Mario Kart World: Innovative or Exorbitant?

In a Nintendo direct livestream released on April 2nd, Mario Kart World was announced for the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 console, with a short trailer displaying the new features. The biggest change compared to previous versions is that all of the racetracks are now on one large map, with the roads that connect tracks also being parts of races. Like any Mario related console game, this game will be exclusive to Nintendo systems and will not be available on the Switch 1.

Due to the open world nature of the game, players are excited to see how this compares to past experiences, as other series that have ventured towards open world games made masterpieces in doing so. For example, in 2017, when The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild came out, it was the first true open world game in the Zelda series, and since has become of is one of the best reviewed games in the series. It was a commercial success, and the amount of innovation had an ever-lasting effect on the series. If Mario Kart World can change up the traditional racing game formula as much as Breath of the Wild changed up the linear dungeon game formula, Mario Kart World could change the racing game landscape in ways never seen before.

There is one problem, however, and that is the price of Mario Kart World, as the game has been announced to be $79.99 dollars. This sounds outrageous at first, since the most expensive games on the Switch 1 didn’t exceed $59.99, but the scope of the game has been used to defend the price. Prices in the video game industry have been a rising concern, and if Mario Kart World raises the price standard to 80 dollars, piracy rates will increase and the financial health of gaming corporations will decrease. 

Either way, it is important to consider whether or not the price scales to the game’s content. Stacy Henley, a writer at The Gamer, got a “hands-on preview” in which she was able to try parts of the game, but she mentions that she “can confidently say I have seen two thirds of Mario Kart World. I saw Mario, and boy did I see a lot of Karts.” What she is basically saying is that she has not experienced the open world element of Mario Kart World because she played only three races and hasn't tried the free roam mode. Keeping this in mind, she evaluates the game, saying that “that game, the one I've played, is just Mario Kart.”

A game priced 80 dollars is a wild concept any way one tries to approach it, but considering the size and scope of the game, it may not be as outrageous as it seemed. The main problem is the fact that nobody has played the full game, and the people who have played certain parts of the game were unimpressed, so not only may the game not live up to its full value, but it will still sell for the full price and make tons of money for nintendo in the process.