Mario Kart 9 reportedly ‘in active development’ for Switch

The launch of the Nintendo Switch was a bit of a bittersweet time for me as a Wii U owner. Sure, it beckoned the way into a new era of success for the company and picked them up from a slump, which had dogged them for most of the 2010s. Looking at its launch lineup, it was difficult not to feel… underwhelmed. Breath of the Wild? Wonderful, but… I already owned it. Mario Kart 8? Been playing it since 2014, lads. Assorted other ports and re-releases? Did I step through a time wormhole or something?

You get the point: a large chunk of the Switch library has been made up of reheats from Nintendo’s ill-fated Wii follow-up. While I’ll go to my grave defending its honor as a misunderstood gem, I understand the business logic. Very few people actually played these titles, many of which are brilliant, so it makes sense to give them a second lease of life. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Mario 3D World, and so on, all wonderful first-party experiences that I’m glad folks are getting to try.

With the spate of re-issues, like Mario Kart, it created a bit of a quandary for myself and other Wii U loyalists: we haven’t had a new entry in the classic racing franchise for almost a decade. And no, I’m not counting that awful, expensive remote-controlled AR thing they tried recently. Anyone with a compact living room was completely boned.

This is a bigger deal than it sounds. Mario Kart, as a subseries, has had regular releases without fail pretty much since its SNES inception. Every new console, up would roll a new Kart; handheld, home system, whatever, it didn’t matter. As omnipresent and predictable as bathroom trips the morning after Indian takeout. And yet, given the (continued) roaring success of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and the now-vast span of time since that eighth installment, many fans began to wonder whether we’d even see a number 9 in this generation. I must confess, I was among them. Would I have to buy whatever the next Nintendo console turns out to be in order to race again? Sounds like the kind of thing they’d pull.

Thankfully, it doesn’t seem like that’ll be the case. Rumors around Mario Kart 9 have swirled for months, but now, as ComingSoon reports, they’re looking a little more concrete, courtesy of a fairly official source. “During Gamesindustry.biz’s recent panel of various video game industry analysts, it was revealed that the next installment in the Mario Kart series is reportedly in development,” states the report.

The reveal was made by one Dr. Serkan Toto, who can presently be found anywhere but Kansas. He was at the event repping for Kantan Games, and he apparently, as an analyst, has some insider knowledge to impart. His statement was as follows: “I am aware Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is still selling very well on the Nintendo Switch, but Mario Kart 9 is in active development (and comes with a new twist) and Nintendo could tease it this year.” It’s anyone’s guess what the ‘new twist’ could be, given that we’ve already had team-driven karts, babies, bikes, flying and anti-gravity, but I guess we’ll have to wait and see. Optional death-ray gun turrets?

This wasn’t the only prediction Toto made during the event pertaining to Nintendo. “On mobile, Nintendo has been very silent since Mario Kart Tour‘s launch in 2019, but I think 2022 is when we will see an established IP arriving on smart devices again,” he said. Tour, of course, was the successful smartphone adaptation of the Kart franchise, which may well have absorbed some of Nintendo’s resources, explaining why they’re only now getting, well, back on track (pardon the pun).

Make of Toto’s analysis what you will, but what gives this credit for me is his total lack of vagueness. Typically with leaks, you’ll get the odd pre-emptive ‘don’t blame me if this turns out to be bull’ schtick, but nope. He was as blunt as possible: Mario Kart 9. It’s real. It’s happening. It’s coming. Appreciate the forwardness, Doc.

Hopefully this turns out to be true, putting an end to a wait that for the vast majority of gamers has been five years, and for a poor minority, myself included, has been an agonising eight. It better be good. If it’s not, well… I guess I’ll just move on with my life, I suppose. A sobering thought.

Are you excited by the prospect of Mario Kart 9? Let us know!

Via, ComingSoon.net.