Topic: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

We could definitely use more of that approach, there's been so many IPs last gen that did very little to shake things up gameplay wise (especially platformers). 2D Mario, 3D Mario, DK, Yoshi, Smash, none of them really did anything interesting last gen to really stand out, closest we got was Yoshi copying Epic Yarn and not doing anything interesting with it and Mario introducing a level design but no gameplay mechanics to pair with it, and neither of them were really all that groundbreaking. And yeah, better graphics have really done almost nothing for the industry lately aside from drive costs up sky high, best to focus on other things right now.

Now Mario Kart's usually been pretty good with quirky ideas compared to some of the IPs I mentioned above, but after this game it'll be about due for one. Most likely it'll have been 5+ years since the last time Mario Kart did anything interesting, that's about right for a shakeup.

Great points. Re-releasing MK8 (with additions) is important not just to fans but to Nintendo, as they will have no doubt already started to conceive what the next entry will be. An obvious addition would be a Double Dash mode, separate to the single racer mode. New items as a given, and possibly a shake-up to the rubber band system.

I think Nintendo are in a good place as their development times will only improve. People often forget just how quickly they're starting to release games, and that's largely because they can get away with reusing assets, or sticking to a graphical formula that is straightforward enough to design. Conversely, many games that are released on PS4/XB1 spend far too long in development, because they prioritise detail above all else.

@Emperor-Palpsy By rubber-band, do you mean the AI or items? Because at least for the latter, MK8 has already shaken up how they're distributed: by proximity to the first place racer rather than actual placement. Serves two purposes: prevents too-powerful items early in the race, and discourages the tactic of ''sandbagging'', which is intentionally hanging back to get strong items.

I can't wait for this game. I never had a wii u so this will feel all new to me. Its awesome that it comes with all the dlc and a proper battle mode. But the thing that makes me really excited for this game is the fact that I get to play a new mario kart with my niece. We always played mario kart wii together and still do! We both got really good at the game and are pretty competitive. We would even turn off the AI and take it slow to explore the maps and even do some role playing (childish I know but really fun XD), so to get a Mario Kart which I can play with my niece on the TV and also take on the go is Amazing!

I have the WiiU version, online suffers from the lack of players IMHO, so this will be awesome!

(Yes I am buying it again)

Being honest, this was the game I had the most doubts on when I went to try it out. But after playing just the 8-player handheld mode I was sold. The Switch's main weapon is versatility and Mario Kart showed it.

Being honest again, the improved Battle Mode is just the icing on this already delicious cake. I am 100% buying again

I just wish they would offer the battle arenas and extra characters in one finally DLC package to Wii U owners of MK8. I'd buy it and I'm sure many other's who can't afford a Switch this year would. The Switch would still be the superior version, like Zelda, offering better frame rates and resolution, plus the extra item holding.. I just feel like we've been abandoned after two great DLC's we'll now just focus on Switch.

@Dev Interesting, so the 1 item choice for the Wii U version was nothing more than hardware limitations.

@Grumblevolcano Eh.. I know he's the producer and all, but come on, the Wii U can't handle two items at once in Mario Kart 8? We're not talking about the NES here. Not sure I buy that. If it's true, then that's interesting. But hey, specs don't matter!

That last bullet point "All previous DLC is available from the start. "Yabuki can't say anything about whether there would be more DLC for this version, but says there's enough content for a long time if nothing else" I find interesting.

Obviously he isn't going to say yes or no at this point as to whether there will be any DLC, but the last part certainly makes me wonder as he suggests the game has more than enough as it is which could be a hint that they don't plan to support the game with updates.

I'm under the assumption that it caused ENOUGH of a problem with the smooth framerate they were going for that they didn't want to risk it (especially since Mario Kart 8 was a giant showcase for the Wii U's power)

@kkslider5552000 It could also explain the decision for the awkward battle mode on Wii U.

That might be true, but I've been under the assumption that they spent so much time perfecting other parts of the game that they ran out of time.

Granted, I guess those things somewhat go hand-in-hand.

Also we have to remember when you play online you are transferring data between 8 Wii Us over a network. A few extra bytes of data ever frame/second could have been the make or break between online running smoothly and not. So it makes sense why the game only had 1 item per player.

EDIT: And with the paid online service and local multiplayer for the Switch, they can easily add in the 2nd item.

Uh....
Yeah, no. I don't think so.

Has anybody REALLY watched the Mario Kart Deluxe videos in the highest resolution possible on their PC? It's still not a good indicator of actual graphical quality for a variety of reason, but DANG the difference is apparent. It never hit me until something randomly came up on YouTube or IGN for me yesterday, and it struck me how silky smooth and detailed everything looked compared to the Wii U version.

Oh that. Yeh I can vouch for the quality. It was one of the first things I noticed when playing it in handheld. It was really smooth. As in, really really smooth. If this is a port I can not wait for a full on sequel. I am not one for ports but this game ticked all the right boxes and feels justified for the double dip

Super excited to play this on the Switch, but kinda stings to purchase it when I own it for Wii U. I'm still debating whether to sell my Wii U + games, etc.

The recent switch hardware video played at native 1080p60fps on my monitor and yeah I was really impressed with how smooth it looked. Particularly the splitscreen

Nah, definitely more shrewd. By the time MK8 was in development, Nintendo would have already seen the writing on the wall for Wii U. So they've just used the old marketing trick of holding features back in order to create more demand for a future product. Had they spent the extra time developing a Deluxe-style battle mode for it, then there would be nothing new or noteworthy to advertise for the Switch port other than double items.