Nintendo Fans Are Worried About Mario Kart 9
Nintendo might have inadvertently blue-shelled our hopes of Mario Kart 9, as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe just crossed a major milestone. We've come a long way from the pixelated sprites and minute racing roster of Super Mario Kart on the SNES, and like new Mario games come out like clockwork, we doubt Nintendo is ready to wave the checkered flag just yet.
The House that Mario built has its fingers in a lot of pies these days, but away from Breath of the Wild 2, Metroid Prime 4, and the inevitable Super Mario Odyssey sequel, the Mario Kart subseries is a guaranteed winner. Well, that's if we ever get there. It's already been seven years since Mario Kart 8 first launched, and by the looks of it, there's plenty of gas still in the tank.
What's Going On With Mario Kart 9?
There's some great news for Mario Kart, with Nintendo's financials confirming Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has sold 38.74 million copies on the Nintendo Switch. This makes it the best-selling entry in the franchise (passing Mario Kart Wii's 37.38 million). Impressively, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has overtaken Animal Crossing: New Horizons' 34.85 million - which is great considering the latter has a massive boost in the midst of the global pandemic.
Looking closer at the stats, the run of Mario Kart 8 has seen it race across the finish line in style. The game was originally released on the Wii U in 2014, and was then ported over to Switch as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe in 2017. Putting them together, Mario Kart 8 is the best-selling racing game US history.
All of this should be great news for Mario Kart fans, but worryingly, it's made most of us think we won't be seeing the next instalment for quite some time. Similar to how Rockstar Games still makes a small fortune off GTA V, Nintendo isn't about to discard its cash cow anytime soon.
What Have Mario Kart 9 Fans Said?
Looking on Twitter, there's a pretty damning prognosis that Mario Kart 9 will be taking a pit stop for now. It also doesn't seem likely that Nintendo will release a DLC to a game that's already so old. Unlike Smash Bros. keeping players engaged with an expanded lineup of fighters, Mario Kart hasn't continued to adopt this DLC approach.
Others joked that if you think it's bad for Mario Kart, what about F-Zero? Remembered for giving us Captain Falcon, the once beloved F-Zero name has slipped into obscuirty. We last had a game with 2004's F-Zero Climax, and although the Blue Falcon has appeared in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe alongside a Mute City-inspired course, the franchise lies dormant.
There are undoubtedly plans for Mario Kart 9, but with each passing day, it looks like Nintendo will save it for the inevitable Switch successor. Others pointed out that apart from Mario Kart 8, each Nintendo console has only come with one new Mario Kart game. Sorry, it sounds like you're stuck with the mundane trundling of Mario Kart Tour for now.
