Excitement for Nintendo fans is revving a bit higher following yesterday’s Switch 2 reveal as some took notice of changes for Mario Kart 9. Nintendo stopped chasing the pixel dragon quite some time ago and has instead put its focus on the gaming experience rather than realism with its titles. This strategy has paid off immensely for the console maker where it consistently ranks #1 in Japan for console sales and maintains popularity worldwide for its unique games and affordability. The 33-year-old Mario Kart franchise is a great example of a game built on simplicity that hit the target dead on with its multiplayer approach featuring characters from Nintendo’s library of IPs. The franchise got its start as Super Maio Kart in 1992 for the SNES.
Player count doubled?
Yesterday’s Switch 2 reveal gave a sneak peek of Mario Kart 9 and fans and media outlets quickly began to extract details from it. It didn’t take long to realize that something was different besides slight aesthetics to familiar stylings as the track seemed to be a bit wider and more crowded than usual. Multiple outlets have now confirmed at least 15 players are seen initially, and after some careful counting with frame captures by a user on Resetera, there could potentially be up to 24 players able to join a race. The previous franchise limit was 12 players but it looks like Nintendo may have doubled the race insanity to battle-royale proportions now. IGN has provided a list of some of the returning characters spotted in the short gameplay footage.
Per IGN:
“The footage itself shows a familiar roster of Mario Kart racers: Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, Peach, Bowser, Toad, DK, Daisy, and, if you squint, what looks like Wario, Baby Mario and Baby Luigi, Koopa, and a handful of others I’m sure eagle-eyed fans will pick out as they dissect the footage.”
IGN also added that if folks look closely enough they may be able to spot what could be Baby Rosalina and Bowser Jr. There’s no word, yet, on when Mario Kart 9 will be released but Nintendo will be holding its Nintendo Direct: Nintendo Switch 2 event on April 2nd where it could also reveal more about the next installment.