Nintendo is possibly hoping to steer the narrative regarding the Switch 2 back in a positive direction by showing off its most exciting game, Mario Kart World. The publisher held a Mario Kart World direct presentation on April 17th debuting 15 minutes of gameplay which showcased many of the game’s new features.
Mario Kart World will feature a bunch of new courses to race through. There’s Mario Bros Circuit, the desert roadtrip-looking course Nintendo’s shown off in every Mario Kart World video; an urban course called Crown City; Salty Salty Speedway, which is one of Mario Kart World’s water levels; and many more including returning classics like Peach Beach and Wario Shipyard. Nintendo also hinted that once you complete all the Grand Prix cups a “certain colorful course” will appear which can’t be anything other than the iconic Rainbow Road.
There are lots of new items, features, and settings to make the most out of your race to the finish. The new feather item lets you jump to avoid attacks. The new rewind feature lets you rewind time so you can hit that missed trick or jump to find secret areas. Speaking of secret areas, in the game’s free roam mode you can find all kinds of hidden secrets like P-switches and panels that unlock overworld missions to complete. Nintendo’s gone all out to make Mario Kart World the standout game for the Switch 2 — now if only the US could pre-order the dang thing.
You can watch the full event below:
The initial excitement regarding the Nintendo Switch 2 has cooled. Consumers have been left reeling from the price of the console, announced at $450, which has the potential to balloon in the United States due to the Trump administration’s ruinous tariff policy. (Trump has decreed a 90-day pause on the tariffs which ostensibly gives Nintendo more time to ship to the US as many units as it can.)
The games too will be more expensive, with some titles, including Mario Kart World, blowing past the $70 price point to retail at $80. That is, if you can even get the console to play it. US consumers cannot yet pre-order the Switch 2 (once again, thanks to the tariffs) which has also impeded Canada from pre-orders as well. Nintendo has not yet signaled when it’ll open up pre-orders for the two countries but said that the console will still go on sale there June 5th. Mario Kart World will be launching alongside the new console.