s going to be in active development.
I’m going to be so excited if this turns out to be true
In other news: Water is wet and cows go moo.
The new twist will be either gas running out, karts breaking, engines overheating. It will not be a good change.
As much as I think we’re due for the next MK, I really don’t think we’re going to see it on the Switch. 9 installments in, and Nintendo has never once had more than one Mario Kart on any of their systems, not including Virtual Console releases or NSO. I believe that this is mostly due to each MK taking advantage of the new technology offered by the system it is released on:
-Super Mario Kart: introduces the series and utilizes Mode 7
-Mario Kart 64: introduces 4-player multiplayer and the first to feature 3D racetracks
-Mario Kart Super Circuit: the first handheld MK, and allows for 4-player racing via link cables, allowing each player to have his or her own screen
-Mario Kart Double Dash!!: the first fully-3D MK, the only one to feature the dual-characters game mechanic, and allowed for LAN connectivity to allow 16-player multiplayer between 8 consoles
-Mario Kart DS: the first MK to feature online play and local wireless play, and each screen providing the player with information, with the top screen displaying the action and the bottom screen able to show two different maps
-Mario Kart Wii: the first MK to utilize motion controls
-Mario Kart 7: the only one to have a stereoscopic 3D effect. I theorize that part of the reason this entry introduced such radical gameplay changes such as gliding and underwater sections is due to the 3D effect being the only new technical aspect the 3DS could offer for the series, and even then it was purely aesthetic and an entirely optional feature.
-Mario Kart 8: the first HD MK and the first to offer DLC
-Mario Kart 8 Deluxe: allowing two people to play with one Joy-Con each, and of course using the Switch’s ability to be a either a handheld system or a TV console at any time
From a technical standpoint, what would Mario Kart 9 on Switch offer players that MK8D doesn’t already? You could argue that “most players don’t care about what the system can allow the game to feature, they just care about having a fun game” and you would have a valid case there. But given Nintendo’s pattern of MK releases and that each new game specifically takes advantage of what the console can bring to the table from the technical side, I just don’t think MK9 will be a Switch game. If MK9 were going to be a Switch release and still take advantage of what the Switch’s technology can offer that it hasn’t yet, it would have to do one, or all, of three things: it would either have to utilize the right Joy-Con’s infrared sensor- you know, that black spot on the bottom of the controller that Nintendo used once for 1-2-Switch and then never again,- it would have to use Nintendo Labo, or it would have to have some compatibility to Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit.
I can’t think of any practical use of the IR sensor for a Mario Kart game, especially since only right Joy-Cons feature this hardware and it’s at the bottom of the controller where a player’s hand will typically never go during gameplay. And of course if MK9 supported single Joy-Con play- and there’s no reason to assume it wouldn’t- what are the odds that every person playing would be using a right Joy-Con? I’d say the odds of that are slim to none unless everyone brought their own, but I think that’s a specific step that most people wouldn’t want to take or might not even be able to if they don’t have a Switch of their own to bring a right Joy-Con from. Labo functionality was added to 8 Deluxe sometime after Labo released, so this wouldn’t even be entirely new ground for Mario Kart 9 to cover; additionally it seems that Nintendo does not support Labo anymore as it has not done anything new with the line in nearly two years. I do suppose Nintendo could conjure up some way to incorporate MK Live support into MK9 or vice versa, but Live is not something everyone has, and I doubt that there are a lot of people out there willing to shell out another $100 just to utilize one function in a game they already paid $60 for, and heck, might not have even known about before purchasing. If you happened to have Live before you got MK9, then you would really have nothing to lose, but that wouldn’t be the reality for most people.
Mario Kart 9 on Switch would only bring new gameplay elements to the game and nothing new with Switch-specific features. Could I be completely wrong and we see MK9 announced for Switch this year? Yes, I could be! And I would honestly be happy to be wrong about it! But when you look at Nintendo’s release history with the franchise, MK9 on Switch has an entire specific record against it.
Great comment. I think the thing that worries me. I’d say the switch has all but used up its power. So I would prefer a MK9 on a more powerful system.. with this in mind. For these reasons I am also concerned that breath wild 2 won’t offer much more
If they don’t put it on the Switch, then this will be the first time a console is going to be skipped out on a Mario Kart title. No, MK8D does not count as its own title.
I mean, this is information that we already know by now so he hasn’t said anything new. It’s been 8 years since MK8’s release and 4 years since MK8DX’s release, MK9 is obviously in some part of the development stage. As much as I have been agonizing over it and commenting how much I want MK9 already on this site, I don’t see it happening soon. As much as I hate to admit, MK8 is still selling like crazy, so why release the next installment when the previous game is still selling? Everyone would immediately abandon it for the new game and the sales would come to an immediate hault. They would be throwing away all that easy money from MK8’s sales.
Profit-wise, that’s not a smart move at all. Nintendo’s more likely to release or at the very least announce MK9 when MK8’s sales have finally started to decline. I’m just gonna keep my expectations low, ignore this “information”, and continue to push mario kart to the back of my mind. Hopefully I’ll forget about it again until Nintendo announces something for it lol.
You say that when Splatoon 3 and botw 2 are
both releasing this year, their predecessor will still sale no matter what, mainly with people who are just starting the series and wanting to play the previous titles to see what they are about and what they have to offer and than jumping in to the lastest ones, that’s what alot of people do all the time.
Um, you do realize those are different game genre’s right? Splatoon and Breath of the World have stories and singler player content to them. It’s obvious that people are still going to buy their predecessor games, since they’re prequels and have lore/story/narrrative/etc. That would be like skipping movies in a series (harry potter, star wars, lotr, etc). They wouldn’t start off with the latest game, without knowing what happened in the first game, what the series is even about, if they even like it etc.
This is mario kart, there is no story, just multiplayer. When a new installment comes out, everyone moves to the new one. A newcomer wouldn’t buy the older one, because it’s common sense that everyone will leave that one and switch to the new game.
“It’s obvious that people are still going to buy their predecessor games, since they’re prequels and have lore/story/narrrative/etc”
Uhm, hate to burst your bubble here but Splatoon 2 sold more than double the amounts of Splatoon 1 so no…it’s not obvious people are going to buy the predecessor games simply because the numbers prove this wrong.
Also, I don’t mean to be rude but have you played Splatoon 2? The story is honestly not really a major focus and is just there to give the world some context, you could very easily remove the story and you’d still have a large bulk of the game left over especially since multiplayer is such a massive part of the game.
As for Zelda BOTW; I do somewhat agree with you here but not entirely. Zelda BOTW’s story is honestly not that big compared to past Zelda games. All it really amounts to is go get 4 Divine Beasts, uncover 13 memories, head to Ganon, defeat him, credits roll.
You could honestly play Zelda BOTW 2 and I don’t think you’d need much explaining on what went down, literally all you’d need to know is Link and Zelda defeated Calamity Ganon and this is what’s happening next. I’m not denying you would benefit from some aspects to the story if you played the first game but if you want my opinion, it’s more icing on the cake then mandatory like, let’s say, playing Golden Sun 2 before Golden Sun 1.
You seem to have misunderstood what I was saying. @Felixgray said that Splatoon 3 & BOTW 2’s prequel games will sell no matter what, to which I am saying yes, that’s obvious information that we already know. Those games have content other than multiplayer, that changes with each game. I’m not talking about sales numbers, or the game selling more than the sequel, or vice-versa, I’m saying they’re obviously still going to makes sales after the sequel game releases.
Telling me that Splatoon 2 sold more than the 1st game doesn’t establish anything new here, when I never said it wouldn’t make more sales or less sales than the 1st game. Again, thats obvious information. The sequel is bought by fans + new fans.
Now if I said that everyone who played splatoon 2 would buy splatoon 1, then yes it made perfect sense for you to bring that information up, The 2nd game selling more than double of the 1st game defeats that statement perfectly, however that’s not what I said.
But to answer your other question, no I have not played splatoon 2. Played the 1st game and it was just not fun, the concept is very lame to me. I’d rather an actual paintball game.
“When a new installment comes out, everyone moves to the new one. A newcomer wouldn’t buy the older one.” That is absolutely not true especially if your new and you want to experince each game in order, or your previously sold the game and brought similar copy cause of nostaglia or you forgot how fun it was, if that was the case ports and virtual console wouldn’t exist.
Again, you’re misunderstanding what I’m saying and the context. The subject here is mario kart, it’s an only multiplayer game. I’m saying that when the next installment releases, the playerbase moves to the next game. A new fan to mario kart for the first time is not going to buy the previous one, because they’ll have no one to play online with, since the playerbase moved to the latest installment.
“previously sold the game and brought similar copy cause of nostaglia or you forgot how fun it was” Why would you even bring that up? Are we talking about people who previously sold their game, or people who are buying it out of nostalgia? No we’re not, we’re talking about newcomers when the next installment releases, not longtime fans who already owned older games in the series. (I know that sounded rude and sarcastic, but I did NOT mean to make it sound that way)
“That is absolutely not true especially if your new and you want to experince each game in order”. Again, this applies to games that aren’t strictly multiplayer and have story. In the case of mario kart, smash bros, etc, the core of the game is online multiplayer. If you’re new to the series, you’re more than likely not going to buy the older game that no one plays online anymore, when you can buy the latest one that everyone is playing online. No duh people will buy the older games to experience them at some point in their lives. Same goes for external factors like people who don’t have internet to play online with others, or the people who just don’t care about playing online with others.
Bringing up “if that was the case ports and virtual console wouldn’t exist.” had zero relevance here. You stretched that wayy too far. Did I say people wouldn’t buy older games? Did I say that no one cares for the older entries in a franchise? I never said a newcomer would never buy older games, all I said is a newcomer won’t buy the previous game when the majority of the playerbase has moved onto the next installment. You’re making counter arguements for statements that I never said lol.
+London Wright
I admit I am extremely dense but what exactly are you saying here? From when I read “As much as I hate to admit, MK8 is still selling like crazy, so why release the next installment when the previous game is still selling?” it sounded to me like you was saying they won’t release the next one due to the current one doing really well.
Is that not what you are saying?
I’m with Chris on this still not understanding what you mean but I do want to reiterate what you said in one of your comments “This is mario kart, there is no story, just multiplayer. When a new installment comes out, everyone moves to the new one. A newcomer wouldn’t buy the older one, because it’s common sense that everyone will leave that one and switch to the new game.” Mkwii disproves the fact, I mean it’s the only Mario kart game that has its own dedicated servers, because it’s acclaimed as the best Mario kart in the series, my point in the comment was that if the game has truly made a huge impact on dozens of lives, fans would fine a way to keep it alive , it’s the reason why lots of older games are modded and given a multiplayer online, I mean this is Nintendo were talking about they can always bring old stuff back and people would be willing to buy them as long as there is a market for it.
+felixgray
Honestly, I’ve read London Wright’s comments several times over and it just looks to me like he’s flip-flopping but trying to mask that fact by hiding it behind a wall of text.
I mean he literally started off with “MK8 is still selling like crazy, so why release the next installment when the previous game is still selling? Everyone would immediately abandon it for the new game and the sales would come to an immediate halt” but after we offered our rebuttals about why this is nonsense, all of a sudden it’s “Yes, that’s what I’ve been saying all along” even though it’s clear not as shown by his 1st comment.
It just comes off as dodging the points.
It’s incredible how many games the Switch is getting, like it has like 2 Mario Kart games already, with this being the third
Have switch tio Mario kart?
I think the new twist is flying karts. like diddy kong racing on water and on the sky driving
I Hope A “Nintendo Kart” list of characters and tracks
Twist = tie-in with huge smartphone install base
Love Mario kart, this is great. Can’t wait, the hype is real.