Nintendo has revealed the Nintendo Switch 2 and, alongside it, Mario Kart 9. Though details are still slim, an analysis of the brief gameplay clip has confirmed the first characters, vehicles, and tracks coming in the new game.
Only one track was shown in the trailer but this will seemingly be the first race of the first cup available in Mario Kart 9, or at least one very early on. It appears quite simple and, as can be seen on the banner hanging above the starting line, is simply titled Mario Bros. Circuit.
This relatively plain name is standard practice for the opening track in Mario Kart games, with Wii U turned Switch game Mario Kart 8 opening with Mario Kart Stadium, Mario Kart 7 opening with Toad Circuit, Mario Kart Wii opening with Luigi Circuit, and so on.
The track stands out due to its incredible width at times, with one clip from the trailer showing what’s essentially a four lane highway for racers to drive along. This is likely to compensate for an increase in drivers, with Mario Kart 9 looking set to up the limit to a whopping 24 racers.
As for who these drivers are, the Mario Kart 9 footage confirmed more than a dozen familiar faces fans can expect. Mario and Luigi both star, of course, alongside their evil counterparts Wario and Waluigi. Also on the baddie’s side comes Bowser.
Yoshi, Toad, Peach, Daisy, Rosalina, Pauline, and (a funky looking) Donkey Kong all feature too, plus what appears to be Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, and Toadette. Other characters appear in the trailer, all visible in the slideshow above, though can barely be made out. Baby Rosalina and Bowser Jr. are likely candidates.
The Mario Bros. and friends are driving an entirely new set of vehicles too, that appear to include a mix of set options like in Mario Kart Wii and predecessors and customizable cars like in Mario Kart 8.
Mario appears in the series’ standard kart, which has a slightly more rounded design than usual but otherwise looks as fans would expect. It features the standard wheels with yellow alloys, but these can also been seen on Toad’s car. This vehicle harder to see in the trailer though is definitely different from Mario’s despite the same wheels.
Customization therefore looks set to return, where players can choose a vehicle body followed by its wheels and a glider (if gliding is set to return in this game), though other vehicles suggest a locked in package too.
Rosalina’s kart is an example of this, as it’s actually a snowmobile style vehicle which haven’t otherwise appeared in the series beyond mobile game Mario Kart Tour. While Nintendo has included wackier vehicles like submarines and air ships previously, these could always be customized in the same way as normal vehicles, meaning any set of wheels could be grafted on.
The snowmobile kart in Mario Kart 9, however, has its own triangle-shaped treads, suggesting the wheels on, for example, Mario’s car wouldn’t fit at all. This perhaps suggests Mario Kart 9 has set vehicle options as prior entries did, where players simply choose a completed vehicle and don’t get to customize at all.
Details are still slim, of course, and other explanations are entirely possible. Nintendo may have different pools to choose from depending on the type of vehicle, meaning those of the snowmobile class will have a handful of different treads to choose from, while cars will have their own pool, bikes will have theirs, and so on.
There isn’t an excess of these snowmobile vehicles in the trailer though. Luigi is driving a small green convertible, Bowser a large quadbike, Peach a scooter, Donkey Kong a lowrider, Daisy a jet ski looking thing, Yoshi a tiny bike, and Wario what appears to be a giant Cheeto wearing headphones.
Fans will probably have to wait until April for the Nintendo Switch 2 Nintendo Direct to see more on the game, though it’s likely this will just provide a generic overview and not the nitty gritty of features like vehicle customization.
In anticipation of this event, the console reveal trailer included just a few hints of the Nintendo Switch 2, focusing mostly on how it looks. It did confirm the hardware is mostly backwards compatible, the Joy-Cons feature a mysterious new button, and that a theory about using the controller as a mouse appears spot on.
While it was only revealed with a 2025 window, the Nintendo Switch 2 probably won’t arrive until June at the earliest. That’s because myriad hands on events are taking place worldwide, with registration for them opening very soon.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
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