In Nintendo’s Direct Presentation on February 9th, they made a lot of announcements and updates on games that will be coming out really soon. One of those announcements included DLC for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, called the Booster Course Pass. This DLC will bring in many new courses for players to race on and will be released on March 18th. While many people met this news with positive reception, there were also many that had negative thoughts about it, and personally, I share those negative thoughts. So I thought I’d help explain where people are coming from.
Before I really get into explaining, I’d like to make a few things clear. First, the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass is huge. The game hasn’t had any support since it came onto the Nintendo Switch (outside of online events) and it’s cool that they’re bringing life back into it in this form as well as giving the player base something to regularly look forward to from Nintendo, now that we don’t have that with Smash announcements anymore.. Whatever I say going forward, keep in mind that I do believe it’s better than nothing.
Second, the price for what they’re giving us is insane, in a good way. $24.99 for all six waves is an amazing price, since that’s 48 more courses to race on, making the total courses in the game by the end of the last wave to be 96. It’s also cool that you don’t need to buy it to necessarily enjoy the courses, as long as someone you’re playing with has them. While many people would’ve jumped down their throats for this, Nintendo could’ve easily made each wave separate for the same price, on top of making it so we’d have to buy it to race on them, and we still would’ve eaten it up because, come on now, we’re Nintendo fans. So it’s a good thing they’re giving us all that for less than half the cost of the game, without even needing to actually buy it.
Third, and probably the most important to clarify, I’m well aware that Nintendo doesn’t necessarily need to make a new Mario Kart game. I even pointed this out during the whole “Mario Kart 10/Crossroads leak” discussion a month back. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe continues to make sales despite being so old, and it’s reasonable that, rather than making a new game, Nintendo would try to profit even further from an already profiting installment.
It’s understandable that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe players are happy about the Booster Course Pass, and I’m happy for them. But it’s like I said, there are some grievances to be had with this, and I don’t quite understand how so many people on the positive end of this don’t at least understand some of the concerns people have about it. Alright, now that I’ve made three less people angry, time to complain.
Why is this so late?
Alright, this isn’t exactly an issue but it’s worth wondering. I still believe it’s a good thing that Nintendo’s bringing more content into the game again. But it’s also like I said, they haven’t done anything for it since they added it onto the Switch. As cool as it is, it can’t be helped that some people question why they’re suddenly taking this route years later, and are suspicious of this decision.
Some people have theorized that it could be because of Mario Kart’s 30th anniversary, which is August this year. However, Nintendo didn’t really mention this at all in the Direct. There’s still time for them to do so but currently, we haven’t heard anything about it. Another theory, one I’ve heard from a YouTuber I’ve mentioned and recommended in the past named Arlo (funny enough, it was also in the previously linked article about Mario Kart), is what I think to actually be the case; they were working on Mario Kart 9 but changed their minds when they saw how many sales Mario Kart 8 Deluxe was making, and went with the DLC for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Whether this is actually true or not, that brings us to the next problem.
Why can’t they just make a new game?
We’ve had Mario Kart 8 Deluxe ever since the Nintendo Switch came out back in 2017. Considering it’s essentially a port of Mario Kart 8 with all the DLC included (along with a few additions), which was released on the WiiU in 2014, players who started with that have had the same game for even longer. The game still sells well of course, I can’t stress that enough, but if you wanna count the WiiU release, it’s been nearly eight years now (wow, eight years since we had Mario Kart 8, maybe that’s why Nintendo’s doing this now). I’m sure that many people, myself included, would want a new Mario Kart to enjoy at this point, regardless of how much we don’t need it.
It’s a bit disappointing that Nintendo is taking the route of remastering so many courses and bringing them over to an old game. Throughout all these years, that effort could’ve been directed towards placing those maps in the new game and developing the next Mario Kart title instead. It’s no coincidence that many people initially reacted to the news in similar ways: JUST MAKE MARIO KART 9!
Why do the maps look…not good?
A lot of people are looking too closely at the number of courses we’re getting and the price, without actually looking at the courses themselves. I don’t blame them of course, 48 courses is literally doubling the amount we have now. And from what little they’ve shown of the maps, there isn’t a whole bunch we can judge. But even so, when you compare what they have shown to the beautiful quality Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’s maps usually consist of…these courses look bad.
I’ve heard around that, despite Nintendo stating that they’re remastering the maps of other Mario Kart games, any of those maps that show up in Mario Kart Tour are ported straight from there. So while they could be making minor improvements, we’re essentially getting mobile game maps in a Nintendo Switch-optimized game, which is a recipe for visual whiplash. That’s exactly what we see in Toad Circuit and Shroom Ridge, with how poor they are in quality compared to the original maps. This is something they can fix over time, but showing the maps as they are now isn’t doing them any favors, especially when the first wave is just a month away.
While there are other problems to be had with it, the ones I’ve mentioned were ones I feel mattered the most. However, I’d like to address some things I’ve been hearing people say in regards to the contents of the Booster Course Pass. Be prepared though…it’s more complaining.
How is this a “whole game’s worth of content”?
Sure, courses are an important part of the game. It is a racing game, after all, and even if they look terrible, I can’t fault anyone for being excited to see old courses make a return in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. What I can’t understand is how so many are quick to call the new courses alone enough content to be worth a full game. With that, I ask a question: how many people would feel this way if Nintendo actually charged the same as a full-priced game for it? Of course people are still gonna buy it, but would they still be quick to call it a new game’s worth of content if they actually charged $60 for it? I don’t think so.
When I think of Mario Kart, I think of many things. On top of race courses, there’s characters, items, customizable kart parts, battle modes, Grand Prix, and other things. I also think of getting cheated out of first place by a blue shell and people not getting affected by items I clearly hit them with during online races, but those are besides the point. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has so much going on it, and in turn there can be so much added in regards to those things, like new characters and other modes. So, even though there are a lot of courses we’re getting in the Booster Course Pass, I can’t look at it and rightfully think of it as “a new game’s worth of content.” Not that it needs to be, but still.
I’ve also seen people directly comparing it to Smash Ultimate’s Challenger Packs. I can understand why people make the comparison, due to the similar nature in how their DLC is being released, but I have to say…can we not? The Challenger Packs consist of several different things, such as a new fighter, stage, music tracks, and spirits. There’s also new Mii Fighter costumes; while they’re not tied to the Challenger Packs specifically, they come with each update that releases them, so they might as well be. When you think about it, there’s more content in any singular Challenger Pack than the entirety of the Booster Course Pass.
What I said at the beginning still stands. Nintendo’s bringing excitement back into Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and giving us a lot for a great deal. And that’s a good thing. You’re allowed to like and love this. However, it’s important to look at this from all sides and make an effort to understand where others are coming from when they don’t like this, whether they’re looking at the DLC through a critical lens or just screaming at Nintendo to make the next Mario Kart game. What do you think? How do you feel about the Booster Course Pass? Are you satisfied with what you’re getting or would you like there to be some things improved on? And just for fun, if there was a new Mario Kart game, what changes or new additions would you like to see? I’d love to hear your thoughts.