Mario Kart 8 DLC leaked - new and returning courses, Zelda, Animal Crossing, F-Zero

A listing on Nintendo's UK store has outed the existence of some new and exciting downloadable content for Mario Kart 8.

[BlackWolf]

These packs have to be some of the best DLC packs I've seen in my life! Man, I really need that job now!

EDIT: anyone else is bothered by the fact that the source is Nintendo UK's page? Wouldn't that make it not a leak?

[colonel179]

WOW! I am very impressed with this DLC! I have wanted characters from other Nintendo franchises in Mario Kart for a long time, and now it is a reality!!! (if it's not fake).

A lot of people say that it would be like Smash Bros, but I think that's the great thing! Now it is very likely that Mario Kart 9 will be "Smash Bros Kart" from the start! AMAZING!!!

[Sly-Lupin]

Yup. XD
I've been waiting for a "Smash Kart" for years. Hope they add in Metroid, Kirby and Fire Emblem characters, too.

[colonel179]

As someone stated in a comment. This is most likely due to the amiibos. They said that they would work on other games, so here it is. Then i would expect most of the characters that are in amiibo form to be on the game.

[NukaCola]

Agree with this. I have wished Nintendo would cut the "Mario" mashups and do a full on Smash or All Stars line up in their games. Mario Golf, Kart, Party etc etc ... needs some love from other universes like metroid, zelda, ice climbers and more.

[3-4-5]

I was hoping for this a while ago.

I'm surprised it actually came true.

[Patrick_pk44]

Damn the DLCs give a load of content. What's exciting is that they decided to add 8 courses, that is more courses/maps you receive in other map packs.

[TekoIie]

£7 for ALL THAT?!?!?!? That is a pretty good price for the amount of content you get.

Kudos to Nintendo.

[Skate-AK]

I think they are calling it a leak because the DLC hasn't been officially announced. The DLC probably just randomly showed up on the website.

[BlackWolf]

That makes sense. Thanks! + Helpful.

[That-Guy]

Take a look at the DLC page.
http://mariokart8.nintendo....

Also full-size screenshots here.
http://www.vooks.net/first-...

[pcz]

its good and bad news.

good news because its taking mario kart in the right direction. ie, the logical progression into a smash bros style all star nintendo racer.

the bad news is that it makes the retail version of mario kart 8 obsolete. since they will probably now release another edition with the extras. not everyone wants top download content.

also, if it is true they are including f zero tracks/cars, doesnt that also render f zero obsolete ?

[BlackWolf]

I don't see how this is bad news. This is just an expansion, and it's not a forced one. The "Smash Kart" is still something I don't foresee, but some extra characters in each version are welcomed. But, where did you get the idea of the re-release? Like a complete edition? When has this happened with a Nintendo tittle?

And the "render F-Zero obsolete"... Really? You... You do understand MK and F-Zero are completely different racing games, right? How is it that MK is suddenly destroying any chances of seeing another F-Zero, because of one car and and a track? It's just what's called a homage, a cameo. Nothing else. You're looking too much into it. Too much, I'd say.

[pcz]

'' The "Smash Kart" is still something I don't foresee''

you are wrong. it will happen. in fact, i almost guarantee the next mario kart will be an all star/smash kart.

''where did you get the idea of the re-release? Like a complete edition? When has this happened with a Nintendo tittle?''

NSMBU. the luigi expansion.

''How is it that MK is suddenly destroying any chances of seeing another F-Zero, because of one car and and a track? It's just what's called a homage, a cameo. Nothing else. You're looking too much into it. Too much, I'd say.''

incorrect. its more than mere homage when the entire selling point of MK8 is the anti-gravity roller-coaster type tracks. that was destroying the chances of an f zero as it was, without going even further and adding f zero tracks/cars into the mix.

It does make f zero redundant. nintendo have shown little interest in making an f zero game, and now they have gone and added all of f zero's assets into MK8, they will have absolutely no reason to.

i think nintendo are trying to kill two birds with one stone. ie, why make two games when they can mix them both together.

its not just a theory, its a fact based on evidence shown in their party games like wii sports and resort. ie, instead of giving us wave race, they just chuck in a little jet ski game into wii sports. why make pilot wings when they can again chuck in a little mini game. why make a proper tennis game when they can reduce it to a game within a game.

that is exactly what they are doing with f zero- reducing it to a game within a game.

[BlackWolf]

OK, first of all, the "guarantee" is just an assumption. It could happen, as the future is uncertain, but you haven't shown me anything that "guarantees" it'll happen. This DLC could simply be a bonus, nothing else. Let's wait 'till it happens, if it's going to.

The Luigi U could be bought separately, and that is true. But this is a different case. This pack is meant to work with the content on MK8, not separately. And again, what makes you so sure something akin to a complete edition will happen? Then again, don't answer me that. You'll just "guarantee" it.

And the whole F-Zero thing: You're working with guesses and suppositions, based on situations and happenings that could mean something entirely different, to make "facts" that suit your tastes. So far, what you claim a fact, both the "killing of F-Zero" and the "fusion with Mario Kart" are nothing more than theories, and they'll remain that way until they're proven right. That's how a theory works: it doesn't become a fact until it's proven, not because a dude says it's a fact without proper evidence.

F-Zero is being neglected, unfortunately. I'd love to see a new iteration, and it pains and maddens me that Nintendo still haven't made it happen. But I won't go as far as to say that the company is deliberately killing the franchise. Not without conclusive proof.

Look, you won't change your mind, and me neither. Can we agree to disagree and leave it like this?

[-Foxtrot]

Holy Shit

http://static1.thcdn.com/de...

"3 Characters: Tanooki Mario, Cat Peach, Link"

They are kidding right...out of all the characters they give us Mario and Peach in costumes. COME ON...

How about Zelda or even someone like Professor E. Gadd

The Smash Bros line up is looking fantastic yet this game seems to be lacking. It would be much easier to add characters in this game since you don't need to balance them out like in Smash Bros since it's the Karts which make up the different stas.

I mean Tanooki Mario and Cat Peach are skins

On the Nintendo store it says

"As a bonus for purchasing both packs - as a bundle or separately - you can get eight different-coloured Yoshis and eight different-coloured Shy Guys that can be used right away."

So they can do skins, this is what Tanooki Mario and Cat Peach should of been. Use an existing character and add accessories to them you've unlocked.

[weekev15]

Sure lets focus on 2 characters out of this announcement, lets ignore Link and the 8 tracks (16 if you include next years as well).

Nintendo knows how to do DLC.

[-Foxtrot]

Ignore Link?

I'm sure you've missed the very first thing I posted in my comment.

"Holy Shit

<Picture of Link>"

I'm not ignoring anything, I'm just making a critical remark of the bad part of the announcement, doesn't mean I hate the rest. It just baffles me that's all, if you are going to do three characters why have a fantastic character while the other two are "skin" worthy...why not Zelda or Captain Falcon.

Jeez, people really get touchy when it comes to Nintendo. Relax

"Nintendo knows how to do DLC"

Yes that Mercedes Benz DLC was amazing /s

[equal_youth]

i think ur right. it already bothered me in mario kart 8.

link is a cool add IMO but the courses make me really want to buy this. maybe this has also something to do with the amibo figures nintendo announced at e3.

[-Foxtrot]

They should be separate options in my opinion

Bundle them together or let people pick between them. Maybe they'll do that, who knows.

I'd take the new courses and Link, that's it.

[wheresmymonkey]

They've already announced that MK8 is getting amiibo support I'd be really surprised if you couldn't use your Kirby, Zelda or whatever character you have to use them as a playable racer in MK8. Besides who gives a toss about characters, when we're getting two new cups worth of courses for £7.

[Concertoine]

I dont really disagree with any of your comments up until you say "Yes that Mercedes Benz DLC was amazing /s"

I mean how negative can you get. Lets not bring up the fire emblem DLC, the Pikmin DLC, all the free DLC and let's bring up the ONE bad one which is still free. Nintendo has one of the best track records for DLC, they release complete, bug-free games at launch and provide DLC afterwards. DLC has a stigma these days, and they're one of the only ones to use it right.

Also the character line up to MK should never be comparable to Smash... none of these characters have specific traits or anything, they're all just representative of 3 different weight classes. If you ask me they should limit the roster of future MK's to maybe 30 just to save time by not modeling and animating characters that are essentially exchangeable for others in their class. Or they could bring back character specific items. That still doesnt mean they should have all these babies and minerals though.

Edit: This is crazy content for DLC. Some battle arenas would be nice though. Maybe some of the "tracks" are battle arenas.

[-Foxtrot]

Right so saying that about the Mercedes Benz DLC alone makes me really negative...lol.

"best track records for DLC"

Probably because they hardly do it and when you take a look at there games, sure they are good quality but you can't deny there's not any moments where you are like "I wish they added this" or "This should of been added 2 games ago what took them so long". They make high quality, bug free games but they don't venture out of their comfort zone, they stick to what they know and when you've done that for years how can you make something bad. Yeah their games are great and they are fantastic quality but when you see so many missed opportunities and moments where you see an already great game could be miles better then you have to give out a little criticism, you can't keep your mouth shut.

You are a little closed minded if your going to strike down all the great DLC we've had last gen and just put Nintendo as the only ones with a good track record. Come on man there's been some great DLC last gen which wasn't made by Nintendo

"none of these characters have specific traits or anything, they're all just representative of 3 different weight classes"

So why do they remove characters, they could use the same animations or add onto them in the next game and nobody would mind...I wouldn't. Instead they remove them and add in new ones, yet the line up is always small

Every character they add in a game should be unlockable in the next game.

[weekev15]

Yeah they definitely need to get some battle arenas in there. Would not surprise me if there was a standalone dlc pack for that especially for the folks that have asked for it.

[Concertoine]

No, only bringing up THAT dlc in response to "Nintendo knows how to do DLC" is negative. When someone says "Inafune makes good games" it is strange to say "OH YEAH LIKE YAIBA?"

I understand that! I open my mouth when they do dumb things too. But that quote from you specifically highlights a bad minority over a good majority for literally know reason. Especially since its free DLC.

I didnt strike down all DLC, man. There was good DLC, but then there's EA and Activision getting progressively greedier with DLC, Capcom locking DLC on disk, microtransactions, etc. I mean with Bad Co 2 EA gave us free DLC for buying the game new, now they charge us 60 bucks a year to get map packs and spend time on DLC rather than fixing games. DLC in theory is great, but lately its become a crutch.

Don't put words in my mouth, "ONLY NINTENDO" was never in my post. They are just one of the few that arent greedy about it. Bethesda and Irrational have also been pretty good, from what i recall.

I would rather them find a way to make the characters unique to play as in the next installment personally. Especially with s*** like queen bee and the clones, i don't want them clogging up the roster. But im not sure how easy porting old assets is, or how well theyd look a gen later.

@weekev

Honestly i think they should go easy on the tracks, they need those for MK9. I would trade 8 of those tracks for Big Donut alone :P /s. But battle mode is dead in the water so they should work on it some.

[Concertoine]

If anyone wants to play MK8 PM me and i'll add you. This news actually got me in the mood to play. There should be an n4g community lol.

[weekev15]

Sorry the pic didnt open on my phone so didnt realise you were actually being positive about something.

FYI folks arent touchy over you dissing Nintendo, they are touchy over the fact that genuinely exciting news has come out for 1 of the games of the year and you have chosen to focus on the only part of the news that is slightly questionable.

I guess youre a glass half empty kind of guy but sometimes its nice to look on the bright side of life. You should try it sometime.

[-Foxtrot]

"they are touchy over the fact that genuinely exciting news has come out for 1 of the games of the year and you have chosen to focus on the only part of the news that is slightly questionable."

If they are getting touchy over someone's opinion, a comment looking at something good and bad then you/they have problems man. I see things on here I don't like all the time but I'm not going to go off it with them unless they were not being nice.

I mean when is the time to post the bad side of the announcement, even if I waited a month or two I would still get the same response. I would wouldn't I? You can't deny that. So why not just look at the good and bad straight away. It's not impossible.

I'm a guy who sits at the table looking at the glass and imagines what would it be like if it was half full and what it would be like if it was half empty. A guy who looks at both sides.

[shaw98]

Fox trot, I have read your comments for over a year now without an account. I now have an account, I am sorry that my very first message to you is in a low view, but you really need to leave Nintendo threads. You are a straight up hater that wants Nintendo gone. I feel sorry that you hate Nintendo for no reason.

[deafdani]

While I partially agree with you regarding the character choices (because, let's face it, there are a ton more interesting options than Tanooki Mario or Cat Peach... Link, on the other hand, is awesome), I can't help but notice that you seem to be only focusing on the negative aspect of this DLC announcement.

I mean... what about the 8 race tracks that each DLC is going to bring? Why do you devote so much time trashing Nintendo for their admittedly poor choice in characters, yet don't take a little time to also see the good stuff, which FAR outweighs the "bad" (which isn't that bad in itself, eve)?

Seriously?

Characters aren't THAT important in Mario Kart. This isn't Smash. Mario Kart 8 doesn't have unique atributes or power ups or movesets for each character, or anything. Every single character is just some variant of light, middle, or heavy class, that's it. They're just cosmetic, so the importance in character selection in Mario Kart 8 is a bit overblown by some people... yourself included.

However, RACE TRACKS? Yeah... now that is some meaningful piece of DLC right there. Nintendo has already confirmed that each pack will cost $8, or you can buy both in a "bundle" for $12. When you stop and think that you're paying $12 (or $16 at most) for two DLC packs that effectively gives your game 50% more PLAYABLE content... that's a damn hell of a deal. The fact that these packs also includes 3 extra characters and 4 extra karts is only a nice little bonus, for me.

So, I can't really fault other people for considering you a troll here. I mean, I seriously get your complain against the characters, but you're making such a big fuss of it that you only rub other people the wrong way because you seem completely blind to the most important part of this DLC only to nitpick on a fairly minor aspect.

[ChickeyCantor]

"So they can do skins, this is what Tanooki Mario and Cat Peach should of been."

A color skin ( aka pallete swap or texture swap ) is not the same as a model swap.

I'm not saying the 2 additions are something to be praised but they are not the same thing as what you're implying.

[truechainz]

Aren't they pretty much all skins with the only differentiating factors being weight and kart customization? If there is more to them than that, then that probably explains why I don't do so well online. Or I'm just not good lol.

[GordonKnight]

I'm more concerned with what retro tracks are being added. In my book added karts and characters are just a bonus.

[gangsta_red]

Negative Nancy over here. Good lord, did you see the rest of the DLC they are giving you? And THIS is what you complain about?!

They are slowly adding to the roster and going outside the Mario universe for characters and tracks, that alone should be exciting for the future of MK8. Not to mention Amiibo is coming so Nintendo is probably saving most of the roster for that.

But please, keep complaining and looking like a 5 year old kid having a pouting fest when brought to a candy store for his b-day.

Fox, how about you stick to the Sony articles since they can never do any wrong in your book. You sure are vocal with a negative opinion when it comes to Nintendo and MS.

[C_Ali88]

Uh oh! It's about to go down! New courses!!!

[Nathan170]

"The Add On Content packs include classics like Wario’s Gold Mine from Mario Kart Wii, as well as new courses, some taking place in the worlds of The Legend of Zelda and Animal Crossing."
Amazing!!!

[krontaar]

Don't care much for characters or karts but 16 new tracks is amazing, will definitely buy.

[C_Ali88]

They just opened the Mario Kart world to non Mario characters and you're already complaining. It's their first two announced DLC packs not their final!

[WeAreLegion]

Awesome! Just fix battle mode and this will be the best Mario Kart ever made.

[iNFAMOUZ1]

i need a wii u badly

[Dudebro90]

Sweet! Pumped for new tracks.

[Dan_scruggs]

6 new charactere, 8 new vehicles, 16 new tracks plus Link.

Jizzed in my pants.

[WillGuitarGuy]

So are any of the tracks actual battle courses? People (like myself) have been wanting this since the games launch.

[C_Ali88]

Definitely need battle arenas! The modified battle courses are pretty dull....

[deafdani]

Thankfully, nope.

And I say thankfully because this is PAID DLC (and excellently priced for the content it brings, I must add).

My point is, if Nintendo ever decides to release Battle Course tracks as DLC, those should be free, because what we got in Mario Kart 8 was an awful joke. Trying to charge for DLC Battle maps would be adding insult to injury, IMO.

[Moonman]

The 8th Wonder gets even better!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

[Sheed]

YOOOO THIS LEAK GOT ME GOING CRAZY

[Apex13]

Can't wait and the patch for times as well. If they sort battle mode out then colour me beyond impressed.

[HavokPants]

i think i came

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

Link...
On a motorcycle?
Without ruining the Zelda series by doing it in Mario Kart instead?

[jcnba28]

This is the best DLC I've ever seen.

16 new tracks!?!?

[bobsmith]

awesome hope theres a dlc playlist online cuz all im gona wana do is play the new tracks dont want old ones

thats why i wish theyd just make tracks free so every1 has them just charge for characters and karts

[shaw98]

Mario kart 8 GOTY confirmed.

[contradictory]

hey guys, remember when i said crossover characters would be sweet in MK8 before the game was even released? and you guys totally got butthurt and told me it wouldn't make any sense because it's MARIO kart and not Nintendo kart?

i love it when my wishes sometimes come true :D
also just rubbing it in occasionally

[GoPanthers999]

Awesome!

[swice]

This is absolutely welcome.

It's too bad we have to wait until May of 2015 to have the other half. Longevity is a good thing I suppose :-)

[TXIDarkAvenger]

Link should ride Epona jk, these packs are insane though. GJ Nintendo.

[ZeekQuattro]

http://giant.gfycat.com/Dis... The internet works fast. haha

[swice]

HAHAHAHA :-D

[DoggyBiscuit]

I finally get to play as Link I'm so excited

[ARESWARLORD]

This is cool. Good job big N. Day one buy for me

[acekaze]

Nintendo, TAKE MY MONEY!

[Lighter9]

Smash Bros. Kart should just be a thing now.

[dafegamer]

holy shit megaton