CraveOnline: "Ah, Mario Kart. Perhaps the best multiplayer series of all time, what initially began as an unassuming racing game featuring Nintendo's portly mascot escalated into one of, if not the most popular franchise in Nintendo's arsenal.
Everyone has a Mario Kart memory. Whether it be racing around Koopa Beach on the SNES's Super Mario Mart, or a night of 4-player karting mayhem on Mario Kart Wii, the series has always been the one constant in video games: when you play a Mario Kart game, you know you're going to have fun.
With the impending release of Mario Kart 8, we thought we'd give a retrospective on where the Mario Kart series came from, and where it's at now. From Red Shells to Blue, Bowser's Castle to Rainbow Road, here's the complete history of Mario Kart."
VGChartz's Mark Nielsen: "10 years. It’s been almost 10 years since the last mainline release in the Mario Kart series. Mario Kart 8 came out for the Wii U in 2014 and became the best-selling game for the system by a sizeable margin, and later pulled the same magic trick on the Nintendo Switch under the stage name Deluxe. All in all, it's sold nearly 70 million copies over the last decade and is still selling like hot cakes to this day, so it’s no wonder Nintendo has been in no rush to replace it. However, with rumors of a new system being just around the corner, and reports a few years back that a new Mario Kart is indeed under way, it seems the era of 8 might very well be drawing to a close. It’s an exciting prospect to be sure, but after two Nintendo systems with Mario Kart 8 at their heart, a lot of questions remain about how Nintendo will choose to follow it up."
I hope they just keep building on Mario Kart 8; Add a track-creation tool, and probably open it up to more Nintendo IPs with new tracks and characters, so Metroid, Punch Out, Starfox, Animal Crossing, etc etc.
there wont be a new one until the switch 2 comes out.
nintendo needs their bangers early on
Nintendo has recently restored Wii U Mario Kart 8 and Splatoon online after five months of being offline.
Mario Kart 8 has been out for nine years now if you include the Wii U version. Despite the Switch port continuing to sell insane numbers since it came out in 2017, many people believed that a new installment was way past due. When the Booster Course Pass was announced instead, it was a bit controversial, with one side of people stating that it was time for a new game, and the other side believing that this was the best course of action and that there's nothing else Nintendo can do to innovate the franchise.
There's nothing wrong with the games, but after most of them being very samey, I got a bit bored. I liked MKDS because it added a mission mode, yeah it didn't have maybe as many as I'd like but it was decent for variety.
I really prefer the new Mario Party for the different types of games in it.
Mario Kart doesn't really feel fresh because you know what to expect for every new game pretty much. The single player mode of DKR was far more in depth a game vs Mario Kart IMO, MK is probably better for multiplayer though.
It needs a campaign mode like Crash Team Racing with open hubs, driving around the Mushroom Kingdom, selecting your races and the like. Have a system like the CTR tokens within the races that then unlock secret racing cups later on or the time relics to unlock other things.
There's nothing wrong with the games but when you've had the same set up for so many games it just gets a bit samey after a while.
They could even have something like a track creator like Modnation Racers or something.
After starting with the first game on SNES, I think the last one I bought was on the DS.
I think the next gimmick should be interactive tracks with obstacles and traps such as maybe throwing a shell ahead to make something fall on another player Also have water and mud parts that effect handling more also fire parts that can cause you to over heat if you stay in it to long etc...
I don’t think it needs ‘a gimmick’ so much, because gameplay is pretty much perfect right now, but I would like the next Mario Kart to do either a ‘track-builder’ thing, so you just get access to the tools and make your own tracks (think Modnation Racers or LBP Karting), and/or expand upon ‘Mario’ Kart and open it up to the rest of Nintendo IPs, and just do a ‘Nintendo Kart’, so we’d see more of Zelda, but also Starfox, Kirby, Metroid, Valkyria Chronicles*, etc.
* I know, technically not ‘Nintendo’.
Wonderful flashback...
Nice look back through the Mario Kart days.
This takes me back!
Double Dash: The Best Forever.
Mario Kart 8 comes out next week, right?
Gotta decide if I go physical or digital. I don't suppose we know what the d/l size is yet?