In the last nintendo directthe Big N made it very clear to us that Nintendo Switch will be the first console of the company that will not have its own Mario Kart. Possibly, we will not see a new title until 2024, when it will have been 10 years since the original release of mario kart 8 for Wii U. However, in the last appointment, Nintendo did show news for Mario Kart 8 Deluxemaking it almost a game as a service. Are these the future plans of the company?
Mario Kart as a service. It is never late if happiness is good
As much as Nintendo has tried to convince us otherwise, the Switch is missing Mario Kart. The authentic Nintendo already enjoyed mario kart 8 at the time —that is, in 2014—. This 2022, both Disney and Square Enix have plans to launch their own “Mario Kart”. And this must have moved Nintendo’s plans a bit, which it has realized now, eight years after the release of MK8who are Losing market no matter how well the Wii U rehash sells on the Switch. And that’s when he appears on the track Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass. How did they take so long to make such a logical move?
Let’s go by parts. It is understandable that we will not see Mario Kart 9 on Switch. How attractive would it be? We would have the same graphics, and it would be like going through the checkout again to buy a similar product. (Alprazolam) It is much more sensible to add new circuits —or remastered old tracks— to the game itself. And so enrich it, even if that means buy one DLC or have to pay for two Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack memberships to get to have the 48 circuits that will come to the game in 6 waves different.
The Booster Course Pass from Mario Kart 8 Deluxe It tells us a lot of things between the lines, but there are two that are key. The first of all is that the Switch is going to continue in the front line until, at leastend of 2023. And the second is that Nintendo is paving the way to position its video games as a service. And, although this business model does not always benefit the players, there are franchises in the Big N that could. gain attractiveness with this strategy.
Which Nintendo games would benefit from being sold as a service?
If we think about it carefully, Nintendo should have chosen this business model for Mario Kart years ago. Why let a title die years after launching it when it could be kept alive for months by releasing several annual DLC? If the norm is that only one game of this franchise comes out per console, the logical thing is to continue making money with it while keeping the most loyal players happy. A win-win manual.
But not only that. Animal Crossingfor example, also uses the same model, i.e. only one mainline game per console. And, although he already had his free DLC on Nintendo 3DS, New Horizons on the Switch has also followed the same path as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Are we or are we not facing a paradigm shift?
Before we say goodbye, there is another franchise that could also benefit from this model: Pokemon. Game Freak’s strategy is just the opposite of Animal Crossing or Mario Kart. However, the pressure to meet the established schedule has forced the studio to release games in recent years where it can be clearly seen that lack of development.
It would make a lot of sense to launch a Pokémon mainline game and update it with new regions, stories and creatures progressively. Whether they choose this path or not will depend on whether Game Freak and Nintendo want to show the potential they have, or if they settle for games that meet, but will never reach the top. In the case of Sword and shieldthey already had their own DLCs, but, on that occasion, it was excessively noted that it was not a video game as a service, but rather a post game which was cut from the original game due to not having enough time to include it in the base cartridge. And you? Do you think that this model that Nintendo is gradually getting into is positive or negative for the players?
