The Nintendo Entertainment System in 1992, every Nintendo console has received its own entry in the Mario Kart series. Well, nearly every console. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe was released shortly after the Switch's launch in 2017. While the game is enjoyable, it was a bit of a cash grab on Nintendo's part.
Mario Kart 8 had originally released on the Wii U, but due to the consoles poor sales, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe included the base game as well as every DLC course and character, a couple new characters, and a new Battle Mode. In all though, the game was nearly identical to it's Wii U predecessor, aside from a graphics boost.
Since the release of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Nintendo has taken the series in some new directions. Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit, an RC car with augmented reality. Players set up a track in their home and race against each other through their Switch, creating an almost live Mario Kart race. Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit is set to hit shelves in mid-October.
Nintendo Has No Immediate Need For A New Mario Kart
Despite the over-three-year time gap since the last main entry in the series, Mario Kart has been doing well for Nintendo. With that in mind, it's safe to wonder if the next Mario Kart game will be coming anytime soon. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is still the highest-selling game on the Switch at over 26.74 million units sold, comfortably edging out the next highest-selling game, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, by over four million units. Nintendo has no need to announce the next Mario Kart game while their current one is still selling so well. They would simply be creating competition for themselves.
Looking ahead, it's hard to get a sense of when the next Mario Kart game will be released. The Switch deserves its own standalone Mario Kart title, not just a port from a significantly less popular console. Unfortunately, it seem fairly unlikely at this point. As Sony and Microsoft are on the verge of launching their next generation consoles, Nintendo will soon need to do the same. There have been rumors of a potential Switch Pro, a much more powerful Switch console, but Nintendo will need to start planning their next console sooner rather than later. A new Mario Kart title on the Switch Pro could be a possibility, but what would that mean for Nintendo's next console? Releasing a new Mario Kart title this late in the Switch's life would likely mean the game would be ported to the next Nintendo console, at which point, why even release it on the Switch when Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is still selling so well?
While it is disappointing to think Mario Kart 9 may be a few years away, but there's still plenty of Mario Kart to keep fans occupied in the meantime between Mario Kart Tour and the soon-to-be-released, Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit. And who knows, maybe Nintendo has something special tucked up their sleeves. Mario Kart fans will just have to wait and see.