Mario Kart 8 Refuses to Let the Switch 2 Rule Nintendo

So what happens to Mario Kart World?

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This was a strange occurrence for many reasons. Firstly: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is one of the best-selling games of all time. There are 71 million copies of it out there (not counting the original Wii U game). It is, presumably, still played frequently by huge numbers of people. Why is it only getting its Switch 2 update now, over a year into the console's life?

Secondly: Why a free update, and not an official Switch 2 Edition? This is fairly easily answered — Nintendo doesn't want to cannibalize Mario Kart World sales by turning Mario Kart 8 into an official Switch 2 product. But those sales are being cannibalized anyway.

That begs the third question: Why make this update such a big deal? Nobody would have bat an eyelid if Nintendo just boosted the display resolution, reduced loading times, and walked away. Instead, it decided to flex the Switch 2's muscle with an absurd eight-player split-screen mode, as well as support for Camera Play over GameChat, and a 96-race endurance mode.

Inevitably, this means that everyone is talking about Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and a good many have gone back to playing it instead of World. But surely this is not strategically optimal for Nintendo! Why do it?

I think the answers to most of these "but why, Nintendo" questions are "because they can" and "because it's fun." I have no doubt that the eight-player split-screen mode was added because some Nintendo engineer decided to see if it was possible, and it turned out it was both indeed possible and a lark to play.

Nintendo's reputation rests on its ability to surprise and delight players, and here was a perfect opportunity to do just that. It's an added bonus that Mario Kart 8's title now has an extra layer of meaning. (Also, the styling of the 8 as an infinity symbol in the logo is more apt than ever: this game refuses to die.)

As far as Nintendo's less fun-minded managers are concerned, it's easy to greenlight an update to a game that is still selling hundreds of thousands of copies every quarter, even if it is 9 years old. And perhaps the awkwardness of the comparison with Mario Kart World only goes so far. It's money in Nintendo's bank, and players on its systems, either way.

It is a little bit awkward, though. Mario Kart World has never had an update this exciting, and the constant expansion that contributed to 8 Deluxe's success has been notable by its absence. Nintendo's embrace of video games' patch era remains half-hearted, and the game that would most obviously benefit from it doesn't seem to be getting the love.

Is something big in the works? Or has Nintendo written World off as a rough draft and moved on to a full sequel? We'll find out eventually. For now, 8 Deluxe remains the king of Mario Kart games, and Nintendo just added another jewel to its crown.

eShop game of the week: Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault

2018's extremely charming Moonlighter blended a cozy shopkeeping life sim with a dungeon-crawler; raid dungeons for relics and materials by night, sell them in your store by day. This sequel offers more of the same with visual and gameplay overhauls. "A bigger, bolder sequel that's worth clocking in for," says Nintendo Life.

Nintendo Classics game of the week: Kirby Super Star

I came across this bizarre Kirby game when researching our recent celebration of the SNES and it's stuck with me: a kind of meta anthology of micro Kirby games, expressing both the character's shifting, copycat identity, and Masahiro Sakurai's restless, magpie-like creativity. Arguably Kirby at its best.

Nintendo Music track of the week: "Mario Kart 8 (Jazz Fusion 2) (Mario Kart 8 Deluxe)" from Mario Kart World

I promise this is the last time I'll pick a track from Mario Kart World's Free Roam selection (actually, I don't promise that). But I had to include this track for two reasons. One, it includes a jazz fusion cover of a jazz fusion cover of the Super Mario Kart theme (truly a snake eating its own tail). Two, Nintendo has finally completed its monthslong Mario Kart World soundtrack upload. The full thing stands at 348 tracks: 14 hours and 15 minutes of music. What a glorious folly.

This week's most interesting releases

Orbitals

• Sep. 3
• Switch 2
• Two-player co-op adventure styled like a 1980s anime. Exclusive!

Onimusha: Way of the Sword

• Sep. 4
• Switch 2
• Capcom's historical action series makes a long-awaited return

NBA 2K27

• Sep. 4
• Switch 2
• Basketball series continues its annual march to infinity

Mewgenics

• Sep. 8
• Switch 2
• Cat-breeding tactics from the creator of The Binding of Isaac

Valheim

• Sep. 9
• Switch 2
• Viking-themed survival game finally hits 1.0 and gets a console release